Attention, landlords: These college towns offer the biggest ROI

July 27, 2018 - 2 min read

Most profitable college towns

Considering becoming a landlord? Then you might want to head to Texas. According to a new analysis, the Lone Star State is home to six of the nation’s 20 highest-yielding college towns.

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Homes.com recently analyzed college towns across the country in terms of landlord ROI. Though Champaign, Illinois — home to Parkland College and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign — took the No. 1 spot, offering an annual yield of 14 percent, Texas claimed six of the top 20 spots on the list.

Texas cities to rank on Homes.com’s list included McAllen (home to South Texas College), Corpus Christi (Del Mar College, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi), Killeen (Central Texas College, Texas A&M-Central Texas), Laredo (Laredo College, Texas A&M-International) and El Paso (Vista College, University of Texas-El Paso).

“Within the top 20 towns and cities based upon the highest average yield, Texas features the most, with McAllen, Corpus Christi, Killeen, Laredo, and El Paso all offering promising returns to landlords,” wrote Homes.com’s Cheria Brickhouse.

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Several Northeastern towns also show high yields for landlords. Rochester, New York, boasts a 13 percent ROI, while New Haven, Connecticut, offers 12 percent. Providence, Rhode Island; Buffalo, New York; and Baltimore all show over-10 percent yield.

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Size matters

The analysis also looked at the nation’s biggest college towns — a place where there’s more potential for rental growth — and Texas once again ruled the rankings.

Corpus Christi, El Paso, Arlington, Fort Worth and Houston all made the list.

Large towns and cities don’t necessarily give the highest yields, however, larger populations (300,000+) typically promise an easier search for tenants,” Brickhouse wrote. “There’s often increased demand which still makes them an attractive option.”

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Aly J. Yale
Authored By: Aly J. Yale
The Mortgage Reports contributor
Aly J. Yale is a mortgage and real estate writer based in Houston who has contributed to Forbes and worked for organizations such as The Dallas Morning News, PBS, NBC, and Radio Disney.