Best & Worst College Towns & Cities in America in 2020

If you’re a school senior you have a long list of things to do from taking the SAT/ACT exams and making that list of what you’re looking for in a college and making your colleges list. Then, compare the two, crossing off any colleges that don’t meet your criteria. Make a list of colleges you'd like to visit and try to schedule them throughout the next few months. Visiting schools will make narrowing down your list much easier and can be vital to the admissions process.

With application season in full gear and college living costs reaching $27,200 per student for a 12-month period, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2020’s Best & Worst College Towns & Cities in America.

To help college-bound high school seniors determine their future home for the next several years, WalletHub compared more than 400 U.S. cities – also grouped by city size – based on 31 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.

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

Best vs. Worst

• Johnson City, Tennessee, has the lowest cost of a two-bedroom apartment rental, $702 per month, which is 4.8 times lower than in San Francisco and Daly City, California, the cities with the highest at $3,339 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.
• Savannah, Georgia, has the lowest cost of higher education, $17,255 per year, which is 4.3 times lower than in Evanston, Illinois, the city with the highest at $74,649 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.

Expert Commentary

In deciding which university to attend, how important is the surrounding city/town?

“The answer to this question depends a lot on what kind of student you are,” said Cecilia M. Orphan, PhD, Morgridge College of Education. “If you’re younger and wants the experience of going away for college, the surrounding city and town should be a place you can see yourself learning how to “adult” in. Meaning, perhaps it should be slightly bigger than the town you are from but not so much bigger that you’re completely overwhelmed. If you need to hold a part-time job outside of classes, it should also be a place where there are job opportunities for students. It is equally important to consider the cost of living in the city or town. Can you afford to rent or live off campus if you want? Will public transportation allow you to get around if you don’t have a car? Are there bars, restaurants, and other activities nearby that reflect your interests?

“If you’re someone who wants to remain close to home, the surrounding city/town also matters a lot. Some questions to consider when deciding to remain close to home follow. If you have children, are there are affordable childcare options? Do you have family members nearby who can support you while you focus on your studies? And then similar to the considerations above, are there adequate public transportation options, attractive activities to do outside of schoolwork, and affordable housing options?

If you’re from a rural community and want to stay in this kind of community, you’ll want to apply to colleges in rural areas. Likewise, if you’re from a city and can’t imagine living in a small town, you should be looking at colleges in cities.

In short, just as it does in real estate, location matters in deciding where to attend college!

“In my opinion, it is an important factor since it plays an essential role in the students' lives beyond the university,” said Robert J. Birgeneau, University of California, Berkeley.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of going to college in state vs. out of state?

“The most obvious benefit of attending a college in-state is in-state tuition which can be significant savings for students and their families,” said Orphan, Morgridge College of Education. “If a student is only applying to private universities, though, tuition differences will matter less because many private colleges cost about the same.”

“An advantage of attending college out of state for younger students is that they can learn how to live outside of their home communities and away from parents. A disadvantage, of course, is that familial support may be more than a drive away when needed. Likewise, for students with children, being away from family who can assist with childcare is a disadvantage. We also know that many people who are first in their families to go to college and students of color rely on family support to navigate college campuses and do best when they choose colleges close to home. For students of color, being close to home and familiar community cultural centers can be important, particularly if they are attending colleges that are not racially diverse. For first-generation students attending colleges where most students have parents who went to college, being close to family can be an important source of emotional support. In these cases, going to college out-of-state could mean visiting family could entail a cross-country flight away that would require planning and monetary investment. For these reasons, the idea of “going away” for college may not be ideal for everyone.”

“An important reason to attend college out-of-state would be if a student’s home state lacks the industry in which they want to work after graduation. Because colleges often align their degree offerings with their state’s industry needs, campus officials may have existing relationships with industry leaders that can facilitate internships or job placements for students. Someone interested in going into the entertainment industry will find a lot of opportunities in California and New York, for example, whereas someone interested in natural resource management may want to attend college in Colorado or Wyoming where there are a large number of national parks.”

“In-state public universities typically have tuitions that are 1/3 to 1/4 of those of out-of-state private and even public universities,” said Birgeneau, University of California, Berkeley. “This greatly reduces student debt on graduation. Further, in states like California and Michigan, the in-state universities are better than all but a handful of out-of-state universities, public or private.”

To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:

https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-college-cities-and-towns-in-america/8974/