A turning point occurred somewhere in the mid-1950’s when the newcomer became the predominant resident population, and the native population became a minority of the "town population".  Nearly 60% of the current town population are persons who belong to households that migrated to Carbondale after 1950.[1] 

This did not include the transitory student population; the numbers represented permanent residents of the town.  From the late 1940s until today, SIU drove the economy in Carbondale . 

     From 1950 to 1966 the town population increased from 10,921 to 20,516. This was an 87.9% increase in less than 20 years. 

      During the same 16 year period, the student population increased from 2,776 in 1950 to 18,188 in 1966, an increase of over 555%.[2]  

     Student housing did not keep pace with the increased demand.  The university increasingly encroached on the surrounding neighborhoods, which in turn squeezed the already tight housing market.  In 1966, 382 apartments and 64 houses were available for rent.  Sixteen apartments and 240 houses were available for purchase.[3]  Organizations such as fraternities increasingly turned the older houses close to campus into rooming houses for their members.