SUU Students Looking for Off-Campus Housing

Published: May 27, 2021 | Read Time: 2 minutes

Despite a global pandemic, Southern Utah University is on track for growth again this fall semester due to both recruitment of new students and retention efforts to support current students. The growth has resulted in more qualified students entering the University which in turn has added to the current crunch on housing.

“It’s a great problem to have,” said SUU President Scott L Wyatt. “We know many universities that are having very different and difficult conversations about layoffs and program consolidation. We are discussing the opposite, growth, and demand for the amazing on-campus, residential experience SUU is known for.”

SUU faced a similar housing issue in 2015, but after reaching out to the community, private landlords and developers, more than 900 beds became available within a year.

“We’ve seen a steady increase in housing inventory over the last several years, and we are aware of developers planning new student apartment complexes in the near future,” said Wyatt. “However, this year’s unique challenges are a result of the unforeseen impacts of the pandemic, an influx of people permanently moving into Cedar City, private landlords selling what was previously student housing for new family residences and Utah’s overall housing shortage. As soon as we learned that the number of off-campus student apartments actually decreased for this fall, probably a first in our history, we immediately started working toward solutions.”

Mindy Benson, Vice President for Community and Alumni Relations said that multiple campus departments have been working on solutions and are in contact with local residents and property owners to find accommodations for returning and incoming new students.

“As both Cedar City and SUU experience unprecedented growth, there is a need for more housing in our community,” said Benson. “This growth is positive for all of us. More students and new residents means local business owners will experience an economic benefit. Since the founding of the University almost 125 years ago, our community has always come together to find ways to work together through collaborative solutions. SUU is committed to being a good community neighbor and we look forward to growing with Cedar City.”

Growth is happening at a record pace throughout the state. Initial results recently released from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau confirms that Utah’s population has increased 18.4% since 2010, the fastest rate in the nation. According to the 2019 U.S. Census Bureau, Cedar City’s population grew from roughly 28,800 residents to 34,700. Projections indicate that Cedar’s population will be closer to 38,000 once neighborhood-level census numbers are released later this year.

“It’s no surprise that people want to live in our beautiful community. Cedar City is a great place to live and SUU is an incredible university to work and go to school,” said Benson. “We want all of our students to find housing and hope the community will assist in this endeavor.”

A current list of available off-campus housing options can be found on SUU’s off-campus housing website. Community members are invited and encouraged to review the housing website at https://www.suu.edu/housing/submit-housing.html

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