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The University of Missouri puts about 31,000 Tigers in Columbia, a mid-Missouri city of around 120,000 with a real college-town pulse. Campus centers on the Francis Quadrangle and its famous Columns, six limestone pillars every freshman walks through at Tiger Walk. Memorial Union arches over the north end, where tradition says you tip your hat. Downtown, locals call the walkable core The District, full of galleries, live music, and a Saturday farmers market. Fall Saturdays roar at Faurot Field under the limestone Rock M, and every spring the True/False documentary festival takes over town. The MKT Trail links the 240-mile Katy Trail, and Stephens Lake Park brings a beach close by. Most students walk, bike, or grab the free campus shuttle.
Mizzou expects most first-year students to live in the residence halls. Freshmen under a certain age living outside the local area are generally held to that rule.
Exemptions exist for students who are older, married, living with family within commuting distance, or carrying enough credits to count as upperclassmen, but you have to apply for them rather than assume them. Sophomores and up move off campus freely, and that is when the East Campus and downtown rental scene fills up. The process is straightforward, with normal landlord applications, a deposit, and often a guarantor if your credit or rental history is thin.
Most student places lock you into a full 12 months tied to the August turnover, summer included, so plan for year-round rent even if you only need the school year. Nearly everything starts in August, lining up with fall move-in. Columbia also enforces occupancy limits on some single-family rentals, so confirm the legal occupancy before you and friends sign a house.
Housing policies change frequently. Always verify current requirements directly with University of Missouri-Columbia before signing a lease.
Columbia leases early, so it helps to move before the crowd. The serious preleasing window opens in October and November, when returning students re-sign or lock in next year's place. If you want to walk to class or land a specific by-the-bed complex with a campus shuttle, you are touring in the fall and signing over winter. Most students at Mizzou who want a prime spot start in the fall.
The prime East Campus houses and downtown units get claimed long before spring. Houses tend to go before apartments, so the classic student-house blocks fill fastest. Nearly everything starts in August, lining up with fall move-in, so plan your arrival for that week. Typically the closest-in spots are gone by the time spring arrives.
Show up in spring and there is still plenty out there, just fewer of the closest-in spots. For spring-start students or anyone needing something short, sublets are your friend. Mizzou students constantly leave for internships, study abroad, and graduation, so semester-by-semester rooms surface on campus boards and local groups. Summer is the easiest stretch to find a deal and tour without a crowd.
The historic blocks just east of campus, the classic student-house neighborhood, walkable and full of porches and old shade trees.
Puts you in the middle of the music, farmers market, and nightlife with apartments above the action.
Between Mizzou and Columbia College, it mixes affordable older houses with an easy walk to both campuses.
Common questions from students searching for housing.
A shared room or per-person rate in a by-the-bed complex near Mizzou usually runs $500-$850/month. Older East Campus houses and shared rentals land at the lower end, while newer downtown apartments and complexes along Providence or Grindstone sit higher. Plan on another $40-$120/month for utilities depending on what's bundled.