7 Apartments Near Drexel University Within Walking Distance (2026)

The best apartments near Drexel University for walkers are seven buildings within a 10-minute walk of the University City campus, and the closest is University Crossings at 3175 JFK Boulevard, 0.1 miles out, with shared rooms listing from $919/mo. The cheapest listed number in the group belongs to The Standard at Philadelphia on South 31st Street ($747/mo on a three-bedroom plan), and the priciest is Avira, where a studio starts at $2,265. Every building below is 0.4 miles or less from campus, which is the whole point: at Drexel, you can skip SEPTA entirely.

Distances are the ones Find My Place's commute widget reports to Drexel, and prices are live listed base rent as of September 2026. Most of these buildings haven't published their monthly fees on FMP yet, so budget a little above the base rent.

Key Takeaways

• University Crossings is the closest (0.1 mi) and one of three ACC buildings that satisfy Drexel's second-year residency rule.
• Cheapest listed: The Standard at Philadelphia, from $747/mo, 0.4 miles out.
• Need a private bedroom under $1,000? Evo at Cira Centre South lists three-bedroom private rooms from $983.
• Avira and The Left Bank price by the whole apartment, so split the number by your roommate count before you panic (or celebrate).
• Shared apartments across FMP's Drexel inventory typically run $1,100 to $1,800 per person.
• Co-op matters here more than anywhere. A six-month co-op out of state can leave you paying for a bed you're not sleeping in.

If you want to compare beyond these seven, the full set of off-campus housing near Drexel on Find My Place runs to 93 listings, and the broader Philadelphia student housing page covers Temple and Fairmount too.

1. University Crossings (3175 JFK Blvd): the closest, and it counts as compliant sophomore housing

University Crossings is the pick for second-years who still have to follow Drexel's residency rule. It sits 0.1 miles from campus, about a two-minute walk. Drexel's two-year residency policy names it, along with The Summit and Chestnut Square, as one of the American Campus Communities buildings a sophomore can live in and stay compliant.

Shared rooms list from $919 to $1,009/mo, and private rooms in the two-bedroom plans run $1,519 to $1,769. There's also a two-bed, one-bath "whole apartment" at $909. A two-bedroom does not cost less than a one-bedroom in the same building, so read that $909 as a per-person figure and confirm it with the leasing office.

Best for: sophomores who need a compliant address and want to roll out of bed and into class.

2. Avira (3025 JFK Blvd): luxury pricing, two blocks from campus

Avira is expensive. Studios list from $2,265 to $2,375/mo, one-bedrooms run $2,845 to $3,137, and a three-bed, three-bath penthouse tops out at $8,425. Rent climbs with every added bedroom, which tells you these are whole-apartment prices.

Split a two-bedroom ($3,785 at the low end) between two people and you land near $1,890 each. That's not cheap. It's also 0.2 miles from Drexel, closer to class than any other luxury tower on this list. Full disclosure: most undergrads will not live here.

Best for: grad students, dual-income couples, or anyone whose parents already said yes.

3. The Left Bank Apartments (3131 Walnut St): a real apartment building, priced for three

The Left Bank makes the most sense for a group of three. It's 0.3 miles from Drexel on Walnut Street, right by the river side of campus, and every plan is priced as a whole unit.

One-bedrooms start at $2,174/mo. Two-bedrooms run $3,473 to $3,899. The three-bed, two-bath Allman plan lists at $4,177, which works out to about $1,392 each if you fill every room. That math is the only reason this building shows up on a student list at all.

Best for: three friends who want a conventional apartment instead of a student-style building with individual leases.

4. Paloma University City (3600 Lancaster Ave): private rooms on the Lancaster side

Paloma is the move if you want your own bedroom and don't mind living north of Market. It sits at 36th and Lancaster, 0.3 miles from Drexel by FMP's widget, and every floor plan is listed as a private room.

The cheapest is a three-bed, two-bath at $1,169/mo per room. Three-bed, three-bath rooms run $1,179 to $1,609, two-bed rooms $1,359 to $1,839, and a one-bedroom climbs to $2,159 and up. Private-room pricing is per person by definition, so these numbers are what you actually pay (before fees).

Best for: juniors who want privacy and a shorter walk to the Lancaster Walk side of campus.

5. The Mark Philadelphia (3615-35 Chestnut St): big floor plans, per-bed math

The Mark is built for four- and five-person groups. It lists four-bed, three-bath plans from $1,050 to $1,132/mo, four-by-fours from $1,175, five-by-fives from $1,299, and one-bedroom units from $1,995.

Notice the direction. Rent drops as the bedroom count goes up, and that only makes sense if the price is per bed. So a $1,050 four-bedroom means $1,050 for your room, not $1,050 for the apartment. It's 0.3 miles from Drexel and the same distance from Penn, on the 3600 block of Chestnut.

Best for: a friend group of four or five who want to sign together without one person holding the whole lease.

6. Evo at Cira Centre South (2930 Chestnut St): private rooms under $1,000, by the river

Evo has the cheapest private room on this list. A room in a three-bed, three-bath lists from $983/mo, which beats Paloma by almost $200. Two-bed rooms run $1,073 to $1,910, four-bed rooms $1,160 to $1,455, and a one-bedroom starts at $1,534.

The building is at 29th and Chestnut, right by the Schuylkill and a short walk from 30th Street Station. FMP puts it 0.4 miles from Drexel. If you commute home to the suburbs on weekends, that station proximity is a real perk (Amtrak and regional rail are right there).

Best for: students who want a private bathroom and a price that still starts with a 9.

7. The Standard at Philadelphia (119 S 31st St): the lowest listed rent near Drexel

The Standard lists from $747/mo, the lowest starting number of any building here. That figure is on the Chelsea, a three-bedroom plan. The Brookhaven two-bedroom lists at $767, four-bedroom plans run $997 to $1,182, and studios jump to $1,962.

Here's the catch. The site labels these "Whole Unit," but a three-bedroom apartment in University City does not rent for $747. The prices don't follow a clean curve either, so we can't say for sure whether every plan is per bed. Ask the leasing office to confirm before you budget around it. It's 0.4 miles to Drexel and 0.5 to Penn.

Best for: budget-first students willing to ask a few pointed questions on the tour.

What Drexel's co-op cycle does to your lease

Drexel's co-op schedule is the one thing that makes renting here different from renting near Penn. Most students spend six months working at some point, and plenty of those placements are in New York, DC, or Pittsburgh. A standard 12-month lease doesn't care.

So ask about it on every tour. Drexel's residency page notes that both Drexel and ACC offer flexible lease options for co-op and study abroad. For everything else, find out whether the building allows subleasing before you sign, not after you get the offer letter.

One more Philadelphia-specific check: the city requires every landlord renting a unit to hold a Philadelphia rental license. The big buildings on this list will have one. A rowhome landlord on 34th Street might not, so ask for the license number. It takes ten seconds.

Frequently Asked Questions About Apartments Near Drexel University

What's the cheapest apartment within walking distance of Drexel?

$747/mo at The Standard at Philadelphia, on a three-bedroom plan, 0.4 miles from campus. Confirm whether that's per person before you sign. For a room you can price with certainty, Evo at Cira Centre South lists private rooms from $983 and University Crossings lists shared rooms from $919.

Can Drexel sophomores live off campus?

Not in just any apartment. Drexel's two-year residency rule means second-years pick from Drexel halls, Greek housing, or three ACC buildings: University Crossings, The Summit, and Chestnut Square. Everything else on this list is for juniors, seniors, and grad students (or anyone who has an approved exemption).

How far is too far from Drexel?

Past about a mile, you start taking the Market-Frankford Line or a bus instead of walking. Every building here is 0.4 miles or less. If you're comparing costs across the whole neighborhood, our University City rent breakdown by block covers the blocks west toward 40th Street.

When should I start looking for Fall 2027?

Now-ish. The large student buildings on Chestnut and JFK start leasing for the next school year in the fall, and four- and five-bedroom plans at places like The Mark go first because groups sign early. If you're waiting on a co-op placement, tour now and sign once you know your schedule.