After Slumping in 2022, University Enrollment Rebounds

College enrollment has rebounded slightly after declining in 2022. Among the core 175 universities tracked by RealPage, college enrollment dipped a slight 0.2% in 2022, marking the only declining enrollment on record in the RealPage dataset. Student enrollment is the primary demand driver in student housing. Just a year later, enrollment grew 0.6% in 2023. Still, that growth rate clocks in below average annual enrollment hikes seen before the pandemic. Throughout the last economic cycle, enrollment growth across the RealPage 175 has hovered around 1.1% per year. The low point for enrollment growth occurred in Fall 2019 at 0.4% and remained low in Fall 2020 at 0.6%, depressed by the pandemic. Depressed enrollment growth, while still unwelcomed by student housing developers, might feel more manageable given that developers are completing fewer student housing beds this economic cycle.