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Boca Raton, Florida is a polished South Florida coastal city of around 100,000 that punches above its size, sitting between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Florida Atlantic University anchors it with tens of thousands of Owls, and its main campus near Glades Road keeps a steady student presence across town. Downtown clusters around Mizner Park, the city's open-air civic hub, while East Boca runs toward public beaches along the Atlantic. You'll find quieter residential pockets in Midtown near campus and wide-open West Boca toward I-95, with green space from beachfront parks to inland preserves. As a student renter you're trading a little city grit for sunshine, palm-lined streets, and an easy hop to the ocean.
Near the beach, this gives you the most walkable, bikeable student life with genuine access to campus and the ocean, though it leans pricier.
The FAU corridor near Town Center is the practical sweet spot, with solid apartment communities a short drive or bike from class.
The vibrant cultural core, walkable and social, suiting renters who want nightlife and dining at the door.
Here's what you need to know about getting around Boca Raton.
Palm Tran, the county bus system, covers major corridors like Glades Road and University Drive and connects you toward neighboring cities, but routes can be slow and don't blanket every neighborhood, so check the map before you commit to a no-car life. FAU's own campus shuttle helps once you are on or near campus. Brightline regional rail runs nearby for car-free trips down to Miami or up to West Palm. For regional travel, Brightline is a useful option.
The campus itself is walkable end to end in about fifteen minutes. East Boca near the beach is the most genuinely walkable and bikeable stretch, with flat terrain ideal for cycling. Students in the beach areas can handle daily trips on foot or by bike. The flat coastal terrain makes biking a comfortable everyday choice near the water.
Boca Raton is a car town at heart, and most FAU students drive. A car or a bike makes daily errands and the commute far smoother across the spread-out city. Students who drive should expect to rely on a vehicle for most trips outside the walkable beach pockets. For getting around the wider city, a car is the practical default.
Common questions from students searching for housing.
Boca runs higher than inland Florida college towns. A shared room or a bedroom in a multi-bedroom apartment commonly lands around $800-$1,200/month per person in the Midtown and West Boca areas. East Boca near the beach and downtown around Mizner Park push higher, often $1,200-$1,700/month per person once split. Roommates and going a bit farther west are the main ways to bring it down.
Browse student housing near each Boca Raton-area university.