A review of estimates of housing insecurity and homelessness among students in U.S. higher education

ABSTRACT

Lack of secure affordable housing is a substantial concern for many of today’s college students. Over the past two decades, the price of college has risen, the purchasing power of need-based financial aid has declined, and most family incomes have stagnated. This paper provides a review of estimates of the prevalence of housing insecurity, including homelessness, among college students in the U.S. from peer-reviewed and grey literature and a nationally representative study of undergraduates. Data from the latest National Postsecondary Student Aid Study indicate that nearly 1 in 10 U.S. undergraduates are homeless or self-supporting and at risk of homelessness; results from a review of extant research that utilizes multiple measures and samples is consistent with this national estimate. In addition, weighted results from the literature review indicate that 45% of college students experience some form of housing insecurity including problems related to housing unaffordability, instability, or homelessness. Community college students appear to be at greater risk of housing insecurity and homelessness in comparison to their peers at four-year colleges and universities. Given the scope and implications of this problem, programmatic and policy efforts to promote college success and student well-being must include consideration of students’ housing situations.

KEYWORDS:

• Poverty
• housing
• homeless
• college
• higher education

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Drs. Sara Goldrick-Rab, Adam Gamoran, Myra Marx Ferree, Eric Grodsky and Pam Herd for their constructive comments and feedback on this manuscript.

Data availability statement

The data are publicly available.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Katharine M. Broton is an assistant professor of higher education and sociology (courtesy) at the University of Iowa. She is a faculty affiliate of the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice and the Center for Research on Undergraduate Education.

ORCID

Katharine M. Broton http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2808-6654

Notes

1 Specifically, “At any time on or after July 1, 2015, were you determined to be self-supporting and also at risk of being homeless?”

2 This variable should not be compared to past NPSAS indicators of homelessness because previous versions applied only to students 23 years of age and younger, and did not include student-reported “risk of homelessness” responses.

3 The first study of material hardship among U.S. college students was published in 2009 though the first study on housing does not appear until 2011. Articles must be written in English.

Additional information

Funding

The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Phi Kappa Phi provided financial support for this research.