Campus housing costs at UC Santa Barbara have risen steadily over the past decade, significantly outpacing inflation and leaving returning undergraduates scrambling for affordable options. As the 2025-26 leasing season nears, students must weigh the choice of on-campus versus off-campus housing, various occupancy setups and cost trade-offs that could shape their college experience.

UCSB provides two primary forms of campus housing for undergraduates: residence halls and apartments. Usually, first- and second-year students are assigned to residence halls, while third- and fourth-year students opt for apartments. 

According to the UCSB campus housing website, compared to apartments, students in residence halls benefit from additional services, such as biweekly room cleaning by housekeeping staff and a wide variety of daily activities designed to foster social interaction. 

Meal plans are mandatory to purchase for students living in residence halls. Options include the Platinum (19 meals/week), Gold (14 meals/week) and Silver (10 meals/week) meal plans. 

“University-owned residence halls do not provide kitchens for regular meal preparation. The cost of meal plans is included with room and board, which is calculated using a combination of the selected meal plan and your room type. Swipes are a sort of meal guarantee for students living on campus,” Kiki Reyes, Media Relations Manager of UCSB, said. 

Based the data provided by UCSB University & Community Housing Services, over the past decade, housing prices have steadily risen across the board with an average 33.25% increase in both housing types. In particular, residence hall rates have climbed at a faster pace at a 45% increase in total, attributing costs to the mandatory meal plan and extra services along with rising labor, maintenance and utility expenses.   

“Budget planning is based on actual costs, the funds generated by room and board and rental income,” Reyes said. “Expenses include debt payments, deferred maintenance, employee salaries, employee benefits, supplies, raw food, utilities, furniture, capital projects, etc. These expenses increase year after year, leading to higher rates. Additionally, repayment for the costs of building projects and large-scale refurbishments is spread out over decades of incremental rate increases.” 

As residence hall prices continue climbing, more students are turning to off‐campus rentals in hopes of finding relief from steadily increasing rates. “​​I’m currently living in a double of Santa Nicolas with a Silver meal plan. On average, I’m paying about $2,400 per month,” first-year electrical engineering major Kaylee Xin said. “I’ve been looking into off-campus housing options, and so far, it seems less expensive than living on campus.” 

The residence hall costs are now reaching anywhere from $17,000 to over $23,000 per academic year. The narrower shaded area for residence halls on the graph shows a more consistent, steep rise year to year. In contrast, UCSB apartments have seen a 21.5% total increase in the past decade, generally ranging from $4,000 to $11,000. Their annual price growth averages about 1.97%, roughly half the 3.8% rate for residence halls, pointing to more modest apartment cost trends overall. 

“I didn’t realize there was such a great difference between the resident hall and apartment. I wouldn’t have moved out in my second year if I’d been paying apartment rates,” third-year math major Ashlyn Lin said, who is living in UCSB family housing right now. 

The annual cost of UCSB apartments and residence halls has steadily risen since 2013–14, with residence halls seeing a faster growth rate than apartments. The shaded bands around each line represent the 95% confidence intervals, indicating the margin of error for the estimated average costs. (Alice Xu / Daily Nexus)

With the data provided from Katheryne Marquez, personnel manager at De La Guerra Dining Commons, in the past decade, meal plan costs have jumped considerably, from roughly $10/meal in 2014 to $15/meal in 2024. The compound annual growth rate — or rate at which a value grows annually over a specific period, assuming the growth happens at a steady rate — of 4.14% implies that the financial burden of meal plans has grown steadily. According to data from Marquez, a nearly 50% total increase in daily food cost might not be affordable for students living in resident halls and without substantial financial aid. 

“Food, dining hall maintenance and personnel expenses have become more expensive over the years,” Marquez said. “Raising meal plan prices is our way of keeping up with those higher expenses. Inflation is affecting everything in the U.S., especially after COVID.” 

Marquez also stressed DLG’s focus on affordability, adding, “As an on‐campus dining commons, we aim to provide affordable meals for students and staff. For instance, we collaborate with UCSB Food Bank to allow swipe denotation and offer three free meals for students each quarter. We tried to limit the price raise on swipes, but the upward trend is unavoidable.”

For some students, leaving the dining plan behind after moving out of the residence halls is a relief.

Fourth-year psychological & brain sciences major Nabihah Nazeer, who has lived in both the residence halls and university apartments during her four years at UCSB, said that she’s glad to have made the switch.

“I prefer the apartments for many reasons. Although it is much further from campus, it’s much cheaper without the mandatory meal plans and is a lot more private, which I prefer much more as a fourth-year having already lived in the dorms my first two years,” Nazeer said.

Living in the UCSB apartments allows students more freedom with their spending in other areas, such as groceries and utilities, than the residence halls, but it’s clear that both options are becoming harder to afford.

Different occupancies each follow the same upward trend, but studios and single‐occupancy units tend to command higher overall prices. The line labeled “Regression line” in the legend shows the best‐fit trend for each housing type. (Alice Xu / Daily Nexus)

This data shows the annual cost of UCSB residence halls. Prices vary based on occupancy (single, double, or triple) and meal plan (Gold meal plan, Platinum meal plan, or Silver meal plan). Single occupancy with a Platinum meal plan tends to be on the higher end of the cost range, while triple occupancy with a Silver meal plan generally sits on the lower end. Overall, all options have increased steadily over time. (Alice Xu / Daily Nexus)

Since the 2013-14 academic year, triple occupancy dorm room prices have increased by approximately $7,000. For doubles and singles, the growth has been between $5,600 and $6,100, depending on the attached meal plan. 

Similarly, university apartment rental prices have climbed, pushing students to consider non-university-owned housing or sharing smaller spaces to cut costs. For many like Nazeer, this can even mean cutting back on other basic expenses, like groceries. 

“I have had to apply for EBT because the cost of living here is so high. Having it was a huge help for me,” Nazeer said.

Oftentimes students who are on a tighter budget will opt to live in a triple in order to save on rent. For others, the financial aspect is not as much of a factor. According to Reyes, “Availability is likely the biggest factor in a student’s decision to live in a triple.”

“Triple rooms make up 60% of UCSB’s undergraduate spaces. Anecdotally, many students choose to live in triple rooms for cost savings, but we do not ask or document their reason for their selection. Others may select the triple option because they have two preferred roommates or may select it because it is the only remaining option during their selection window,” Reyes said.

The gap between triple and double rates has narrowed over the decade. For students who choose the triple primarily because it has the lowest cost, this means that doing so is less financially advantageous than it would have been previously.

A decade ago, students in apartment triples saved significantly compared to those in doubles. For the 2024-25 academic year, triple occupancy residents in the university apartments are saving about $50 less per month than they would have 11 years ago. The price comparison change for residence halls is even more dramatic. The data from UCSB Campus Housing shows that today’s savings are about $1,100 less than the 2013-14 academic year.

While the nominal cost of living in a triple is still lower, the reduced savings may make it harder for residents to justify the trade-offs, such as limited personal space and increased noise levels. 

Third-year biopsychology major Iman Kadri, who recently switched from living in a triple at Manzanita Village to a double in the San Joaquin Villages, said that it was harder to focus on her schoolwork while living in a triple.

“When I had my triple, there was some background noise that would distract me from studying in my room, so I resorted to the library a majority of the time,” Kadri said.

An analysis of the current residence hall rates reveals that the occupancy differences may be on an upward trend. For the 2024-25 academic year, the data shows that although the overall residence hall prices increased compared to the previous year, the savings between different occupancy rates somewhat increased. 

To be able to once again save significantly while living in a triple compared to a double or single is a relief for those on a tighter budget. Still, the replenished savings don’t matter as much to some students as the overall housing prices remain on an incline. 

“If I’m a student living in a triple this year and I’m able to save, say $500, compared to a double, that’s great. But at the same time, it doesn’t mean much to me if I’m paying $500 extra for the triple than I would have paid last year anyway,” Nazeer said.

The trend with school housing rates is that prices have increased every year (except for 2020-21 due to COVID-19 restrictions) since the 2013-14 academic year, according to the pricing history provided by UCSB Campus Housing. 

“I’m curious about when the [housing] prices will stop rising. The amount of money we pay for rent both on campus and in I.V. is crazy. All we can do is hope that at some point, it’s going to have to plateau,” Nazeer said.

A version of this article appeared on p. 13 of the Feb. 13, 2025 edition of the Daily Nexus.