The best college towns have it all: social activities along with academic and professional opportunities wrapped up in a wallet-friendly package.
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2017 (Shuttertock)
The best college towns have it all: social activities along with academic and professional opportunities wrapped up in a wallet-friendly package.
Who doesn’t love a good college town? Whether you’re there for an education, working there, retiring there or just going for a visit, college towns are rich with a diversity of people, cultures, food and activities.
College towns often have plenty of jobs and tend to be walkable, bicycle-friendly places with good public transportation and accessible health care. They’re never boring and have something for everyone, from lectures and film festivals to giant Halloween block parties (like the one in Athens, Ohio.)
Whether your taste is for art galleries, sports, music, nightlife or even the quirky (Storr, Conn., has a puppet museum) it’s likely you’ll keep busy year round, even in summer, when some towns have lively festivals that last weeks (Ann Arbor has a three-week summer festival) or even months (Iowa City’s lasts two months.) And don’t forget the unique coffee shops, bars and cheap eats around town.
For students looking for a college, does the surrounding city or town matter? Yes, says Herman E. Walston, a professor of academic affairs at Kentucky State University. The city can provide part-time job opportunities for students while at college, as well as full-time employment after graduation. It can also provides exposure to new things, he says. “A surrounding town/city provides cultural activities and events to further enlighten the student’s awareness of what the world is like if they are from rural communities with limited resources.”
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But the cost of living in urban college towns can be high, says Richard Fossey, a professor emeritus at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette. Fossey attended law school at the University of Texas in Austin, which is No. 1 on this list. Back then, he says, Austin was known as a mellow town with a low cost of living.
“Today, the cost of living in Austin is out of sight, and traffic is choking the freeways and streets. It is still a lovely place to live, but housing is quite expensive.”
To find the coolest college towns in the country, WalletHub gathered at data from 415 cities, from small to large, and scored them on their cost of living, social environment, and academic/economic opportunities. Only towns with a university or college population of 7,500 students or more were included.
Cost of living considers rental prices, college cost and student loan debt, but also the price of movies, bowling, pizza, burgers and fitness centers.Social environment includes the share of population aged 18-35, share of singles, gender balance, crime rate, plus the number of cafes, breweries, food trucks, shopping centers and NCAA sports teams. Academic/economic opportunities includes quality of higher education, earning potential for grads, share of part-time jobs, unemployment, entrepreneurial activity and brain drain. Based on WalletHub’s research, these are the best college towns in America.
1. Austin, Texas
Cost of living rank: 209Social environment rank: 10Academic and economic opportunities rank: 232. Ann Arbor, Mich.
Cost of living rank: 250Social environment rank: 17Academic and economic opportunities rank: 143. Provo, Utah
Cost of living rank: 22Social environment rank: 63Academic and economic opportunities rank: 454. Orlando, Fla.
Cost of living rank: 80Social environment rank: 4Academic and economic opportunities rank: 1415. Oxford, Ohio
Cost of living rank: 3Social environment rank: 1Academic and economic opportunities rank: 304Shutterstock
6. Gainesville, Fla.
Cost of living rank: 130Social environment rank: 62Academic and economic opportunities rank: 617. Scottsdale, Ariz.
Cost of living rank: 309Social environment rank: 140Academic and economic opportunities rank: 18. West Lafayette, Ind.
Cost of living rank: 39Social environment rank: 39Academic and economic opportunities rank: 1129. Rexburg, Idaho
Cost of living rank: 5Social environment rank: 97Academic and economic opportunities rank: 11810. College Station, Texas
Cost of living rank: 28Social environment rank: 53Academic and economic opportunities rank: 12511. Orem, Utah
Cost of living rank: 133Social environment rank: 206Academic and economic opportunities rank: 1912. Tampa, Fla.
Cost of living rank: 175Social environment rank: 22Academic and economic opportunities rank: 9213. Chapel Hill, N.C.
Cost of living rank: 185Social environment rank: 72Academic and economic opportunities rank: 5514. Raleigh, N.C.
Cost of living rank: 198Social environment rank: 35Academic and economic opportunities rank: 7415. Ithaca, N.Y.
Cost of living rank: 285Social environment rank: 11Academic and economic opportunities rank: 5716. Princeton, N.J.
Cost of living rank: 388Social environment rank: 85Academic and economic opportunities rank: 217. Irvine, Calif.
Cost of living rank: 376Social environment rank: 68Academic and economic opportunities rank: 618. Storrs, Conn.
Cost of living rank: 213Social environment rank: 3Academic and economic opportunities rank: 140Shutterstock
19. Pittsburgh
Cost of living rank: 200Social environment rank: 9Academic and economic opportunities rank: 13620. Fayetteville, Ark.
Cost of living rank: 16Social environment rank: 131Academic and economic opportunities rank: 11921. Tempe, Ariz.
Cost of living rank: 128Social environment rank: 52Academic and economic opportunities rank: 12422. Salt Lake City, Utah
Cost of living rank: 168Social environment rank: 66Academic and economic opportunities rank: 9523. Laramie, Wyo.
Cost of living rank: 34Social environment rank: 50Academic and economic opportunities rank: 188Shutterstock
24. Seattle
Cost of living rank: 374Social environment rank: 8Academic and economic opportunities rank: 3425. Atlanta
Cost of living rank: 257Social environment rank: 37Academic and economic opportunities rank: 7026. Reno, Nev.
Cost of living rank: 203Social environment rank: 51Academic and economic opportunities rank: 9827. Miami
Cost of living rank: 207Social environment rank: 6Academic and economic opportunities rank: 18428. Charlottesville, Va.
Cost of living rank: 279Social environment rank: 31Academic and economic opportunities rank: 6829. Clemson, S.C.
Cost of living rank: 54Social environment rank: 26Academic and economic opportunities rank: 25730. Madison, Wis.
Cost of living rank: 216Social environment rank: 58Academic and economic opportunities rank: 94See the full ranking of all the college towns and the methodology for this ranking at WalletHub.