College Rank, a website dedicated to evaluating and ranking college programs and experiences, has released a list of the Top 50 College Towns.
What makes a great college town? According to College Rank, the educational experiences that you are exposed to, the career opportunities you can take advantage of post-academic life, sports and student life on campus are all significant factors, but what about all the other aspects of a vibrant college town? Music, festivals, food, art and a compelling educated community are things that make a college town feel like home.
Tradition, values, fun and family are aspects of great communities. Add the energy from local college campuses and you have the ingredients for an amazing college town.
Accomplished writer Kara Meyer Robinson has researched and evaluated hundreds of college towns all over the U.S. in creating this list.
Meyer Robinson said she “considered things like how much outdoor space is there? Does it have streets lined with boutiques and cafés? Is it pedestrian-friendly? What’s the culture like? Can you pop into a museum or get tickets to the theater? Is there nightlife? What’s the general vibe?”
The cities (in alphabetical order):
- Ames, IA
- Amherst, MA
- Ann Arbor, MI
- Annapolis, MD
- Asheville, NC
- Athens, GA
- Berkeley, CA
- Bloomington, IL
- Boone, NC
- Boulder, CO
- Bowling Green, KY
- Bozeman, MT
- Burlington, VT
- Cambridge, MA
- Cedar City, UT
- Champaign, IL
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Charlottesville, VA
- College Station, TX
- Columbia, MO
- Columbia, SC
- Corvallis, OR
- Denton TX
- Duluth, MN
- Eugene, OR
- Evanston, IL
- Fayetteville, AR
- Flagstaff, AZ
- Fort Collins, CO
- Gainesville FL
- Hanover, NH
- Iowa City, IA
- Ithaca, NY
- Knoxville, TN
- Lafayette, LA
- Lawrence, KS
- Logan, UT
- Manhattan, KS
- Middlebury, VT
- Morgantown, WV
- Moscow, ID
- Oxford, MS
- Providence, RI
- Provo, UT
- San Luis Obispo, CA
- Santa Cruz, CA
- Santa Fe, NM
- Savannah, GA
- State College, PA
- West Chester, PA
