James Madison University

Enrollment

Of 22,740 students enrolled in fall 2024, 20,973 were undergraduates and 1,767 graduate students. 4% studied exclusively online, students who don't need a bed near campus. Headcount fell by 18 from fall 2023 (−0.1%).

Housing the college controls

IPEDS counts 6,657 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 176 beds from the year before (6,481 in 2023-24).

What students pay

The typical 2024-25 housing charge for a student sharing a room was $6,280 for the academic year, roughly $698 a month spread over nine months. Food added $6,636. For aid purposes the school budgets $13,056 for food and housing on campus and $13,056 for a student living off campus away from family, the same amount.

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 22,740 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 16 Virginia campuses on this site, James Madison University ranks number 5 by full-time students beyond college housing. See the Virginia table.