University of Wisconsin-Madison·Madison, WI·Updated Monthly
By the FMP Data Team · Reviewed July 1, 2026
The Regent Apartments leads our July 2026 ranking of the 12 Best Overall student apartments near UW-Madison with a 4.2/5 FMP Score, followed by Grand Central and Hidden Creek Residences. Across the 14 properties reviewed, students keep coming back to amenities & shared spaces and management & maintenance: the overall signals that move a property up this ranking. Browse all off-campus housing near University of Wisconsin-Madison for every option.
Sorted by FMP Score from verified UW-Madison reviews, high to low. Scores reflect current UW-Madison reviews only.
why it ranked: The top overall pick near UW-Madison, at 4.2/5 from verified reviews. Had a great experience figuring out multiple complex lease situations, Eveanna was so sweet and let us ask all of our questions while giving out great answers.
| 1 | The Regent Apartments | 4.2/5 | 5 | – | $1000/mo |
| 2 | Grand Central | 4.2/5 | 5 | – | $1100/mo |
| 3 | Hidden Creek Residences | 3.4/5 | 5 | – | $1289/mo |
| 4 | The Rive Madison | 3.4/5 | 5 | – | $1299/mo |
| 5 | Yugo Madison Lux | 3.4/5 | 5 | – | $915/mo |
| 6 | Oak Tree Campus Apartments | 3.4/5 | 5 | – | $1800/mo |
| 7 | Aberdeen Apartments | 3.4/5 | 5 | – | $1049/mo |
| 8 | ōLiv Madison | 2.6/5 | 5 | – | $875/mo |
| 9 | Humbucker Apartments | 2.6/5 | 5 | – | $2359/mo |
| 10 | Lark at Randall | 2.6/5 | 5 | – | $1049/mo |
| 11 | Palisade Apartments | 1.8/5 | 5 | – | $1050/mo |
| 12 | Lark at Kohl | 1.8/5 | 5 | – | $799/mo |
Walk times are door-to-door to UW-Madison campus. Rent is per person, per month.
FMP Score, high to low. That’s the whole ranking. It’s our overall measure of a property, combining verified review scores with signals reviews miss, like how current the listing is kept and how responsive management is. Ties go to the property with more verified reviews.
Every property near UW-Madison can appear, but it takes a minimum number of verified reviews before we score and rank it. Properties under that bar sit below every ranked property and move up automatically as reviews come in.
The FMP Score blends the social, management, and quality scores from verified reviews with signals that a place is actively and well run, like how up to date its listing is kept and how consistently management responds to residents. It’s built to surface genuinely well-run properties, not just the highest raw review average.
We ran every verified overall review for UW-Madison-area apartments through theme analysis. These are the themes students bring up most when a place feels well-rounded, by share of the reviews that mention them.
Based on AI analysis of verified UW-Madison overall reviews, refreshed monthly. Percentages show the share of reviews that mention each theme; most reviews mention more than one. See our complete UW-Madison review data →
each fmp ranking re-ranks the same properties by a different lens (management and quality among them) and keeps its own list, refreshed monthly.
The most active social scenes: shared spaces, resident events, and roommate matching, scored from verified reviews.
see the ranking →The most responsive, reliable landlords: maintenance turnaround, lease transparency, and deposit fairness.
see the ranking →The best unit and building quality: condition, upkeep, and amenities, scored from verified reviews.
see the ranking →The Regent Apartments leads our July 2026 ranking of the 12 Best Overall student apartments near UW-Madison with a 4.2/5 FMP Score, followed by Grand Central and Hidden Creek Residences.
This list is ranked by one number: each property's overall score from verified reviews. Students rate a property's overall 1 to 5, and we average those scores, counting recent reviews more heavily than older ones. No self-reported data from landlords.
The best overall apartments score highly across everything students rate (social scene, management, and unit quality), not just one. This ranking uses each property's overall rating from verified reviews.
Monthly. We re-pull verified reviews and re-score every property at the start of each month, so the order reflects the most recent 24 months of student feedback. The “updated” date at the top of the page shows the latest refresh.
There's a minimum number of verified reviews to rank by score, and we don't publish the exact bar so it can't be gamed. Properties under it still appear, below every qualified property and ordered by review count, so a 5.0 from one review never outranks a 4.5 from thirty. Once a property collects enough reviews, it moves into the scored ranking automatically.
It's fully independent. There's no pay-to-rank. Position is set by verified reviews alone. Property managers can't buy placement, remove reviews, or influence the score.
If your property is on this ranking, you've earned an FMP Award. Reach out and we'll set you up with the official badge for your website, social, and print, free. It's how renters know your ranking is real.
student apartments near UW-Madison
why it ranked: A podium finish for overall near UW-Madison, 4.2/5 from verified reviews. Hannah and Evan were so nice and kind to me !
why it ranked: A podium finish for overall near UW-Madison, 3.4/5 from verified reviews. Easily the best apartment I have lived in. New career opportunity has necessitated I leave and move to a different part of town, but have only positive things to say about my time here…
why it ranked: Holds a 3.4/5 overall score from verified UW-Madison reviews. Nice place
why it ranked: Holds a 3.4/5 overall score from verified UW-Madison reviews. Never had any issues. Staff is very responsive and rooms are modern. Worth the value. Only issue is the construction, but that…
why it ranked: Holds a 3.4/5 overall score from verified UW-Madison reviews. I dreaded coming home from classes to this apartment. Spend the extra $100 to live somewhere else, trust me. - He hires a lot of…
why it ranked: Holds a 3.4/5 overall score from verified UW-Madison reviews. Although my roommates and I did not end up signing a lease at Aberdeen, my experience with the leasing office was excellent. Liz…
why it ranked: Holds a 2.6/5 overall score from verified UW-Madison reviews. This has been a great apartment to live at! Very nice staff and maintenance has been timely. Colette was so friendly and…
why it ranked: Holds a 2.6/5 overall score from verified UW-Madison reviews. Chumbucket
why it ranked: Holds a 2.6/5 overall score from verified UW-Madison reviews. Great place to live, awesome staff :)
why it ranked: Holds a 1.8/5 overall score from verified UW-Madison reviews. Hannah- our property manager does an amazing job of answering all questions being wondered. She also has a great personality and…
why it ranked: Holds a 1.8/5 overall score from verified UW-Madison reviews. STAY AWAY. Proceed with caution, asked management to review a legal issue. They refused to engage with the legal question and…
