Discovering the Best University Towns: A Comprehensive Guide

All 50 states lay claim to iconic colleges. But where are the best college towns? A true college town is one that’s synonymous with its college or university. In these spots, students form a significant share of the population. College towns go to seed every summer and hum back to life come autumn. It’s this student-centric community that enlivens these out-of-the-way burgs. The best college towns are all about students, yet are places young people want to live even after graduation. Finding the right college setting can be a big part of choosing a college. A college town, distinct from a suburb or a city that hosts a college, is a self-contained world - much like the campus it encapsulates.

Defining a College Town

Big cities house colleges like they house sports teams or neighborhoods: as facets of local culture. Analysis of the collegeiest college towns in America by the Washington Post insists that they’re provincial, they’re probably a bit isolated. True college towns are small towns, and yet college towns represent a unique type of urban place, one geographer points out, thanks to colleges’ highly educated workforces and concentrations of young people.

The best college towns are tightly knit to their college, with lots of interaction, identification, and school spirit. While most private colleges are expensive and pull the bulk of their students from out-of-state and abroad, leading to a greater “town and gown” divide, public colleges tend to represent their state.

What Makes a Town a "College Town"?

An Office for National Statistics analysis of towns and cities in England and Wales in 2021 identified that a high share of 16 to 24 year olds in the population was linked to the presence of a university, across all sizes of town and city outside of London. Gumprecht's college towns had a median population (in 2000) of 11,998, a median enrolment of 6,153, a median enrolment to population ratio of 48%, a median fraction of the population in the 18-24 age range of 31%, and a median fraction of employment in education of 21%. Most colleges in college towns were established in the 19th century, with a median establishment date of 1883.

Student Impact on the Local Economy and Culture

But it’s the students that make a college town, directly influencing the local economy - businesses are centered around students’ consumption habits - and culture. Between community events, student discounts, and safety measures, college towns provide new adults with friendly testing grounds for adult life.

Top College Towns in America

The following college towns get straight As for charm, amenities, and outdoor recreation. Each contains a major university whose students make up a sizable percentage of the town’s total population.

Methodology for Selection

Department of Education and National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to turn up all four-year, bachelor’s-degree-granting public institutions in towns, rather than urban, suburban, or rural environments. We vetted the results based on college reputation alongside town size, features, and liveability. Student population as percentage of town population is an estimate calculated by dividing each local college’s fall 2022 enrollment by the United States Census Bureau’s July 2022 population estimate for that town.

Examples of Excellent College Towns

Northfield (Carleton College, St. Olaf College): Prairies, restored forest and wetlands beautify the St. Olaf College campus in Northfield, making the 430-acre Natural Lands of St. Olaf a popular location for recreation and research. Limestone buildings dot the campus, a nod to the school's Lutheran affiliation and founding by Norwegian immigrants. Holland Hall, which opened in 1925, is modeled after the ancient Mont-Saint-Michel monastery-turned-abbey in Normandy, France.
Raleigh (North Carolina State University, Campbell University-Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, Meredith College, William Peace University, Shaw University, St. Augustine's University):
St. Cloud (St. Cloud State University, College of St. Benedict and St. John's University):

Read also: History of the Block 'M'
Winona (Winona State University, St. Mary's University of Minnesota):
Duluth (University of Minnesota Duluth, Lake Superior College, College of St. Scholastica):
Saint Paul (Saint Catherine University, Concordia University, Hamline University, Macalester College, University of St. Thomas):
Kirksville (Truman State University, A. T. Still University):
Nacogdoches (Stephen F. Austin State University):

Read also: Legacy of Fordham University
Canton (St. Lawrence University, SUNY Canton):
Laurinburg (St. Andrews University):
Moraga (St. Mary's College of California):
Lacey (St. Martin's University):
Loretto (St. Francis University):
Emmitsburg (Mount St. Mary's University):
Joliet (University of St. Francis):
Sault Ste. Marie (Lake Superior State University):
St. Leo (St. Leo University):

Honorable Mentions and Borderline Cases

When is a City Not a College Town?

Is Boston a college town? Boston is home to numerous high-profile colleges, notably Harvard and MIT, but the huge metro population dwarfs the combined undergraduate student body. For this reason, Boston can’t be considered a college town. Despite the big-city credentials, the hallowed campuses within Boston city limits feel like private worlds.

Borderline Cases: Cities with Strong College Influence

Is Knoxville a college town? Knoxville is considered a college town, though with a population approaching the 200,000 mark, it’s a stretch to consider the mid-sized city a town. There are plenty of economic and cultural interests outside of the University of Tennessee in this Southern destination. Still, pride for the “Vols” gives Knoxville its character.

The Allure of a Beautiful Campus

Campus beauty and design matter. The beauty of a campus influences a prospective student's first impressions and can sway the decision about college choice, experts say. But what makes a college campus beautiful is in the eye of the beholder, says Stefan Hyman, associate vice president for enrollment management at San Diego State University in California.

Examples of Campuses Known for Their Beauty

Lewis & Clark College (OR): This lush 137-acre campus in Portland affords views of the Willamette River and snow-capped Mount Hood. In addition to formal gardens and hiking trails, the Lewis & Clark College campus features majestic brick buildings that originally were private estates, such as Frank Manor House - a 35-room Tudor mansion completed in 1925 - and Corbett House, another mansion completed in the late 1920s that fuses Georgian and French chateau architectural styles and features bay windows, fireplaces and verandas. Elsewhere on the largely forested campus is a mass timber pedestrian bridge, a covered structure 188 feet long that spans a ravine. There's also the Experimental Arts Research forest, an outdoor lab with a programmable audio system featuring speakers set up along a rugged path for acoustic research, soundwalks and live performances.
Bard College (NY): Architectural gems and serene natural landscapes are part of a breathtaking campus situated on a tidal estuary in the Hudson Valley, facing the Hudson River and the Saw Kill tributary with the Catskill Mountains in view. The 1,100-acre campus in Annandale-on-Hudson has streams, ravines, ponds, wetlands, meadows, woodlands, formal gardens, an old-growth forest with historic-registered trees, and one of the nation's oldest working orchards - which has national historic site designation. More than 200 buildings, including 45 residence halls, range from ivy-adorned stone estates built in the early 1800s to glassy modern structures - many designed by renowned architects ranging from Andrew Jackson Davis and Charles Babcock to modern talents like Frank Gehry and Maya Lin. Travel + Leisure magazine has cited Bard College as one of America's most beautiful campuses.
Aurora University (IL): Situated about 45 miles west of Chicago, Aurora University's 37-acre campus features the landmark Eckhart Hall, which houses the school's administration offices and its carillon, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Opened in 1912, it's named after donor and Civil War veteran Charles Eckhart, who specified that the hall and all major buildings on campus feature distinctive red tile roofs. AU's formal entrance is lined with more than 50 Greenspire linden trees and more than 140 Dakota Pinnacle Asian birch trees. The campus was recognized for its beauty by the Professional Grounds Management Society, winning the 2023 grand honor in the small university and college grounds category.
Denison University (OH): Founded in 1831, Denison University sits on 900 acres in Granville. The university's defining architectural landmarks include the 1924 Swasey Chapel, built in English Stuart Revival style, and the 1894 Barney-Davis Hall. The white Vermont marble Swasey Observatory was funded in 1909 by Ambrose Swasey, who designed some of the most powerful telescopes of his time. The hilltop campus is also home to a 550-acre biological reserve and a college cemetery established in 1833. Designed by the Frederick Law Olmsted landscape architecture firm, the campus has been recognized by the PGMS with several national awards for its beauty and sustainable maintenance practices, including the Olmsted Property Honor Award in 2024.
Berry College (GA): Spanning more than 27,000 acres, Berry College in Georgia is the largest contiguous college campus in the world. It also has something most schools can't claim: a mountain on its campus. Lavender Mountain, over 1,500 feet, features a diverse habitat of forest, fields and wetlands as well as hiking and biking trails. The campus is full of lush greenery and boasts English Gothic architecture, reflecting pools, fountains and the Old Mill - a large wooden waterwheel. The school has used natural resources on the land, including timber, clay and limestone, for development. Several feature films, including "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Remember the Titans" were filmed on campus.
Pepperdine University (CA): Sometimes a school's geographic location can give the campus a leg up. One school that can stake that claim is Pepperdine University in California. Formed in 1937 and situated atop a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, Pepperdine gives students and faculty a view most college students don't get. The university's buildings "were designed to complement the ocean-side setting by using a modern interpretation of the Mediterranean Revival style," according to the Los Angeles Conservancy. The campus is also lined with a wide variety of tree, bush, succulent and flower species, including Canary Island palm trees and Moreton Bay fig trees.
Duke University (NC): Spanning nearly 8,700 acres in Durham, the Duke University campus was also recognized by the PGMS for its landscaping and beauty with the large university and college grounds grand award in 2023. The Duke Forest is home to more than 900 species of plants, including more than 100 species of trees, and more than 7,100 acres of the forest are dedicated to research and environmental study. At the edge of Cameron Woods stands an oak tree estimated to be about 350 years old. Duke's East Campus features Georgian architecture while the West Campus features Gothic architecture and the towering Duke Chapel, with 77 stained glass windows, ribbed vaults and a 50-bell carillon.
Flagler College (FL): Flagler College in St. Augustine traces its campus roots to 1888, when the Hotel Ponce De León was built by industrialist Henry Flagler, co-founder of the Standard Oil Company. The interior features stained glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
University of Virginia (VA): President Thomas Jefferson in 1819, the University of Virginia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its iconic red brick buildings and white columns were inspired by Greco-Roman architecture and Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladia, according to the Cultural Landscape Foundation. Jefferson designed the famous Academical Village to foster cross-disciplinary exchange; faculty from a range of specialties were housed in pavilions around a central U-shaped lawn, and students lived between professors' homes. Its centerpiece, the Rotunda, is modeled after the Pantheon in Rome. The campus' Pavilion Gardens, with their curving brick walls, include various designs "from Renaissance-derived elements to naturalistic designs typical of 18th-century English parks," according to the university.
Baylor University (TX): Baylor University features many buildings with Georgian-style architecture, giving it a uniform look across campus. Founded in 1845, the campus sits in the heart of Waco in central Texas. Pat Neff Hall, with its 23.5-karat golden cupola, and the 137-year-old red brick Old Main, with its pyramidal spires, are its most iconic landmarks. The campus features both exterior and interior beauty, as many buildings showcase ornate copper ceilings and other intricate designs.
Harvard University (MA): Roughly 660 tight-knit buildings make up the Boston-area campus, showcasing Romanesque, Colonial Revival, Federal, High Victorian Gothic, Greek Revival, Collegiate Gothic, Art Deco and modernist architecture. "A walker can sample almost 300 years of innovative designs in an easy stroll," The Harvard Gazette notes. Massachusetts Hall, built in 1720, is the oldest building on campus and served as a military barrack during the Revolutionary War. Today it houses a freshman dormitory and the president's office.
Furman University (SC): The 940-acre setting in Greenville at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains features woods, rolling green space and 13 miles of trails. A replica of a striking bell tower that was built on campus in 1854 rises 88 feet high from a peninsula on the 40-acre Furman Lake, which is framed by gardens and gathering spots. Other scenic campus features are Old College - a replica of writer Henry David Thoreau's Walden Pond cabin - and buildings designed by the Massachusetts firm that planned restoration of Colonial Williamsburg. There's also the Janie Earle Furman Rose Garden and the Asia Garden, which features a koi pond and Japanese flowers, plants and trees.
Kenyon College (OH): The oldest private college in Ohio, Kenyon College was founded in 1824. Its Gothic-inspired buildings sprawl across a 1,000-acre rural campus on a hilltop surrounded by wooded areas in the central Ohio city of Gambier. Rosse Hall, built between 1829 and 1845 in Greek Revival style, is Kenyon College's first chapel, according to the Society of Architectural Historians. A fire destroyed it in 1897, and the building was later converted to a gymnasium, then renovated in 1975 to resemble its original form. It's now a 600-seat concert and lecture hall. Ascension Hall, an elegant Victorian Gothic "castle" built in 1859, is home to five academic departments and a study lounge.
Indiana University Bloomington (IN): Nearly every building on the Indiana University Bloomington campus is made from local limestone, and the campus features about eight different styles of architecture. The building design creates a uniform look and feel as students stroll the campus, often passing through the Sample Gates, which were built in 1987 with Indiana limestone and now serve as the campus' iconic entrance.
San Diego State University (CA): Like many universities in California, San Diego State University features Mission-style buildings with white stucco facades and red tile roofs that blend with the city's architecture. The campus design plays off its sunny environment, Hyman says, with open outdoor corridors lined with palm trees, flower gardens and buildings with large windows. He says SDSU uses "value-sensitive design," which aims to accommodate the values of those it seeks to attract. One way it does that is by providing skateboard-specific lanes for skaters to get across campus. "So it's not just the beauty, it's the character that's displayed in the values," Hyman says.
Princeton University (NJ): Inspired in part by the architecture at the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, the campus offers an Old English feel. The Ivy League school is also known for its scenic views and natural beauty, including the fox gloves, white rhododendrons and hydrangeas of The Class of 1936 Garden, and the stone fountains, wild geranium, ageratum, Japanese spirea, lamb’s ear and wild geranium of the Wyman Garden. The campus is also home to several American colonial-style buildings, including the house where Albert Einstein lived from 1935 until his death in 1955.
Mercer University (GA): The oldest continuously operating university in Georgia after its founding in 1833, Mercer University features blooming azaleas, magnolia and pink Yoshino cherry trees, vibrant fall foliage and Victorian Gothic-style architecture across its 150-acre campus. The 168-feet spires atop the Godsey Administration Building can be seen across the city of Macon, and the Walter F. George School of Law building on Coleman Hill is modeled after Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed. "It's a formula that can't be manufactured."
Swarthmore College (PA): Located southwest of Philadelphia, Swarthmore College is centered around the campus' first building, Parrish Hall, a Victorian-style granite and slate structure built in 1869. Swarthmore's campus also features an amphitheater with multiple levels of lawn-covered stone tiers shaded by tulip trees. Throughout the school's 425 acres are many wooded areas and walking trails.
University of Washington (WA): Situated next to Lake Washington in Seattle, the University of Washington gives students a big-city experience along with a taste of just about everything associated with the Pacific Northwest - lush greenery by a large body of water with mountain views in the distance. You can see Mt. Rainier from various spots on campus and blossoming Yoshino cherry trees line the liberal arts quadrangle with bright pink each spring. UW calls the cathedral-like Suzzallo Library, with its vaulted timber ceilings and 65-feet-tall stained-glass lancet windows, "the soul of the university." Other retreats include mini beaches and the rhododendron- and azalea-filled Greig Garden where, University of Washington Magazine notes, "they 'unpaved' a parking lot and put up Paradise."
Stanford University (CA):

College Towns Around the World

The UK settlements with the highest proportion (over 30 per cent) of full-time students are St Andrews in Scotland (53 per cent), Aberystwyth and Bangor in Wales (both 42 per cent), and Durham and Canterbury in England (both 35 per cent). With the exception of Canterbury, these towns are dominated by a single institution that was established as a university or university college before the end of the 19th century. The BUA with the highest proportion of full-time students is Durham, with 35 per cent of the economically active population, closely followed by the multi-university city of Canterbury.

Leuven (Belgium):
Gent (Belgium): Gent, Gand, Ghent in east Flanders, Belgium. A university town of bars and restaurants and the second largest port in Belgium".
Dumaguete (Philippines):

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