The 20 best college towns across the US, ranked

"Lively college towns are pinnacles of American higher education. The communities immediately surrounding college campuses can define what a student's college experience looks like, from having access to restaurants and bars to meeting students from nearby institutions. When it comes to choosing a college or university to attend, location can be just as important as academics for some students. In a recent study, WalletHub analyzed over 400 cities across the US and ranked them based on affordability, social scene, and academic prospects in 2025."

"To analyze the cost of living (or "wallet friendliness"), WalletHub researchers examined data such as average housing costs, the cost of higher education, the share of rental units, and the average cost of pizza and burgers in each city. Its social rank was determined by factors like the share of the population aged 18-35, the share of single people, the student gender balance, and cafes, breweries,"

WalletHub analyzed over 400 U.S. cities in 2025, ranking them by affordability, social scene, and academic and economic opportunity. Affordability measures included housing costs, higher education costs, rental-unit share, and average prices for common foods. Social metrics included population share aged 18–35, share of single residents, student gender balance, and per-capita cafes, breweries, food trucks, and nightlife. Academic and economic metrics included higher-education quality, job-growth rate, graduate earning potential, and unemployment rate. Data sources included federal agencies (Census Bureau, BLS, NCES, FBI, HUD), TransUnion, TripAdvisor, Yelp, and WalletHub research. Top college towns noted include Austin, Ann Arbor, and Madison.

Read at Business Insider