5 Ann Arbor Neighborhoods for Student Apartments: Kerrytown, South U, Burns Park and Beyond

Most University of Michigan students hunting for Ann Arbor student apartments end up in one of five neighborhoods: South University, the State Street and downtown high-rise blocks, Kerrytown and Lower Town, Burns Park and the Packard corridor, or the house blocks along Washtenaw and Geddes. South U is the default, with Z Place Apartments listing from $956/mo just 0.3 miles from campus. Kerrytown is the quiet, grown-up pick, and the Washtenaw and Geddes houses are the closest you can get to class without living in a tower.

Every price below comes from live Find My Place listings pulled on September 28, 2026, and every distance comes from each property's own commute data. If you want the full inventory first, browse off-campus housing near UMich and come back here to figure out which part of town you actually want.

Key Takeaways

• South University is where most first-time renters land. Z Place, Six11, Vic Village North and VERVE all sit within 0.4 miles of campus.
• $2,045/mo. That's the starting 1-bedroom at Beekman on Broadway in Lower Town, which holds a perfect 5.0 FMP Score across five verified reviews.
• Want a house instead of a high-rise? Look east of campus, where six-bedroom houses on Wilmot, Washtenaw and Geddes list from $1,305 at 0.1 to 0.2 miles out.
• Burns Park proper is mostly old single-family homes (and faculty), so student listings there are scarce and go fast.
• Distance matters less than you think, because U-M students ride TheRide buses free with a valid Mcard.
• Timing: Ann Arbor's Right to Renew rules keep landlords from showing or leasing an occupied unit until day 210 of the current lease, so the real leasing rush for fall runs from about March, not November.

1. South University and East University: The Default Student Neighborhood

South U is the best pick if you want to walk to class in under ten minutes and live around other students. It has one of the densest clusters of purpose-built student housing in Ann Arbor. Z Place Apartments at 619 East University Ave lists from $956/mo, 0.3 miles from campus. That entry price is a shared bedroom in a 2-bedroom unit, so check the floor plan before you celebrate.

Z Place carries a 3.4 FMP Score, and its reviews are split. One resident praised a leasing agent named Wesley. Another described a withheld security deposit and thin walls. Read both.

Right next door, Six11 at 611 E University lists 4- and 5-bedroom layouts from $1,749/mo. A block over on South Forest, VERVE Ann Arbor lists from $1,639/mo at 0.4 miles, and University Towers at 536 S Forest lists from $869. If you want a smaller building, The Amsterdammer at 1305 S University lists a 1-bedroom at $1,000/mo. Best for: freshmen moving out of the dorms, and roommate groups who want one address and zero commute.

2. State Street and the Downtown High-Rises: Closest to Everything

This is the pick if you'll pay extra to be between the Diag and Main Street. The blocks from Maynard and Thompson up to East Huron and East Washington hold many of Ann Arbor's newer towers. 400 Maynard Apartments lists a studio at $1,929/mo, 0.4 miles from campus, with a 4.2 FMP Score.

One reviewer wrote that from the roof "you could see the big house and actually hear the band practicing." That's not on any floor plan. It might be the most Ann Arbor sentence in our whole review set.

North of the Diag, The Varsity at 425 E Washington (4.8 FMP Score, from $1,465) and The Legacy at Ann Arbor at 616 E Washington (4.8, from $1,498) are the best-reviewed buildings on these blocks. Foundry Lofts at 413 E Huron lists from $1,130 with a 4.2 score. A warning, though: Z West (2.1) and Campus Edge (2.7) sit in this same pocket, so a great address doesn't guarantee a great landlord. Best for: students who want a gym, a lobby, and a five-minute walk to both class and dinner.

3. Kerrytown and Lower Town: The Quiet, Grown-Up Side

Kerrytown is where you go once you're done with Thursday nights through the wall. It sits north of downtown, around the Kerrytown Market & Shops and the Ann Arbor Farmers Market at 315 Detroit St, which runs Wednesdays and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., May through December. Your neighbors will have day jobs.

Here's the honest catch. Kerrytown itself has almost no purpose-built student housing on Find My Place right now. The anchor sits just across the Huron River in Lower Town: Beekman on Broadway, 1200 Broadway St, 0.8 miles from campus. It holds a 5.0 FMP Score, and three different reviewers name the same leasing agent, Kaitlin. That kind of consistency tells you something about how a building is run.

It isn't cheap. Beekman's 1-bedrooms start at $2,045/mo and 2-bedrooms run $2,765 to $3,625. Further up Broadway, The Courtyards at 1780 Broadway lists from $1,230, and its price falls as bedroom count rises (1-bedroom $2,170, 4-bedroom $1,230), a pattern that usually means per-bedroom pricing. Best for: grad, law and med students, couples, and anyone with a real sleep schedule.

4. Burns Park and the Packard Corridor: Houses, Porches, Game-Day Driveways

Pick this area if you want a house with a porch and you're fine walking 10 to 15 minutes. Burns Park proper, southeast of campus between Packard and Washtenaw, is tree-lined blocks of old single-family homes, many owned by families and faculty. According to the Ann Arbor Observer, the Packard and Hill end of the neighborhood is where fraternities, sororities and student renters cluster, and homeowners near the stadium rent out driveway parking on football Saturdays.

Student listings here are small, individual houses and units rather than big buildings. 832 Packard St, 0.7 miles from campus, lists a 1-bedroom at $1,800 and a 2-bedroom at $2,400. 922 Dewey Ave, a four-bedroom deeper into Burns Park, lists at $4,100 (the listing doesn't say whether that's the whole house, so ask before you do the math).

Closer to downtown, 215 Packard St lists a 1-bedroom at $1,525 and a 3-bedroom at $4,575, 0.6 miles from campus. Supply is the problem here, not price. Burns Park doesn't add units, so when a house comes up, the group that has already toured it gets it. Best for: juniors and seniors who want a yard, a driveway, and a landlord who's one person instead of a corporation.

5. Washtenaw, Geddes and Wilmot: The House Blocks Right Next to Campus

This is the closest you can live to Central Campus in a real house. The blocks where Washtenaw, Geddes, Wilmot and Mack meet sit 0.1 to 0.2 miles from campus, per each listing's commute data, and they're almost all big shared houses. It's a short walk from the Rock at Washtenaw and Hill.

The listings are remarkably consistent. 1304 Geddes Ave lists a 6-bedroom at $1,305/mo. 1318 Wilmot St lists a 6-bedroom at $1,315, 1348 Wilmot Ct a 6-bedroom at $1,378, and 1301 Washtenaw Ave a 6-bedroom at $1,456. Those numbers are labeled "whole unit" on the site, but $1,305 for a six-bedroom house this close to campus doesn't add up, so confirm with the landlord whether it's per room before you sign anything.

A little further east, Haven on Geddes at 1700 Geddes Ave lists from $1,099, 0.4 miles out. Its reviews are mixed (a 3.2 FMP Score across six, with complaints about maintenance and slow deposit returns), but residents keep coming back to the location. One graduating resident summed it up: "Being near campus but less than two minutes from the Arb, it felt like you could get away from campus while still being so close to everything." Best for: roommate groups of five or six who want the house experience without the Burns Park walk.

Beyond the Big Five: South Main, Germantown and North Campus

South Main is the sixth option most lists skip. The Standard at Ann Arbor at 405 S Main holds a 5.0 FMP Score and lists from $1,271, 0.7 miles from campus. Just south, the small Germantown pocket around Division and Greene has older houses like 828 Greene (6 bedrooms, $1,200) at about 0.8 miles.

North Campus works if you're in engineering, music or art and design. Willowtree Apartments & Tower lists from $829 with a 4.8 score, 1.7 miles from campus by its commute data, and Huron Towers lists from $987 at 1.0 miles. Both show prices that drop as bedroom count goes up, so read their floor plans carefully. Getting around is easier than the distance suggests: U-M students, faculty and staff ride TheRide's fixed-route buses free with a valid Mcard, on top of the university's own buses.

How to Pick Between These Neighborhoods

Start with who you're living with. Two people? Look at South U or the downtown towers. Five or six? The Washtenaw and Geddes houses or Burns Park. If you're a grad student living alone, go straight to Kerrytown and Lower Town.

Then sort by reviews, not photos. Scores in Ann Arbor range from 5.0 at Beekman, The Standard and Woodland Mews down to 2.1 at Z West, and that gap matters more than two blocks of walking. You can compare every building on the Ann Arbor student housing reviews page, see the current Best Overall ranking for UMich, or browse all Ann Arbor student apartments in one place.

If you're still working out a budget, our breakdown of what off-campus housing costs near UMich goes building by building, and the broader UMich off-campus housing guide covers deposits and your rights as a renter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Ann Arbor neighborhood is cheapest for UMich students?

South University, if you want to stay walkable. Z Place Apartments on East University lists from $956/mo at 0.3 miles, and University Towers on South Forest lists from $869. Cheaper options exist further out (Willowtree on North Campus lists from $829), but listed base rent doesn't include fees, so budget above the number you see.

Where do UMich grad students live in Ann Arbor?

Kerrytown, Lower Town and the Old West Side, mostly. They're quieter than South U, still walkable, and full of people who aren't undergrads. Beekman on Broadway is the best-reviewed building in that part of town, with a 5.0 FMP Score, though its 1-bedrooms start at $2,045/mo.

Is Burns Park a student neighborhood?

Partly. The north and west edges near Packard and Hill have plenty of student renters and Greek houses, while the heart of Burns Park is families and faculty in older single-family homes. That means fewer listings, and the good houses tend to go to groups who tour early.

When should I start looking for next fall in Ann Arbor?

Around March, not November. Under Ann Arbor's Right to Renew ordinance, which covers leases signed or renewed after March 17, 2024, a landlord can't show an occupied unit or lease it to someone new until 210 days into the current lease. For a typical August lease, that lands in mid-to-late March, so have your roommate group and budget ready by then.