Affordable Neighborhoods to Rent Near Harrisburg Colleges and Universities

Harrisburg is one of Pennsylvania’s great, underrated cities. An affordable, mid-sized city with historic architecture and a beautiful location between the Susquehanna River and the Appalachian Mountains, Harrisburg is a welcoming place that serves as the state capital and also offers a growing food and beverage scene. At ApartmentHomeLiving.com, we find the best balance of livability and affordability in Harrisburg based on our local expertise.

Current Rental Pricing for Apartments in the Harrisburg Area

If you’re going to college in Harrisburg, you’ll need a place to live—ideally, a convenient and affordable rental not too far from campus. Fortunately, no matter which of the city’s excellent colleges and universities you’re headed off to, you’ll find plenty of excellent options in these neighborhoods.

I'm Richard, your ApartmentHomeLiving.com Local Expert for Harrisburg, and I’m excited to show you around.

Harrisburg Area Community College

Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) is the largest and oldest community college in Pennsylvania, serving 17,000 students and offering over 100 programs. Located adjacent to Uptown Harrisburg, the college is the largest in the city by enrollment, and is known for its outstanding associate degree programs that can transfer to four-year institutions.

Uptown Harrisburg

Harrisburg Area Community College is a stone’s throw from Uptown Harrisburg, a large neighborhood with quiet streets and a mix of urban and suburban vibes. Students will find plenty of affordable rentals here, including classic PA rowhomes and twins. Overall, the area is pretty quiet. Think charming, tree-lined lanes, with lots of parks and picturesque river views along Front Street.

The beautiful Wildwood Park is a highlight, just footsteps from the HACC campus. Uptown Harrisburg also has a lot of shopping and dining options, though the variety of bars and restaurants definitely improves as you head south toward Midtown. Shout out to Jimmy the Hot Dog King, an iconic Uptown diner where the Foutres family has been slinging burgers and dogs since 1969.

Progress/Colonial Park

The twin suburbs of Progress and Colonial Park extend across a large area just east of HACC. There are a lot of affordable apartments here, and depending on where in this area you choose to go, you might be anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes from campus. The neighborhoods offer easy access to I-81 and I-83.

The Progress/Colonial Park area is known as a commercial hub, with lots of shopping and dining options, including the Colonial Park Mall. Eateries ranging from pizza and Italian to Japanese and Mexican are clustered around the intersection of Progress Ave and Walnut Street.

Olde Uptown Historic District

Whenever I hear a phrase like “historic charm,” I immediately picture a neighborhood like Olde Uptown. Wedged between Midtown and Uptown proper, this historic district is a small, walkable neighborhood with stunning 19th-century architecture and a tight-knit community vibe.

Just 10 minutes from both the HACC campus and Downtown Harrisburg, the Olde Uptown Historic District is simply a delightful place to live. The neighborhood is right on the water with access to the Capital Area Greenbelt, and it also contains one of my favorite hidden gems in the city: Little Amps Coffee, an excellent coffee roaster and espresso bar that also sells records and hosts live music.

Summerdale

Across the Susquehanna River from Uptown Harrisburg via the Capital Beltway lies Summerdale, a quiet residential area with a welcoming neighborhood vibe. Summerdale has a real small-town feel, with lots of homes built in the 1940s and 50s that give it classic Midcentury charm.

It’s a great place to live if you want to be close to Harrisburg but prefer more laid-back surroundings. You’ll find a lot of cool shops and restaurants here and in neighboring Enola, and Jigsy’s Brewpub and Pizza Boy Brewing are reliable places to enjoy a pizza and a pint.

Capital Heights

It wasn’t all that long ago that Capital Heights was a stretch of vacant lots that had earned the nickname “Lottsville.” These days, it’s the epicenter of some of Harrisburg’s most impressive revitalization, with streets lined with modern townhouses and duplexes that create the look and feel of an urban suburb.

Capital Heights itself is almost entirely residential, but it’s convenient to campus and also convenient to both Midtown and Downtown Harrisburg. Some of the city’s best cafes, restaurants and nightlife spots are just a few blocks away, and the area offers clean, affordable rentals for students, young families and working professionals alike.

Harrisburg University of Science & Technology

A private, STEM-focused university in the heart of Downtown Harrisburg, the Harrisburg University of Science & Technology was originally founded in 2001as Harrisburg Polytechnic Institute. With around 6,500 students, the school offers 15 bachelor's degrees, 13 master's degrees and 3 doctoral degrees and certificate programs, with a particular focus on engineering, applied science and technology.

Downtown Harrisburg

The Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is located in the heart of Downtown Harrisburg, the geographic heart of the city. Centered around the historic Market Square, Downtown represents the original city center, laid out in a grid-like pattern by John Harris in 1785

There’s a lot to see and do in this area, and Harrisburg is a small enough city that living downtown doesn’t feel overwhelming. Some of the best bars, restaurants and late-night spots in Harrisburg are here, including Ad Lib Craft Kitchen & Bar, McGrath’s, JB Lovedrafts and Bourbon Street Saloon.

Midtown Harrisburg

You’d be hard-pressed to find a better place to live in Harrisburg than Midtown. This part of town has a really young, active community—lots of people in their 20s and 30s are moving here—and the vibe is generally fun, safe and laid-back. The neighborhood is highly walkable, and there are some excellent restaurants and nightlife spots here, along with many more in nearby Downtown.

Depending on where in Midtown you end up, you can expect as little as a 5-minute drive or 15-minute walk to campus. Midtown Cinema and the Susquehanna Art Museum are Midtown highlights, along with Broad Street Market, which is one of the oldest farmers’ markets in the country.

Capital District

Between Downtown and Midtown, and bordering the ornate Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex, the Capital District is one of Harrisburg’s most beautiful and historic neighborhoods. Brick-lined streets, shady trees and Victorian-era buildings make this small, walkable district a great place to live.

Trendy eateries and bars along 2nd Street make this a fun neighborhood in which to drink and dine—check out Da Slap Box for incredible Soul Food, and Kork & Fork for wine and small plates—and it’s also a hub for art and culture. It’s also just a 10-minute walk to the Harrisburg University of Science & Technology.

East Harrisburg

An eclectic collection of neighborhoods that extend eastward from Downtown, East Harrisburg is a large and widely varied area. Rentals range from urban lofts to suburban homes, and the lifestyle is mostly laid-back and relaxed. There are also some lovely parks in the area, like the sprawling 85-acre Reservoir Park. It’s a great place for a hike.

There are some great off-the-beaten-path neighborhood eateries in East Harrisburg, including several of the best Mexican restaurants in the area. There are a lot of great options along Cameron Street, including Appalachian Brewing Company—maybe my favorite brewery in town.

Fox Ridge Historic District

A tiny slice of Midtown Harrisburg that is often considered its own separate mini-neighborhood, the Fox Ridge Historic District is tucked away just north of the Capital District. Like a lot of the neighborhoods in the area, it’s charming, historic and lively, with bustling bars, restaurants and cafes.

The Fox Ridge District is convenient to Downtown and the University. Consisting of just a few square blocks, it’s one of the most fun and increasingly trendy places to live in Harrisburg. It has everything from hip speakeasy-themed watering holes (The Sturges) to generational burger joints (Jackson House), plus a great collection of murals and street art.

Penn State Harrisburg

A major regional campus offering both graduate and undergraduate studies, Penn State Harrisburg has a total enrollment of more than 5,000 students. Nestled in the East Shore suburbs southeast of Harrisburg, the school is known for its top-ranked programs in business and engineering.

South Harrisburg

You’ll often hear phrases like “transforming,” “in transition,” and “on the rise” used to describe South Harrisburg. Basically, it’s the site of a lot of industry—current and former—and also a place where a lot of urban development is happening.

South Harrisburg has plenty of historic charm and a tight-knit community in addition to ongoing development that is attracting young people to the area. It’s safe to say that more and more new businesses will also open up in the area as its old disused buildings continue to be renovated and revitalized. If you’re looking for supremely affordable housing and like a gritty urban vibe, South Harrisburg is the place for you.

Middletown

The Penn State Harrisburg campus is technically located, not in Harrisburg proper, but in Middletown. This is a village that makes up part of an area collectively known as the East Shore suburbs. It feels very much like a small town: quiet and relaxed, with lots of trees and family homes, along with some student rentals.

It’s not a place for excitement, but it is a genuinely nice and charming place to live. Middletown has several excellent grocery stores and supermarkets (including the excellent, local family-owned Karns Foods) and some solid dining options (check out the Hop Yard for craft brews and pub grub). Campus is footsteps away, and the airport is also a stone’s throw from Middletown.

Steelton

Getting its name from its history as the center of the region’s steel industry, Steelton is a well-established community that extends along the Susquehanna River south of Harrisburg. It’s easily one of the most affordable places to live near the city, and it’s also very convenient to Penn State Harrisburg.

Steelton is definitely an older, blue-collar town with a tight-knit local community and a gritty, industrial vibe. Just this year, the town received news that its long-running steel mill was set to close, so the future is uncertain for Steelton, but it remains a reliable place to find rentals on the cheap.

Oberlin

A quiet suburb in Swatara Township just outside of Harrisburg, Oberlin is a peaceful, commuter-friendly enclave just 10 minutes from the Penn State Harrisburg Campus. It has charm as well as convenience, with the look and feel of a well-off small town.

Oberlin offers quick access to major roads like Interstates 83 and 283 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Lots of major shopping and dining options are nearby, including the Harrisburg Mall and High Pointe Commons, as well as the Capitol Diner, which has been a local favorite since the 1940s. Oberlin also has beautiful parks and green spaces, including the Dauphin Highlands Golf Course.

Highspire

For students looking for affordable, high-quality rentals, it doesn’t get much more convenient than Highspire, a densely packed suburb less than 5 minutes from campus. You could say that Highspire splits the difference between Steelton and Oberlin—it has a bit of the former’s rust-belt grit, and a lot more of the latter’s pastoral suburban feel.

Highspire has its own healthy downtown district centered around 2nd Street, where you’ll find a smattering of diners, pizza places and ice cream parlors. Highspire Reservoir Park is a nice place for a morning jog or hike, and Highspire also has a woodsy stretch of river access, including a boat launch.