The best college towns in America are places where students can find a variety of activities to keep them entertained. They also offer low cost of living and access to great schools.
The best college towns 2020 is a question that has been asked by many people. In order to find the best college town for you, it’s important that you take into account what type of life you want to live there.
Many universities are preparing for a second year of pandemic precautions when they return to in-person classes this September. Proof of immunization and a negative COVID test are as ubiquitous as shower caddies and mini-fridges for many people.
Though college students have a minimal risk of severe sickness or death, their return to school had a rippling effect in college communities last year. Now that the Delta variety is causing havoc throughout the country, health authorities are predicting another autumn outbreak.
Despite the fact that 10% of schools are moving to 100% online instruction, college towns continue to retain a sentimental position in American society. We built our ranking of America’s top college cities on three criteria:
- Affordability: median student loan debt (-4x), rent for a one-bedroom apartment (-4x), net cost (-4x) (-3x)
- Walk score (4x), bike score (3x), entertainment options per 100,000 inhabitants (2.5x), eateries per 100,000 residents (2.5x), Power 5 (2x), student-to-population ratio (2x)
- Graduation rate (2x), retention rate (2.5x), median salary after ten years (2x), expenditure per student (1.5x), median number of undergraduates (1.5x), admission rate (1.5x) are all indicators of college excellence (-1x)
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Methodology
To compile our list of college towns, we utilized data from the Department of Education. A college town has to have a four-year, degree-granting school with a majority of full-time students and a majority of degrees granted at the Bachelor’s level or above to qualify.
Zumper (rent prices), ApartmentList (rent costs), Walk Score (walkability and bikeability), the US Census (population estimates, number of businesses), and the US Department of Education provided data for the ranking criteria (all other data points).
The information was divided into three categories: affordability, college quality, and college town quality of life.
Living costs and college affordability were evaluated, with negatively weighted measures reflecting less affordable cities.
- The median student loan principal amount at the time of repayment (about 3 times): (typically about 6 months after full-time student status ends). The median value for institutions with the same Carnegie Undergraduate Profile Designation was used to fill up the gaps.
- Rent (about 4x): The monthly cost of a one-bedroom apartment near school. We utilized the median cost of a one-bedroom apartment in the town if rent data was not available near the college. When such figures were unavailable, rent was calculated using the state’s median cost of a one-bedroom unit. The rent cost was averaged across all of the town’s institutions.
- Net Cost (-4): The average tuition and fees minus scholarships, aids, and grants throughout the student population, averaged across each institution in the town, was used to determine the net cost of attendance. The median value for institutions with the same Carnegie Undergraduate Profile Designation was used to fill up the gaps.
The overall number of students, exclusivity, retention and graduation rates, graduate incomes, and resources allocated to teaching at the institution were all factors in determining education quality.
- Retention Rate (2.5x): The percentage of full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates who are still enrolled in the fall one year after beginning at the school, as averaged across all institutions in town. The median value for institutions with the same Carnegie Undergraduate Profile Designation was used to fill up the gaps.
- Graduation Rate (2x): Percentage of students who finish their program in less than 150 percent of the anticipated time (e.g., 6 years for a normal 4-year degree program), averaged across all institutions in the town. The median value for institutions with the same Carnegie Undergraduate Profile Designation was used to fill up the gaps.
- Median Wages (2x): Median earnings of students who are working and not enrolled in college 10 years following their initial enrollment, averaged across all institutions in town. The median value across all institutions was used to replace missing data.
- Number of Undergraduate Students (1.5x): Total number of undergraduate certificate/degree-seeking students enrolled in all of the town’s institutions.
- Instructional Expenditures per Student (1.5x): Averaged over all colleges in the town, university expenditure on instruction per full-time, degree-seeking student.
- Admission Rate (-1x): The percentage of applicants who are admitted for admission, averaged across all of the town’s institutions. The median value for institutions with the same Carnegie Undergraduate Profile Designation was used to fill up the gaps.
In addition, we took into account social and quality of life aspects in college cities and their surrounding regions.
- Walkability near the college (averaged across all institutions) is given a four-point score.
- Bikeability near the college (3x) is averaged across all institutions.
- Entertainment establishments (2.5x): Per 100,000 inhabitants, the number of arts, entertainment, and leisure establishments. The median number of businesses across all towns was used to replace missing data.
- Eateries (2.5x): Per 100,000 inhabitants, the number of restaurants. The median number of businesses across all towns was used to replace missing data.
- Power 5 Designation (2x): A binary (yes/no) indicator of whether or not at least one of the town’s colleges is a member of one of the Power 5 Conferences (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC).
- Student-to-Population Ratio (2x): The number of students enrolled in all of the town’s colleges divided by the total population.
Each of the measures listed above was computed for a particular town’s institutions (by averaging or summing across the colleges). After that, the data was normalized using z-scores and multiplied by their corresponding weights. Each metric’s weighted score was added together to produce a weighted score for each of the categories (affordability, college quality, and quality of life), which was then added together to give a total score for the overall ranking.
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Golden, Colorado (50).
Colorado School of Mines is one of the best colleges in the state.
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Ames, Iowa (49).
Iowa State University is one of the best colleges in the country.
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Lexington, Kentucky is number 48 on the list.
Universities: University of Kentucky, University of Kentucky, University of Kentucky, University of Kentucky, University
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Columbia, South Carolina is number 47.
University of South Carolina-Columbia, Benedict College, and Columbia College are the colleges that make up the University of South Carolina-Columbia.
Kruck20 / istockphoto contributed to this image.
Lexington, Virginia (#46)
Washington and Lee University and Virginia Military Institute are two colleges in the area.
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Clemson, South Carolina (45).
Colleges:
Clemson University is located in Clemson, South Carolina.
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Baton Rouge, Louisiana is number 44.
Louisiana State University, Southern University, and A&M College are some of the colleges in the area.
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New Brunswick, New Jersey is number 43 on the list.
Rutgers University-New Brunswick is a public university in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
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Norman, Oklahoma is number 42.
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus, University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus, University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus, University of Oklahoma
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Notre Dame, Indiana (No. 41)
University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s College are two colleges in the area.
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Tucson, Arizona (40).
University of Arizona is one of the most prestigious universities in the United States.
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Minneapolis is number 39.
Dunwoody College of Technology, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and Augsburg University are among the colleges in the area.
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La Jolla, California is number 38.
University of California, San Diego, and National University are two colleges in the area.
InnaPoka / istockphoto contributed to this image.
Provo, Utah (#37)
Brigham Young University is one of the best colleges in the country.
Brigham Young University in Laie, Hawaii, provided this image.
Rolla, Missouri is number 36.
Missouri University of Science and Technology is one of the state’s colleges.
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Blacksburg, Virginia is number 35.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University are two colleges in Virginia.
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Columbia, Missouri is number 34.
University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia College, and Stephens College are among the colleges in the area.
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Bloomington, Indiana is number 33.
Indiana University-Bloomington is a public university in Bloomington, Indiana.
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Tallahassee, Florida is number 32.
Florida State University, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Florida State University, Florida State University, Florida State University, Florida State University, Florida State University, Florida State
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Stillwater, Oklahoma is number 31.
Oklahoma State University is one of the best colleges in the state.
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College Park, Maryland is number 30.
University of Maryland-College Park is a public university in College Park, Maryland.
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Madison, Wisconsin is number 29.
Edgewood College, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Herzing University-Madison are among the colleges in the Madison area.
University of Wisconsin-Madison provided this image.
Newark, Delaware is number 28 on the list.
Universities: University of Delaware, University of Delaware, University of Delaware, University of Delaware, University
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Iowa City, Iowa is number 27.
Universities: University of Iowa, Iowa State University, Iowa State University, Iowa State University, Iowa
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Los Angeles is number 26.
Occidental College, Loyola Marymount University, California State University-Los Angeles, Mount Saint Mary’s University, University of California-Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Occidental College, Occidental College, Occidental College, Occidental College, Occidental College, Occidental College, Occidental College, Occidental College, Occidental College, Occidental College, Occidental College
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Eugene, Oregon is ranked number 25 in the United States.
Universities: University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Oregon State University, Oregon State University, Oregon
iStock picture by joshuaraineyphotography.
Athen, Georgia (#24)
University of Georgia is one of the most prestigious universities in the United States.
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Ithaca, New York is number 23 on the list.
Ithaca College and Cornell University are two colleges in Ithaca, New York.
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Boulder, Colorado is number 22 on the list.
University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Colorado at
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Shepherdstown, West Virginia is number twenty-one.
Shepherd University is one of the colleges in the area.
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College Station, Texas is number 20.
Colleges: Texas A&M University-College Station, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Texas A&M University-Kingsville,
Michael Barera is the author of this image.
Davis, California is number 19 on the list.
Universities: University of California-Davis, University of California-Berkeley, University of California-Berkeley
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East Lansing, Michigan is number 18 on the list.
Michigan State University is one of the best colleges in the country.
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Oxford, Mississippi is number seventeen.
University of Mississippi is one of the state’s colleges.
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University Park, Pennsylvania is number sixteen.
Pennsylvania State University is one of the most prestigious universities in the United States.
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Fairfax, Virginia is number fifteen.
George Mason University is one of the best colleges in the country.
Nicolas Tan/Creative Services/George Mason University / Wiki Commons image
Evanston, Illinois is number fourteen.
Northwestern University is one of the best colleges in the country.
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Chapel Hill, North Carolina is number thirteen.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
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Morgantown, West Virginia is number 12 on the list.
West Virginia University is one of the state’s colleges.
Image credit: iStock/catnap72
West Lafayette, Indiana (#11)
Purdue University is one of the most prestigious universities in the United States.
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Gainesville, Florida is ranked number ten.
University of Florida and Santa Fe College are two colleges in the area.
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Champaign, Illinois is number nine.
Universities: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Springfield, University of Illinois at Springfield, University of Illinois at Springfield, University
Killivalavan Solai provided the image.
Berkeley, California is number eight on the list.
University of California-Berkeley is one of the most prestigious universities in the United States.
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Cambridge, Massachusetts is number seven.
Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Lesley University are among the colleges.
Ario Barzan is the author of this image.
Ann Arbor, Michigan is number six.
Universities: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Michigan-Dearborn, University of Michigan-Dearborn,
User: (WT-shared) Jha4ceb at wts wikivoyage contributed this image.
Charlottesville, Virginia is number five.
University of Virginia is one of the most prestigious universities in the United States.
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Princeton, New Jersey is number four.
Princeton University is one of the best colleges in the country.
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Pasadena, California is number three.
California Institute of Technology is one of the most prestigious universities in the United States.
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2. Virginia’s Williamsburg
William and Mary are two of the most well-known colleges in the United States.
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1. Stanford University in California
Stanford University is one of the best colleges in the country.
Related:
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AlertMe
The best college towns in America is a topic that has been discussed for years. There are many different opinions on what the best college town is. Reference: best college towns in the south.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the #1 college town in America?
The #1 college town in America is the University of Pennsylvania.
What is the best college city in America?
The best college city in America is Boston.
What is the best place to live for a college student?
The best place to live for a college student would be somewhere that is close enough to campus, but not too far from the city.
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- best college towns to live in 2021
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- best college towns in the west
