Investing in state capitals

[Abraham Kaplan]

I am looking to invest in a new area. I bought several rental units in Tallahassee FL this year and I like that market. It is a state capital with a large college student population. I was wondering if similar cities would work. State capitals with around 40k college students. The cities below fit that criteria. It's kind of a long list but I think its a good starting point. Is that a good strategy? What are you're opinions of these cities? Anyone work in these cities. I don't have any contacts in any of these cities.  

Baton Rouge, LA

Raleigh, NC

Columbia, SC

Columbus, OH

Nashville, TN

Salt Lake City, UT

Richmond, VA

Madison, WI

Atlanta, GA

Lincoln, NE

Denver, CO

Phoenix, AZ

Indianapolis, IN

St. Paul, MN

Austin, TX

[Joe Splitrock]

Originally posted by @Taylor L.:

Interesting way to get started. Rather than narrowing down by number of college students, I would look first at the population change, local economy and job growth, landlord/tenant laws, and rent growth rate. Overall I believe student housing is overrated. Cities with healthy, growing economies will always have demand for rental housing. 

 College housing is overrated, but there is another aspect to college towns worth considering. You have high numbers of educated people moving into the area. Most leave after school, but you end up with a percentage staying. That means over time that college towns are adding more educated people to their population. That makes it easier for technology, medicine, engineering or any industry that requires educated people to thrive. Of course this is highly dependent on the size and type of college. I should also add this is just my theory based on observation. I agree the other factors you mentioned are very important too.