Where students live
The University District wraps the campus and holds The Nine on Mynders, the only large purpose-built by-the-bed building here. The Highland Strip, a ten to fifteen minute walk east, is the bar-and-restaurant spine and carries Highland Row, Monarch and The Landing. Normal Station and the streets around Spottswood hold cheaper older stock, and Midtown Memphis proper is a drive away with ordinary city apartments.
This is mostly a conventional rental market rather than a student one. Only The Nine states per-bed pricing clearly; most of the rest quote a whole-unit rent, and five of the eight properties below have no website of their own at all — their numbers come from listing aggregators, which lag reality. Tiger Estates is the confusing case: it advertises furnished units with private locking bedrooms, which normally signals by-the-bed leasing, but prices as a unit. Ask before you sign.
Apartments & rentals students actually use
| Community | Distance | Units & rates | Furnished? | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Nine at Memphis University District, 3565 Mynders Ave | Adjacent to campus | 4BR and 3BR $550 per bed, 2BR $785-$795 per person; 813-1,394 sq ft | Furnished | the9memphis.com |
| Tiger Estates Highland Strip, 3875 Spottswood Ave | ~1.1 mi | 1BR from $599 — ask which basis; 583 sq ft | Furnished | Aggregator listings only |
| Monarch on Highland 274 S Highland St | 0.7 mi / 14-min walk | 1BR $600-$1,050 per unit; 394-522 sq ft | Not stated | Aggregator listings only |
| The Landing on the Strip Highland Strip | 0.6 mi / 11-min walk | 1BR/1BA $850 per unit; 530 sq ft | Not stated | Aggregator listings only |
| University Highlands 3417-3443 Spottswood Ave | 1.0 mi / 19-min walk | 2BR from $850 per unit; 800-960 sq ft | Not stated | Aggregator listings only |
| University Crossing Near campus | Short walk | 2BR $850-$975 per unit; 800-980 sq ft | Unfurnished | liveatuniversitycrossing.com |
| University Flats 3439-3459 Southern Ave | 0.8 mi / 16-min walk | From $915 — ask which basis | Not stated | Aggregator listings only |
| Highland Row 395 S Highland St | 0.6 mi / 11-min walk | Studio $1,360, 1BR $1,261-$1,679, 2BR $1,720-$1,880, 3BR $2,477-$3,009 per unit; 548-1,608 sq ft | Unfurnished | highlandrow.com |
Compiled from property sites and public listings, August 2026. Rates move every lease season and several properties here publish nothing at all — verify with the property before you sign.
Getting to campus without a car
The Tiger Blue Line campus shuttle is free to students, staff and faculty — two fixed daytime routes running 7am to 5pm on weekdays, plus an on-demand evening service Monday to Thursday from 5pm to 11pm that you register for with your university login. It is tracked live through Tripshot. On the city buses, be careful what you plan around: MATA ran a Zero Fare pilot making all buses free from 16 November 2025, but it was only funded through February 2026. Whether it still applies by move-in is genuinely unknown — check rather than assume.
How it compares to a dorm
What you’ll need
Both furnished and unfurnished rentals are common here — check your lease, then use the matching filter on the checklist.
Apartment checklist Apartment shop