Ranked: Best College Towns in the US in 2025

School: Yale University

The home of Yale University, New Haven was ranked 38th in the study’s academic and economic opportunities list, and it came second overall for quality of higher education, only behind Princeton, New Jersey.

However, it also had the lowest rank out of top 20 cities in the study’s social environment rank, and WalletHub noted it had one of the highest costs for higher education.

School: College of Charleston

Ranked as the ninth-highest city in the study’s social environment ranking, Charleston had the sixth-highest social ranking out of the top 20 cities.

School: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Madison, Wisconsin, home to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was ranked as the 42nd-best city in terms of social environment in the study, which looked at 415 towns and cities.

School: University of Utah

Salt Lake City, home to the University of Utah, was ranked as the 17th best college town in America.

Out of the top 20 cities, it had the lowest ranking on the study’s economic and academic opportunity rank, which considered factors such as job-growth rate, earning potential for college graduates, and unemployment rate.

School: University of Washington

Despite its overall high ranking, Seattle was ranked as the lowest city in the top 20 in the wallet friendliness category, coming 360th out of the 415 places in the study.

School: Florida State University

The capital city of Florida and home to Florida State University, Tallahassee, was the second-highest ranked city for wallet friendliness within the top 20, although it also had the second-lowest social rank out of the cities in the top 20.

Schools: University of Miami, Florida International University

Miami was ranked as the 14th best college town in the country, and the city also received the third-highest social rank in the top 20, ranking fourth overall out of all cities in the study.

School: Scottsdale Community College

Scottsdale, Arizona, which houses the Scottsdale Community College and was ranked as the 13th best college town in the US, had the second-lowest ranking for wallet friendliness out of the top 20 cities.

WalletHub also noted it had the second fewest students per capita of all the 415 cities in the study, behind only Cape Coral, Florida.

Schools: Grand Canyon University

Phoenix was ranked the 12th best college town in the US. The city is home to Grand Canyon University and is near other major universities in nearby towns.

School: University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University

Home to the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University among other institutions, Pittsburgh received the second-highest social rank out of top 20 cities, ranking third overall. The city was also ranked as the lowest out of the top 20 in the economic and academic opportunity rank.

School: University of Florida

The home of the University of Florida was the highest-ranked for wallet friendliness within the top 20 college towns.

It also had the fourth-lowest cost of higher education out of the 415 cities studied by WalletHub.

School: University of Virginia

Home to the University of Virginia, Charlottesville was ranked the third highest for academic and economic opportunity out of the top 20 college towns.

School: University of Nevada, Reno

Ranked as the eighth-best college town in the US, Reno is home to the University of Nevada, Reno.

Schools: Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Emory University, Spelman College, Morehouse College

Atlanta is home to over a dozen major universities and over 50 higher education institutions. The city received the highest social rank out of all the cities in the top 20, ranking second overall for all cities in the study.

School: Arizona State University

Tempe, home to Arizona State University, was the fourth-highest ranking city within the top 20 in the academic and economic opportunity category.

School: North Carolina State University

The home of North Carolina State University was ranked as the fifth-highest out of the top 20 college towns for academic and economic opportunity.

School: University of South Florida, University of Tampa

Out of the top 20 college towns in the US, Tampa was the third-highest ranking for wallet friendliness and fourth-highest for social environment — where it ranked fifth overall out of all cities in the study.

School: University of Central Florida

Orlando had the fifth-highest social rank out of the top 20 cities.

WalletHub reported that at $24,668 per year, Orlando also has the 14th-lowest tuition, including room and board, for in-state students.

School: University of Michigan

Home to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor was the second-highest ranking out of the top 20 college towns for academic and economic opportunities.

It provides opportunities for social connections too, with 348 out of every 1,000 residents being students, per WalletHub.

School: University of Texas at Austin

Austin is ranked as having the 10th-best academic and economic opportunities in the US — WalletHub noted the city has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.

Pizza prices are low, and there are plenty of attractions in the city to help students unwind, the report added.