Colorado Cities Make List Of Top College Towns To Live In
DENVER (CBS4) - Two Colorado cities have made the list of top college towns to live in, according to a new study.
SmartAsset compared hundreds of universities across the country to single out the best college towns to call home. While students are attracted to the quintessential college campus, a university also provides jobs for graduates and contributes significantly to the local economy. Depending on yours, it can be a great place to live.
The study first started with every city that has a four-year college or university. It was further narrowed to towns with a population of at least 25,000, and those in which the total enrollment of all schools in the area make up more than 20% of the total population. A true college town.
Considered by the study were each town's statistics on crime rate, unemployment, median income, housing costs, and the availability of dining and entertainment. Each location was ranked according to these metrics and then averaged to find those with the highest overall quality of life.
Both Boulder and Fort Collins made the top 15 list: Boulder ranked as the third top college town to live in, and Fort Collins as the fourteenth.
Boulder, home to the University of Colorado, was ranked as one of the top 10 college towns in last year's list as well. It is known as one of the cultural capitals of the west, and its dining and entertainment opportunities rank very high.
Fort Collins, home to Colorado State University, has a lower ranking in dining and entertainment options, but has a similar average discretionary income. The unemployment rate is listed as 3.8%.
The number one top college town to live in is Princeton in New Jersey. It is one of the safest college towns in the country with very low crime rates, and has one of the highest average discretionary income, likely due to the university.
Other top college towns include Bozeman, Montana, ranked as fourth for its outdoors accessibility and low unemployment rate, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, ranked sixth with the help of two top universities, Harvard and MIT.
Many of the 25 towns on the top list are found in the middle of the country. There are a few on the coast, including Santa Barbara and Berkeley, California, and Boca Raton, Florida. But 17 of the top 25 are located in the west or Midwest.
You can see the full study here.
