The best college town or city for students in every US state

Where a student attends college can shape their experience as much as academics, athletics, and campus life do.

Beyond being the backdrop for college memories, a school’s setting often determines what students do outside class and the opportunities and experiences they have access to as they pursue their degrees.

In a study released last October, WalletHub analyzed more than 400 college towns across the US — defined as cities with college populations over 7,500 students — in three categories: wallet-friendliness, social environment, and academic and economic opportunity.

While some states had many of their college locations listed — California had 90 locations on the list, and Florida took up five of the top 15 spots — others were barely represented, and Maine had no entries at all.

The analysis considered factors such as housing and education costs, the share of residents ages 18 to 35, nightlife and dining options, higher education quality, and graduates’ earning potential to determine each location’s rank.

The study used data from federal agencies, including the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the National Center for Education Statistics, as well as from companies such as TransUnion, TripAdvisor, and Yelp, along with other WalletHub research.

For this list, we took the highest-ranked place in each US state to determine the best college town or city in every state.