A compiled reference of 28 verified statistics on college move-in and move-out, from the size of the student population that relocates each year to the number of days a single campus gets to absorb it, the volunteer operation that makes move-in day work, the tonnage that move-out leaves behind, and what the whole thing costs families. Every figure is drawn from a named public source (the National Center for Education Statistics, the Census Bureau, the SEC, university news offices and campus sustainability programs, and the National Retail Federation) and independently checked before publishing.
Key statistics
6 highlights from this report
Key statistics
Key takeaways
College move-in and move-out are not a season, they are a deadline. A student housing REIT told the SEC that substantially all of its leases start mid-August and end the last day of July, and the university numbers show what that does on the ground: five-figure student counts absorbed in three to five days, hundreds of volunteers staffing a single morning, and a waste stream that quadruples in the weeks after the last exam.
Ohio State moved more than 14,000 students in over four days
Arizona State moved more than 16,500 students into 25 residence halls
UNH move-out month waste jumped from 25 tons to 105 tons
UW recovered 59,718 pounds of student belongings in one move-out
Michigan collected a record 16.2 tons of move-out donations
Back-to-college spending hit a record 103.5 billion dollars
How we built this report
Every figure on this page was compiled in September 2026 from named public sources and checked against the original document before publishing.
- Compiled from primary sources
Federal education statistics, Census Bureau mobility tables, an SEC filing, university news offices and housing departments, campus sustainability program reporting, waste-industry trade coverage, and a national retail spending survey.
- Only explicitly stated figures
We include only numbers a named source states directly. Nothing here is extrapolated, modeled, or averaged across schools, and each figure is attributed inline at the point it appears.
- Single-campus numbers stay single-campus
A tonnage or headcount from one university describes that university in that year. We never scale a campus figure to a national estimate.
- Independent review
Written by one co-founder, reviewed by the other before publishing.
Scope caveat: most of the operational numbers here are self-reported by individual universities for a specific year, and there is no national registry of campus move-in volumes or move-out tonnage. Treat each figure as a documented data point from one institution, not as a national average, and confirm against the specific source before using it in a model.
College move-in and move-out, by the numbers
All 28 figures, grouped by theme, each from a named public source and independently verified against the original before publishing.
How many students move, and when
The population that relocates on the academic calendar is large and growing. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (nces.ed.gov), total undergraduate enrollment in United States degree-granting postsecondary institutions was 15.4 million students in fall 2021, with another 3.2 million enrolled at the postbaccalaureate level, and undergraduate enrollment is projected to rise 9 percent to 16.8 million by 2031. The Census Bureau (census.gov) counts the subset who physically relocate for school in its reason-for-move table. And the calendar itself is contractual: Education Realty Trust told the SEC (sec.gov) that its student housing leases all begin and end at the same time, which is why a campus turns over in one window rather than continuously.
Statistic 1
Total undergraduate enrollment in United States degree-granting postsecondary institutions was 15.4 million students in fall 2021.
National Center for Education Statistics (2021)
Statistic 2
Another 3.2 million students were enrolled at the postbaccalaureate level in degree-granting institutions in fall 2021.
National Center for Education Statistics (2021)
Statistic 3
Undergraduate enrollment is projected to increase 9 percent, from 15.4 million to 16.8 million students, between 2021 and 2031.
National Center for Education Statistics (2021 projection)
Statistic 4
About 938,000 people aged 1 and over moved to attend or leave college in the 2019 to 2020 mobility year.
Census Bureau, CPS historical reason-for-move table (2020)
Statistic 5
Those college-driven moves were 3.1 percent of all 29.8 million United States movers that year.
Census Bureau, CPS historical reason-for-move table (2020)
Statistic 6
A student housing REIT told the SEC that "substantially all of our leases commence mid-August and terminate the last day of July."
Education Realty Trust, SEC filing
What this means: The Census figure counts only people whose primary reason for moving was college and is measured in a survey that does not follow students into dormitories, so it is a floor, not a headcount. The number that actually drives operations is the lease clause: when every contract in a portfolio ends on the same day, there is no staggered turnover to smooth the work.
Move-in day as an operation
Individual campuses publish what move-in actually costs them in people and days. According to Ohio State University (osu.edu), more than 14,000 students returned to its campuses in August 2026 and the Columbus move-in was a "well-choreographed process" that "took place over four days," staffed by hundreds of students and staff. Arizona State University (asu.edu) reported more than 16,500 students moving into 25 residence halls across four metro Phoenix campuses. The University of South Florida (usf.edu) reported 650 student volunteers and an estimated 10,000 people on the Tampa campus for a single move-in day. The volunteer counts are the tell: these are the largest scheduled labor mobilizations most universities run all year.
Statistic 7
More than 14,000 students returned to Ohio State campuses in August 2026.
Ohio State University (2026)
Statistic 8
Ohio State's Columbus move-in took place over four days, with hundreds of students and staff assisting.
Ohio State University (2026)
Statistic 9
More than 16,500 students moved into Arizona State campus housing over a few days in August 2025.
Arizona State University (2025)
Statistic 10
Arizona State has 25 residence halls across four metro Phoenix campuses, with nearly 13,000 students housed on the Tempe campus alone.
Arizona State University (2025)
Statistic 11
About 4,000 first-year students moved into University of Delaware residence halls on a single Saturday, August 23, 2025.
University of Delaware (2025)
Statistic 12
The University of South Florida expected 7,500 students living across 48 residence halls at full capacity for fall 2025.
University of South Florida (2025)
Statistic 13
More than 650 student volunteers signed up for USF's Bull Haul move-in program, a record for the program.
University of South Florida (2025)
Statistic 14
USF estimated 10,000 people were on the Tampa campus on move-in day to move roughly 3,000 students into residence halls.
University of South Florida (2025)
Statistic 15
UC Merced staffs move-in with 300 volunteers to welcome over 4,300 students, on shifts spread across August 19 to 23.
UC Merced Housing and Residence Education (2026)
Statistic 16
Over 840 faculty and staff volunteered for move-in at the University of South Carolina, with hundreds more at other Welcome Week events.
University of South Carolina (2025)
Statistic 17
Roughly 2,600 new and returning Radford University students moved into residence halls across August 19 to 21, 2026.
Radford University (2026)
What this means: Move-in is staffed like an event, with volunteers, shifts, and traffic plans, because the alternative is a queue that does not clear. Note what nobody schedules at the same intensity: a documented condition check of each room at the moment the student takes it. The labor goes into getting people through the door.
What move-out leaves behind
Move-out is the same compression in reverse, and it is measured in tons. According to Brower Youth Awards (broweryouthawards.org), waste sent to the local landfill from the University of New Hampshire jumped from roughly 25 tons per month to 105 tons during May move-outs, the observation that led a student to found the Post-Landfill Action Network. The University of Washington (washington.edu) reported that its residential facilities sent more than 80 tons to the landfill during the week of move-out in 2025 even as its donation program set a record. The University of Michigan (umich.edu) publishes its donation haul line by line. And trade coverage from Resource Recycling (resource-recycling.com) puts Tufts University's annual discard at more than 230 tons, much of it concentrated in graduation and move-out.
Statistic 18
Monthly waste to the local landfill at the University of New Hampshire rose from about 25 tons to 105 tons during May move-outs.
Brower Youth Awards (2013)
Statistic 19
The Post-Landfill Action Network diverted more than 100 tons of reusable waste and donated more than 5 tons of food and clothing in its first three years, saving the university 10,000 dollars in disposal costs.
Brower Youth Awards (2013)
Statistic 20
The University of Washington's SCRAM program recovered 59,718 pounds of student belongings from residence halls and apartments in June 2025.
University of Washington (2025)
Statistic 21
That was an 85 percent increase over 2024, more than 27,000 additional pounds, collected from more than 8,800 residents.
University of Washington (2025)
Statistic 22
UW residential facilities still sent over 80 tons of material to the landfill during the week of move-out, and 230 mini-fridges were left at collection sites.
University of Washington (2025)
Statistic 23
Over twenty years, the UW SCRAM program has kept more than 785,000 pounds of material out of the landfill.
University of Washington (2025)
Statistic 24
The University of Michigan collected more than 32,000 pounds of reusable goods during spring 2026 move-out, 16.2 tons in total and the largest collection in the program's 25-plus year history.
University of Michigan (2026)
Statistic 25
Michigan's haul broke down as 5.6 tons of clothing, 4.7 tons of bedding, 4.4 tons of household items, 0.9 tons of shoes, and 0.6 tons of food and personal care items.
University of Michigan (2026)
Statistic 26
Penn State's Trash to Treasure sale averaged 60 tons of donated items a year and raised nearly 1 million dollars over its 18 years.
StateCollege.com (2022)
Statistic 27
Students at Tufts University discard more than 230 tons of waste annually, much of it during graduation and move-out.
Resource Recycling (2026)
Bespoke chart
What a record move-out donation haul is actually made of
University of Michigan student move-out donation program, spring 2026, 16.2 tons total. Bars are to scale against the largest category.
Source: University of Michigan (umich.edu), 2026. Categories and weights as published; the five listed categories sum to 16.2 tons.
What this means: Two thirds of a record donation haul is soft goods, clothing and bedding, which is what students abandon when the deadline beats the packing. The same deadline is why the landfill number and the donation number rise together: everything leaves the building in the same week, and whatever is not sorted in that week is thrown out.
What the move costs
The spending side is the one place this topic has a national, annually repeated measurement. According to the National Retail Federation (nrf.com), which surveys with Prosper Insights and Analytics, total back-to-college spending reached a record 103.5 billion dollars in 2026, passing 100 billion dollars for the first time, on an average of 1,437.79 dollars per shopper. Dorm or apartment furnishings, the category that physically ends up in the room and then has to leave it, accounted for 194.00 dollars of that average.
Statistic 28
Total United States back-to-college spending reached a record 103.5 billion dollars in 2026, up from 88.8 billion dollars in 2025.
National Retail Federation (2026)
What this means: Average spending per shopper rose to 1,437.79 dollars in 2026 from 1,325.85 dollars in 2025, with 194.00 dollars of it on dorm or apartment furnishings, 14.0 billion dollars in total, all of it arriving in one August week and most of it needing somewhere to go the following May. The survey covered 7,677 consumers, fielded July 1 to 8, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.
Why this calendar is an inspection problem
Every number above describes the same shape: a fixed date, a very large number of rooms, and a workforce assembled for a few days. That is the condition under which room condition stops being documented. When 4,000 students take keys on one Saturday, or 8,800 residents clear out in one week, the check-in and check-out condition record is whatever someone had time to write down, and the disputes that follow in the spring are argued from memory.
The same pattern shows up everywhere turnover is seasonal and compressed rather than continuous, which is why the student housing turn season numbers and the damage charge numbers read as the two halves of one problem. The cleaning side compresses the same way, which is what the move-out cleaning cost figures describe. Photo-based inspection exists to make the record automatic at both ends of the lease, so the evidence is captured at the speed move-in day actually runs. More on how we think about this market is on our student housing page.
Cite this study
Academic or press use: copy a ready-made reference. RapidEye is the publisher.
Quick FAQ
How many students move into college housing at one school?
At the largest public universities the number runs into five figures. Arizona State University reported more than 16,500 students moving into campus housing over a few days in August 2025, and Ohio State reported more than 14,000 students returning to its campuses in August 2026, with the Columbus move-in taking place over four days. Mid-sized schools are smaller but still concentrated: Radford University moved roughly 2,600 new and returning students in across three days in August 2026.
How long does college move-in take?
Days, not weeks. Ohio State says its Columbus move-in took place over four days. Radford University moved about 2,600 students in across August 19 to 21, 2026. UC Merced schedules its volunteer shifts across five days, August 19 to 23. The University of Delaware moved about 4,000 first-year students in on a single Saturday, August 23, 2025.
How much waste does college move-out create?
Enough to multiply a campus waste stream several times over for a few weeks. At the University of New Hampshire, monthly waste sent to the local landfill jumped from about 25 tons to 105 tons during May move-outs, according to Brower Youth Awards (broweryouthawards.org). The University of Washington reported that its residential facilities sent more than 80 tons to the landfill during the week of move-out in 2025, in the same season that its donation program recovered 59,718 pounds.
How much do students spend on back-to-college shopping?
The National Retail Federation put total back-to-college spending at a record 103.5 billion dollars in 2026, the first time the figure passed 100 billion dollars, on an average of 1,437.79 dollars per shopper. Dorm or apartment furnishings accounted for 194.00 dollars of that average, or 14.0 billion dollars in total.
Why do college leases all start and end at the same time?
Purpose-built student housing is leased on the academic calendar, not on rolling start dates. Education Realty Trust, a student housing REIT, told the SEC that substantially all of its leases commence mid-August and terminate the last day of July. That means a portfolio turns over almost entirely in a single window rather than a few units at a time.
Data sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of these named public sources, each checked against the original document before publishing.
National Center for Education StatisticsUndergraduate and postbaccalaureate enrollment fast factsnces.ed.gov
United States Census BureauCPS historical reason-for-move tablecensus.gov
SEC EDGARStudent housing REIT filing, lease term languagesec.gov
National Retail FederationAnnual back-to-school and back-to-college spending surveynrf.com
Ohio State UniversityUniversity news office move-in week reportosu.edu
Arizona State UniversityUniversity news office move-in coverageasu.edu
University of DelawareUniversity news office first-year move-in coverageudel.edu
University of South FloridaUniversity news office residence hall move-in reportusf.edu
UC MercedHousing office move-in volunteer program pageucmerced.edu
University of South CarolinaUniversity announcement, move-in volunteer callsc.edu
Radford UniversityUniversity news office move-in days coverageradford.edu
University of MichiganCampus sustainability move-out donation resultsumich.edu
University of WashingtonCampus sustainability move-out reuse program reportwashington.edu
Brower Youth AwardsAward profile, campus move-out waste programbroweryouthawards.org
StateCollege.comLocal reporting on a campus move-out donation salestatecollege.com
Resource RecyclingTrade coverage of college move-out wasteresource-recycling.com