Columbus in Top Ten for Best College Towns and Cities

By Vic Gideon
Courtesy The Ohio State University

(CLEVELAND) The Home of The Ohio State University ranks in the Top Ten for Best Large College Cities. Personal-finance website WallHub has released its report on 2019’s Best & Worst College Towns & Cities in America, comparing more than 400 U.S. cities – also grouped by city size – based on 30 key indicators of academic, social and economic growth potential. The data set ranges from cost of living to quality of higher education to crime rate.

Cleveland ranked #58 for Large College Cities while Cincinnati ranked 13th in Middle College Cities followed by Dayton at 115, Akron at 127, and Toledo at 142. Oxford and Athen, Ohio ranked 21st and 22nd in Small College Cities with Kent at 88 and Bowling Green at 123.

Click for the full report.

Best Large College Cities*

1. Austin, TX

2. Tampa, FL

3. Las Vegas, NV

4. Seattle, WA

5. Los Angeles, CA

6. Atlanta, GA

7. Miami, FL

8. San Diego, CA

9. Columbus, OH

10. St. Louis, MO

Best Midsize College Cities*

1. Orlando, FL

2. Scottsdale, AZ

3. Gainesville, FL

4. Salt Lake City, UT

5. Madison, WI

6. Vancouver, WA

7. Irvine, CA

8. Reno, NV

9. Henderson, NV

10. Tempe, AZ

Best Small College Cities*

1. Ann Arbor, MI

2. Provo, UT

3. Rexburg, ID

4. Stevens Point, WI

5. West Lafayette, IN

6. Storrs, CT

7. Orem, UT

8. College Station, TX

9. Starkville, MS

10. Charlottesville, VA

*For simplicity, we used the term “Cities” to refer to both cities and towns.

Best vs. Worst 

  • Albany, Georgia, has the lowest cost of a two-bedroom apartment rental, $682 per month, which is 4.1 times lower than in San Francisco and Daly City, California, the cities with the highest at $2,809 per month.
  • Edinburg, Texas, has the lowest cost-of-living index for young people, 77.18, which is 2.9 times lower than in Stanford, California, the city with the highest at 221.91.
  • Whitewater, Wisconsin, has the lowest cost of higher education, $17,804 per year, which is 4.1 times lower than in Evanston, Illinois, the city with the highest at $72,980 per year.
  • Stony Brook University, New York, is among the cities with the most enrolled students (per 1,000 residents), 947, which is 22.5 times more than in Cape Coral, Florida, the city with the fewest at 42.

© 2018 iHeartMedia   Photo Courtesy The Ohio State University

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