Private nonprofit · Washington, DC
American University
10,136 full-time students in fall 2024 and college-controlled housing for 4,249: about 41.9 beds for every 100 full-time students. The other 5,887 live somewhere the college doesn't control. That is the outer edge of the private market, before you take out commuters and students living with family.
Enrollment
Of 12,321 students enrolled in fall 2024, 7,476 were undergraduates and 4,845 graduate students. 7% studied exclusively online, students who don't need a bed near campus. Headcount fell by 698 from fall 2023 (−5.4%).
Housing the college controls
IPEDS counts 4,249 beds of institutionally controlled housing for 2024-25. That figure is the school's own capacity, on or off campus, so it includes halls the college leases or manages but not private buildings that simply market to students. Capacity grew by 3 beds from the year before (4,246 in 2023-24).
What students pay
The typical 2024-25 housing charge for a student sharing a room was $11,520 for the academic year, roughly $1,280 a month spread over nine months. Food added $6,620. For aid purposes the school budgets $17,982 for food and housing on campus and $19,336 for a student living off campus away from family, $1,354 more.
Those are the college's own figures. Private by-the-bed rents near campus can sit well above or below them, so check current asking rents before you underwrite a project.
How lenders read a campus like this
With 12,321 students, most of them full-time, the campus clears the 10,000-student minimum in Fannie Mae's Multifamily Guide for Dedicated Student Housing (Part III, Chapter 1, section 103.01, effective September 28, 2026). Under sections 103.01 and 103.03 a property still has to sit within 2 miles of the campus boundary or near a college-run transit line, have operated a full school year, and lease at least 80% of units for 12 months.
To size a specific property, use the student housing loan sizer. It works by the bed and shows which constraint sets the loan.
Among the 5 District of Columbia campuses on this site, American University ranks number 4 by full-time students beyond college housing. See the District of Columbia table.
Other campuses in Washington
- George Washington University: 18,694 full-time, 7,363 beds
- Georgetown University: 15,905 full-time, 5,347 beds
- Howard University: 12,712 full-time, 6,397 beds
- The Catholic University of America: 4,012 full-time, 1,976 beds
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Total enrollment, fall 2024 | 12,321 |
| Total enrollment, fall 2023 | 13,019 |
| Full-time students | 10,136 |
| Undergraduates (full-time) | 7,476 (7,220) |
| Graduate students | 4,845 |
| Exclusively online | 7% |
| College-controlled housing capacity, 2024-25 | 4,249 |
| Capacity, 2023-24 | 4,246 |
| Beds per 100 full-time students | 41.9 |
| Typical housing charge, academic year | $11,520 |
| Typical food charge, academic year | $6,620 |
| Aid budget, food and housing on campus | $17,982 |
| Aid budget, food and housing off campus | $19,336 |
| All first-time, full-time students required to live in college housing | No |
| Combined food and housing charge (if not split) | not reported |
IPEDS unit ID 131159. District of Columbia. School website. Figures are as the institution reported them to the National Center for Education Statistics. The live-on question asks whether every first-time, full-time student must live in college housing; a school with exemptions or a later-year requirement can answer no. How this data is built.