We have five properties in a similar demographic area and they are cash flowing great, which takes the sting out of the non-existent appreciation.There are a lot of reasons to not concentrate on the college student market, but I wouldn't put evictions and non-payments high on the list.  

US Census has a bunch of awesome data, and reicitydata.com shows you trends over time for common demographic and economic indicators across different cities.Hope that helps!

The median age in Jacksonville is 26.5 which means a young demographic of renters and first time buyers.

Look at demographics, economics, etc.

The renter demographic is also lower and some of the buildings need work, but the housing demand is huge.

It might impact rents if there was a large number of units occupied by the demographic that uses light rail. 

Is it demographics or management?  

You can definitely tell the difference between the younger demographic of our crowd and the average investor here.

But still, seeing that they have money does help with my decision, especially with the demographic I am working with.

To add a perspective, I know it doesn't seem obvious in the US but the demographics are strongly in favor of growth for India (very young skew in population and huge demo growth - even china is aging and slowing in demo-terms compared with India.)