Rent vs. College Football Ticket Prices: Cities Where Fans Get the Best Deals

How Many College Football Games Could You Go to for the Price of an Apartment in Each Team's City?

Saturdays in the fall run on tailgates, marching bands, and a student section that never sits down. In some college towns, that experience costs about as much as a burger and a drink. In others, one seat can cost as much as a week of groceries.

Ticket prices only tell half the story; a $100 ticket feels different when rent is $2,000 than when it’s $900. So we asked: How many games could a renter catch for the price of one month’s rent?

We pulled from the AP Top 25 preseason rankings and grouped cities into four categories: the Red Zone, the 50-Yard Line, Fumbles, and Field Goals.

In the Red Zone: Where Ticket Prices Are on Your Side

These five cities give renters the most college football games for their rent. Affordable seats and manageable rents mean a month’s housing budget can cover a full season of home games with money left over for a bowl game.

Team	City	Average 1-Bedroom Rent	Average Ticket Price	Games Per Monthly Rent
SMU Mustangs	Dallas, TX	$1,408	$42	33
Penn State Nittany Lions	State College, PA	$1,390	$54	25
Ole Miss Rebels	Oxford, MS	$1,324	$72	18
Louisville Cardinals	Louisville, KY	$1,121	$65	17
Iowa Hawkeyes	Iowa City, IA	$1,096	$71	15

Southern Methodist University – Dallas, TX

• Average 1-bedroom rent in Dallas: $1,408/month
• Average ticket price: $42
• Games per monthly rent: 33

SMU leads the Red Zone, and it’s a contender, too. The Mustangs are 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the ACC. They opened the season with a 27-24 win at Florida State, and they’re ranked 19^th in the AP poll. Quarterback Kevin Jennings returned for his final year of eligibility, after scoring 26 passing touchdowns and 4 rushing touchdowns in 2025.

For Dallas renters, that kind of success comes cheap. The average apartment rents for $1,408 and the average Mustangs ticket is $43, so a month’s rent covers about 33 games. That’s more than four full seasons of seven home dates

Penn State – State College, PA

• Average 1-bedroom rent in State College: $1,390/month
• Average ticket price: $54
• Games per monthly rent: 25

Penn State is in the middle of a reset. Longtime coach James Franklin was fired during the 2025 season, and Matt Campbell was hired in December. The new era began with a 45-0 win over Marshall in front of more than 100,000 fans. The Nittany Lions are currently 3-4 overall and 0-4 in the Big Ten.

Penn State plays in one of the largest stadiums in the country, and a Beaver Stadium crowd is hard to forget. Even with that atmosphere, a $54 average ticket and $1,390 rent let a State College renter buy 25 games for the price of a month’s housing.

Ole Miss – Oxford, MS

• Average 1-bedroom rent in Oxford: $1,324/month
• Average ticket price: $72
• Games per monthly rent: 18

It’s been a wild ride in Oxford. Lane Kiffin left for LSU, and Pete Golding was promoted to head coach before the College Football Playoffs. The Rebels reached the semifinals before losing to Miami 31-27 in the Fiesta Bowl. This season, they opened with a 41-38 win over Louisville on a last-second 48-yard field goal, then beat Missouri 31-3.

Ole Miss is now 5-2 and ranked No. 12 per the AP’s week 8 poll, with losses to Florida (52-28) and Texas (34-27). A month of Oxford rent at $1,324 covers 18 tickets at the $72 average. The Grove tailgate is part of the experience, too, and it costs nothing.

University of Louisville – Louisville, KY

• Average 1-bedroom rent in Louisville: $1,121/month
• Average ticket price: $65
• Games per monthly rent: 17

Louisville is 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the ACC under fourth-year coach Jeff Brohm. Last season, the Cardinals upset Miami on their way to a third straight nine-win season and a Boca Raton Bowl win, and running back Isaac Brown returned after gaining 884 yards in 2025. This season’s opening loss to Ole Miss stung, since it ended on a last-second field goal.

Louisville is a larger city with a relatively low rent, which gives Cardinals fans room to spare. At $65 a ticket and $1,121 a month, renters can get to 17 games on a single month’s rent.

University of Iowa – Iowa City, IA

• Average 1-bedroom rent in Iowa City: $1,096/month
• Average ticket price: $71
• Games per monthly rent: 15

The Hawkeyes have had a tumultuous season so far, having had to replace their starting quarterback, three first-team All-Big Ten offensive linemen, and eight defensive starters. They ranked No. 22 in the AP preseason poll but now sit right outside the AP Top 25.

Iowa City has the lowest rent in the Red Zone at $1,096, and Hawkeyes tickets average $71. That shakes out to 15 games for a month’s rent, still double a typical home schedule.

Teams at the 50-Yard Line

These five programs sit in the middle of our rankings. Each has a passionate fan base, and each asks renters to balance a bit more math. A month’s rent covers enough for a home schedule, but not much more.

Team	City	Average 1-Bedroom Rent	Average Ticket Price	Games Per Monthly Rent
BYU Cougars	Provo, UT	$1,287	$114	11
Oregon Ducks	Eugene, OR	$1,414	$129	10
Mizzou Tigers	Columbia, MO	$1,231	$113	10
USC Trojans	Los Angeles, CA	$2,200	$213	10
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	South Bend, IN	$1,224	$127	9

Fumbles: Where Tickets Take a Bigger Bite

These five cities have one thing in common: ticket prices that outrun rent. Several have some of the lowest rents on this list, but that isn’t enough to make up for steep seat prices. In each, a month’s rent only buys two to four tickets, which is half a home schedule at best.

Team	City	Average 1-Bedroom Rent	Average Ticket Price	Games Per Monthly Rent
Alabama Crimson Tide	Tuscaloosa, AL	$988	$187	5
Ohio State Buckeyes	Columbus, OH	$1,179	$263	4
Texas A&M Aggies	College Station, TX	$1,099	$251	4
Georgia Bulldogs	Athens, GA	$1,179	$289	4
Tennessee Volunteers	Knoxville, TN	$1,359	$344	3

University of Alabama – Tuscaloosa, AL

• Average 1-bedroom rent in Tuscaloosa: $988/month
• Average ticket price: $187
• Games per monthly rent: 5

Alabama started 5-0, then hit a rough patch. The Crimson Tide lost two straight games after that start, including a 26-10 loss at Tennessee. It was their first two-game losing streak since 2013. On Oct. 24, the Tide came back with a 31-20 homecoming win over Texas A&M. Alabama is 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the SEC as of week 8, ranked No. 10 in the AP poll.

Rent in Tuscaloosa is low at $988, but a $187 average ticket price is higher than many other teams’ averages. A month’s rent in Tuscaloosa buys just 5 games.

The Ohio State University – Columbus, OH

• Average 1-bedroom rent in Columbus: $1,179/month
• Average ticket price: $263
• Games per monthly rent: 4

Ohio State is 6-1, with its only loss coming against Texas. The Buckeyes’ 19-15 win at Indiana ended the Hoosiers’ 22-game winning streak, but it came with bad news. Quarterback Julian Sayin, a Heisman finalist last year who threw 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns, is out indefinitely. True freshman Luke Fahey stepped in, and receiver Jeremiah Smith remains a major weapon.

Ohio Stadium holds more than 100,000 fans, and demand keeps prices high. At $263 a ticket, a Columbus renter gets four games for a month’s rent.

Texas A&M – College Station, TX

• Average 1-bedroom rent in College Station: $1,099/month
• Average ticket price: $251
• Games per monthly rent: 4

Last season, the Aggies went 11-2 and made the College Football Playoffs for the first time in program history, and then a record 10 players were selected in the 2026 NFL Draft. This year has been a tougher story. A&M is 4-4 overall and 1-4 in the SEC, with losses to Kentucky (31-21), Missouri (27-6), and Alabama (31-20).

Rent in College Station is low at $1,099, but at $251 a ticket, a month of housing gets you into just four games.

University of Georgia – Athens, GA

• Average 1-bedroom rent in Athens: $1,179/month
• Average ticket price: $289
• Games per monthly rent: 4

Georgia was No. 1 in the country before losing to Auburn 27-24, helped by two interceptions and a late fumble from quarterback Gunner Stockton. Stockton has thrown 1,570 yards and 16 touchdowns, and linebacker Chris Cole was named to ESPN’s midseason top 25 players. The Bulldogs are 6-1 and ranked No. 3 in the AP’s week 8 poll.

Sanford Stadium, with its famous hedges, is one of the toughest tickets in the SEC. At $289 on average, four games is all a month of Athens rent will buy.

University of Tennessee – Knoxville, TN

• Average 1-bedroom rent in Knoxville: $1,359/month
• Average ticket price: $344
• Games per monthly rent: 3

The Volunteers had a big win and a rough one back-to-back. Tennessee beat Alabama 26-10, then they lost 27-24 to South Carolina. Tennessee is 6-2 and ranked No. 16 in the AP’s week 8 poll.

A $344 ticket is the highest in this analysis, and a month of Knoxville rent covers just three games. It’s the biggest gap between rent and ticket price here.

Field Goals: Where Rents are High, but Ticket Prices are Low

Not every city fits neatly into the Red Zone or the Fumbles. These three cities have rents about the national average of $1,667 per month, but ticket prices that sit below the $175 average, as reported by TickPick. It’s not a touchdown, but renters still come away with points.

Team	City	Average 1-Bedroom Rent	Average Ticket Price	Games Per Monthly Rent
Miami Hurricanes	Coral Gables, FL	$2,744	$101	27
Washington Huskies	Seattle, WA	$2,102	$97	21
Michigan Wolverines	Ann Arbor, MI	$1,684	$89	18

Students Get in for Less

Students typically get free or discounted tickets to university events including football games.

Each university has a different ticketing model for students. Most universities have some form of football package that students can purchase that grants tickets to all or some home games. Some schools, like SMU and the University of Houston, grant free tickets to students, and others, like UMiami and the University of Louisville, include football tickets in the student athletic fee.

That means a student can buy significantly more football games for a single month of rent.

Find a Seat Near the Action on Apartments.com

No matter where your team ranks, one thing holds true across every city: the closer you live to a stadium, the easier it is to say yes to a game on short notice. When searching for your next apartment, you can filter listings by drive time, walk time, or public transit time to any address, including your team’s stadium. Instead of guessing whether a listing is actually close to the field, you can see the commute up front.

Whether you’re chasing a deal in Dallas or trying to make the math work in Miami, start your search on Apartments.com and use the commute filter to find a place that keeps you gameday ready.

Methodology

Rent data was sourced from the Apartments.com Rent Trends pages on October 29, 2026. Rent data is provided by CoStar Group’s Market Trend reports. As the industry leader in commercial real estate information, analytics, and news, CoStar conducts extensive research to produce and maintain a comprehensive database of commercial real estate information. We combine this data with public record to provide the most up-to-date rental information available.

Average ticket prices were sourced from Vivid Seats' NCAA football pages on Oct. 29, 2026. Teams were selected based on the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll and categorized by dividing the corresponding city's average rent by the team's average ticket price.