major universities in my market

[Jason Malabute]

I am trying to determine the "economic anchor" of my market. An economic anchor is something that supports the local economy and is not going anywhere even during an economic downturn.

Question: How many students have to be enrolled in a university for that university to be considered an economic anchor? Or is there another factor (besides proximity) that needs to be considered before a university can be considered a major university and economic anchor?

Thank you,

Jason

[Will Gaston]

@Jason Malabute I'm not sure this answers your question but I would recommend looking at the growth of the university.

I invest almost exclusively in student rentals in Columbia, SC and the University of South Carolina is the primary driver of activity in the downtown market. The reason that I (and a lot of others) feel comfortable with increased competition within the tenant base is the expansion trajectory of the college. The enrollment has probably gone up ~50% in the last 20 years.

Some schools are limiting the amount of students and are making it harder to get in. Other schools are allowing more students in and expanding. I'd rather invest in a market with the latter.