Top 10 College Towns In America According To The American Institute of Economic Research
The American Institute of Economic Research, which is a thing that ranks stuff, apparently, recently released their list of the top ten college towns in America. The list isn’t your average college town ranking, though. The SEC, long considered to be a dominant collection of quaint college towns, barely makes an appearance. But the criteria here are slightly different than normal.
-Student Concentration: number of college students per 1,000 population
-Student Diversity: percentage of student body that are non-U.S. residents
-Research Capacity: academic R&D expenditures per capita
-Degree Attainment: percent of the 25-to-34-year-old population with bachelor’s degree or higher
-Cost of Living: based upon average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment
-Arts and Leisure: number of cultural and entertainment venues per 100,000 population
-City Accessibility: percentage of workers over age 16 who commute on foot or by public transportation or bicycle
-Creative Class: percentage of workforce in the arts, education, knowledge industries, science and engineering, management and other fields
-Earning Potential: income per capita
-Entrepreneurial Activity: net annual increase in total number of business establishments per 100,000 population
-Brain Gain/Drain: year-over-year ratio of population with B.A. degree (it is only population with B.A degree, not all the college level) living in the area
-Unemployment rate“The characteristics that make up a great college destination often make a location ideal for business, retirement and tourism,” said Steven Cunningham, director of research and education for AIER.
Hmmm, so nothing about where it’s the best to rage or tailgate? This list seems suspect to me, but my school made it on here so I’m not complaining. Without further ado, a random list ranking college stuff:
10. Columbia, MO: The University of Missouri
9. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University
8. Lawrence, KS: The University of Kansas
7. Lafayette, IN: Purdue University
6. Champagne-Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Champagne-Urbana
5. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University
4. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa
3. State College, PA: Penn State University
2. Ames, IA: Iowa State University
1. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University and Ithaca College
[via The Huffington Post]
I guess Iowa City isn’t bad if you like overzealous cops and “at risk youth”
12 years ago at 1:33 pmWas that Stone Cold Steve Austin behind Sandusky?
12 years ago at 1:43 pmThe Texas rattlesnake
12 years ago at 2:01 pmGuess whoever made this list hasn’t been in Dixie!
12 years ago at 1:43 pmDo you realize just how gay you sound when you say that?
12 years ago at 12:44 amOnce I read that “Student Diversity” was part of the criteria, I knew this list would be a hoax.
12 years ago at 1:44 pmwhere the fuck is Athens? or any of the SEC for that matter? go suckstart a 12 gauge you list producing communist.
12 years ago at 1:48 pmThe only city deserving on that list is Morgantown, WV. It is a ridiculous place to party. But seriously, no Athens, Chapel Hill, Ann Arbor, Madison, Columbia, Eugene?
12 years ago at 1:53 pmI hope you didn’t mean Columbia, SC.
12 years ago at 2:00 pmShut the fuck up, Tuco- the only Columbia that matters is in South Carolina
12 years ago at 2:14 pm^What about the District of Columbia?
12 years ago at 4:05 pm^^Columbia clothing and apparel?
12 years ago at 5:00 pmFuck Eugene. If you like anything that comes out of that filthy liberal breeding ground you’re a boarder line communist.
12 years ago at 7:32 pmBorderline* ^ But still, This^
12 years ago at 8:51 pmPurdue has arguably the worst campus in the Big 10.
12 years ago at 1:59 pmFUCKING THANK YOU. Ugly as shit. Fuck Purdue. I smells bad and is covered in zipperheads too
12 years ago at 8:46 pmFuck your faces.
12 years ago at 10:57 am^ Judging by the grammar you just portrayed in your very thorough comment, I’m guessing you didn’t get accepted. The campus itself is very nice and it is also located in West Lafayette, not Lafayette. A major waterway separates the two. While Lafayette is a blue collar, lower to middle class town, West Lafayette is mainly inhabited by professors and employees of the University. According to the criteria, it definitely deserves to be on this list. Bloomington, on the other hand, is on par with the towns seen in Moonshiners.
12 years ago at 11:03 amNot to mention it is literally in the middle of no where. Wait, there is a pretty kick ass Cracker Barrell around there, and they do love ‘Merica. So there’s that.
12 years ago at 12:34 pmActual List
12 years ago at 2:14 pm1. Athens, Georgia
2. Tuscaloosa, Alabama
3. Oxford, Mississippi
4. Charlottesville, Virginia
5. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
6. Auburn, Alabama
7. Clemson, South Carolina
8. College Park, Texas
9. Columbia, Missouri
10. Columbia, South Carolina
do you fuck your sister too?
12 years ago at 2:57 pm^^ You try too hard, especially when your sister gives it up so easily.
12 years ago at 3:36 pmAuburn….What the fuck is there in Auburn? Nothing.
12 years ago at 3:42 pmI think they got it right with the #1 and #2 party schools on the list
12 years ago at 4:39 pmLooks like you have really visited campuses all over the country to make this list accurate…
12 years ago at 6:42 pmDoes someone want to tell me where the fuck College Park, TX is?
12 years ago at 7:32 pm^Thank you.
12 years ago at 8:11 pmClemson has no bars whatsoever there out in the middle of fucking nowhere. Greek Life is pretty good out there just not quite on par with the SEC. Sorry I’m biased.
12 years ago at 8:43 pmThank God Gainesville wasn’t included.
12 years ago at 11:51 pmMajority SEC schools, I like what you did there. Hotty Toddy
12 years ago at 12:45 pmI dismiss any list with a town that is not Oxford at numero uno as being the work of a Democrat, but that’s just me.
12 years ago at 2:14 pmI have been to Lawrence, KS and minus the campus, the town is a shit hole.
12 years ago at 2:31 pm