Beginning in 2026, the number of people turning 18 in the U.S. will shrink each year for the foreseeable future—a trend that will be devastating to college enrollment, particularly at small, regional private universities.
Since 2016, roughly 150 colleges and universities have already closed, merged, or otherwise consolidated, according to a running tally from Higher Ed Dive. Many schools cited financial struggles and falling enrollment as reasons for closing their doors.
As more colleges close or consolidate, their surrounding towns that rely on the constant influx of students, and jobs created by the institution, can be affected.
Colleges located near major cities, such as Newbury College, which was located on the outskirts of Boston and enrolled roughly 600 students when it closed in 2019, don’t leave much of a dent in their local housing market.
However, schools in smaller and more remote towns can leave a devastating hole in the local housing market and economy when they shutter.
To learn more about the potential impacts of future closures, Realtor.com® recently examined three former college towns to find how the loss of the institution affected the local housing market: Cazenovia, NY, Ashland, WI, and Laurinburg, NC.
Cazenovia College: Closed in 2023
Cazenovia, located in Central New York, offers lakeside living and a vibrant community to those looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
“Cazenovia’s greatest luxury is the quality of everyday life. The lake draws people in, and the village makes them want to stay,” real estate broker Michael DeRosa tells Realtor.com. “You have the water, the countryside, and the charming village—all in one place.”
DeRosa says Cazenovia is a hot market, with more people looking to buy than there are homes available. The median listing price is $470,000 and median days on the market is 52, slightly lower than the national average of 60.
It was also home to Cazenovia College, which closed in 2023 after nearly 200 years of operation. It enrolled between 745 and 800 students prior to closing.
An article from the college cited several issues that led to the decision to close, including the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, the shrinking population of college-aged individuals, and the college’s lack of substantial endowment.
Despite the sizable student population compared to the town’s population of just over 6,500, there was very little change in the town’s housing market upon the school’s closure, Realtor.com found.
According to DeRosa, the lack of impact is simply because many other qualities are drawing new people to the area.
“Cazenovia College may have closed, but the demand for Cazenovia real estate never left. The lake, the village, and lifestyle continue to attract buyers,” said DeRosa. “Buyers are still drawn to the lake, the architecture, and that rare, small-town quality of life. Cazenovia has proven that it’s much bigger than any one institution, so the real estate market continues to show strong demand.”
Northland College: Closed in 2025
A similar story can be seen in Ashland, WI, a historic port city on the south shore of Lake Superior. With a population of roughly 7,900, Ashland offers a beautiful downtown, access to tons of outdoor recreation, and a vibrant community life.
The median listing price in Ashland has increased 11.9% year over year to $324,000. The median days on the market is 77, a 24.3% increase from last year. However, there are still more buyers than available homes, making it a seller’s market.
Northland College, which was located in Ashland, closed its doors in 2025 after 133 years. Known for its commitment to the environment and sustainability, Northland had a small student body of only 286 during its final academic year.
Like Cazenovia, the attractive lakeside lifestyle has kept Ashland’s real estate market stable throughout the college’s closure.
“Ashland has been very low on inventory for several years, and we did not notice a change with more inventory being available,” Jewel VonFang of Northland Real Estate Services tells Realtor.com “It’s just as tight of a market as it was before.”
St. Andrews University: Closed in 2025
Of the three college towns we examined, one was most deeply affected by the closure of the local university: Laurinburg, NC, home of St. Andrews University.
Located in south central North Carolina, Laurinburg has a population of roughly 14,500 and draws people with its affordability and small-town charm.
The median listing price in Laurinburg is $209,000, and listings have a median of 87 days on the market. With 149 active listings, the city is a buyer’s market.
St. Andrews University, which enrolled roughly 800 students, held its final semester in 2025 before closing due to financial issues. The closure was “devastating to the community,” according to real estate broker Alicia Krout.
“A lot of students rented homes in the area, so a lot of those rentals went on the market after that,” Krout tells Realtor.com. “Plus, we had professors and staff there who had to move for work.”
The loss of students, faculty, and staff in need of housing is reflected in Laurinburg’s market. Between 2022 and 2024, median listing prices in Laurinburg tracked closely with those in Scotland County.
In the first quarter of 2025, the median listing prices in the city fell 10.5% compared to county prices and remains negative today at 12.2% below the surrounding county, as of the second quarter of 2026.
The shift is persistent with St. Andrews’ announcement and completion of its closure, in April and May of 2025, respectively.
“Laurinburg is the one town where the college was a big piece of a small, already strained local economy, where the housing market relied on local demand. However, Ashland and Cazenovia both sit in places with plenty of outside housing demand,” says Realtor.com senior economist Jiayi Xu.
The economist notes that Ashland and Cazenovia both “sit near lakes that attract second-home buyers from outside the area who aren’t tied to local jobs, so losing the college generated limited impact there. Laurinburg has no such cushion, so the effect of a college closure is more noticeable there.”
With decreasing enrollment rates across the country, it’s likely that more small colleges are at risk of closing their doors in the coming years.
