Where students live
Morgantown splits along the same three corridors as the campus itself. Sunnyside is the traditional walk-to-Downtown-campus student neighbourhood just uphill from the Mountainlair. Evansdale and Star City run along Monongahela Blvd and Oakland St near the stadium and engineering campus. A newer belt of purpose-built complexes sits one and a half to three miles out along University Town Centre and District Drive and toward Cheat Lake and Wedgewood. The PRT is the defining feature — five stations linking the Downtown, Evansdale and Health Sciences campuses, running weekdays 6:30am to 10:15pm, Saturdays 9:30am to 5pm and closed Sundays — so anyone within walking distance of a station generally does not need a car. Everyone else rides Mountain Line free with a WVU ID across 24 county-wide routes.
Heads up — this school breaks the usual rules
- Beds are not uniform — there are three sizes. Seneca Hall uses a standard twin (38" x 75"), Oakland Apartments uses an extra-long full (54" x 80"), and every other hall is Twin XL.
- Watch the name trap: Oakland Hall and Oakland Apartments are different buildings with different beds. Oakland Hall is Twin XL; Oakland Apartments at University Park is full XL.
- Standalone microwaves are banned campus-wide — only a combination refrigerator/microwave unit is permitted, so the usual “mini fridge plus microwave” two-item purchase does not work here.
- LED adhesive strip lights are banned, along with lava lamps, halogen lamps, candle wax warmers and scented oil plug-ins.
- Air fryers and toasters are prohibited, and coffee makers are only legal with a lighted on/off indicator and automatic shutoff — Keurigs qualify.
- Fish are banned. WVU prohibits “pets of any kind (including fish)” — the standard dorm-legal pet at most schools is not allowed here.
Buying the standard college checklist here will waste money — check your building first.
Apartments & rentals students actually use
| Community | Distance | Units & rates | Furnished? | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Ridge The cheapest per-bed rate found in Morgantown — the four-bed, two-bath keeps the price down | Wedgewood Dr · WVU-listed apartment shuttle | 3x3, 4x2, 4x2 XL, 2x2 1,076–1,305 sq ft $420–$1,780/bed | Furnished | ridgewv.com |
| Domain at Town Centre Explicit 08/07/2026–07/16/2027 lease term; the standard 4x4 at $550 is the value play | 5000 Domain Dr · University Town Centre, WVU-listed shuttle | 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4 (standard and renovated) 601–1,492 sq ft $550–$800/bed for 2–4BR; 1BR $1,715/unit | Check | domainmorgantown.com |
| The Lofts Morgantown Largest units in town at 1,840 sq ft; the one-bedroom is already sold out for the year | 5000 Station St · ~10 min to WVU, WVU-listed shuttle | 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, 4x4 penthouse 600–1,840 sq ft $620–$800+/bed | Check | theloftsmorgantown.com |
| CEV Morgantown Resort-style with a pool, hot tub, courts and a café. Pricing is gated — call for rates | District Dr · 1.5 mi, GPS-tracked private shuttle | 2x2, 3x3, 4x4 912–1,312 sq ft Call for rates | Furnished | cevmorgantown.com |
| Canvas Morgantown Formerly Copper Beech. A rare true furnished-or-unfurnished choice at one address, priced separately | 200 Tupelo Dr | 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4 650–2,000 sq ft $590–$810/bed for 2–4BR; 1BR $1,275–$1,380/unit | Optional | canvasmorgantown.com |
| Pierpont Place The genuinely cheap walkable option — $499 a person in a three-bed, one-bath. The only off-campus community overlooking the Evansdale campus. No pets | 445 Oakland St · overlooking Evansdale | 1x1, 2x1, 2x1 (3-person), 2x2, 3x1, 3x2 645–990 sq ft $499–$925/bed; 1BR $1,499/unit | Furnished | pierpont-place.com |
| Metro Towers Conventional-apartment feel, walkable, and pet-friendly (two pets, 75 lb combined) — unusual for student housing here | 2577 University Ave · 0.6 mi, ~12-min walk | 1x1, 2x2 500–936 sq ft $650–$975 per unit | Furnished | liveatmetro.com |
Details compiled from public listings and property sites, August 2026. Rates and availability change every lease season — verify everything with the property.
How it compares to a dorm
A quad room is $3,294 a person per semester — but a dining plan is mandatory, adding at least $2,804, so the real on-campus floor is nearer $6,100 a semester. Off campus, The Ridge starts at $420 a bed and Pierpont Place at $499, both furnished. That is why the sophomore move-out is close to universal at WVU. The trade-off is a 12-month lease and paying through the summer, plus utilities at most properties.
What you'll need
Most of the Morgantown student market comes furnished, so you are shopping soft goods: bedding, towels, kitchenware, storage and a shower caddy. Canvas Morgantown is the rare property that prices furnished and unfurnished separately — worth comparing against buying your own. One WVU-specific note on bedding: because the dorms run three different mattress sizes, check what you actually own before assuming it transfers. And the appliance rules relax completely off campus — the air fryer, toaster and standalone microwave that were banned in the halls are all fine in an apartment.
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