Best College Towns in America

Does location matter? Yes, more than ever the location of where you go to college does matter. The town or city surrounding your school will determine living costs, political mood, and other great entertainment necessities. This data is put together by the American Institute for Economic Research and uses US Census data. Because they profiled the cities by population, I'm listing the "Best College Towns" population category of populations from 100,000 to 1 million.(Not too small, not too large.)

Who doesn't have that image of the quintessential college town when choosing a college? This list gives you a more in-depth look into each college with the information that matters. (Like the party scene and where the local eats are!)

Home to the gorgeous Cache la Poudre River and a charming "Old Town", Fort Collins is indeed a college town, as Colorado State University holds the majority of town jobs.

National College Rank: #124

Acceptance Rate: 72.2%

Population: 138,736

Academics: B

Sports: C+

Food: B

Diversity: C+

Eye Candy: A-

Greek Life: B

Safety: B

Nightlife: A

Parking: B-

Weather: B+

*Stats are according to College Prowler* and are not associated with the author's personal feelings.

Warm weather, sunny beaches and all-night luaus? Who can resist?! University of Hawaii here we come!

National College Rank: #159

Acceptance Rate: 67%

Population: 909,863

*Unfortunately College Prowler does not have enough student survey data to formulate information.* =(

Santa Cruz is just one of the major UC schools. Santa Cruz is beautiful and decently close to the coast! Imagine studying archaeological ruins of Greece while sipping mimosas on the beach!

National College Rank: #72

Acceptance Rate: 64.2%

Population: 56,124

Academics: B+

Sports: D+

Food: B+

Diversity: B-

Eye Candy: A-

Greek Life: C

Safety: B

Nightlife: B-

Parking: C+

Weather: B+ (B+ for Cali weather, jeez!)

Home to the great Blue Devils, Durham is beautiful. Not only do they have that old Southern charm thing going on, they also have great sports. If you're a major basketball fan, this is your quintessential college town! Grab your blue gear, accent and go!

National College Rank: #9

Acceptance Rate: 18.9%

Population:223,284

Academics: A

Sports: A-

Food: A-

Diversity: A-

Eye Candy: B

Greek Life: A

Safety: C-

Nightlife: B

Parking: C

Weather: B+

Wisconsin is more than just the land of cheese. (But if you love beer and cheese, this place is great!) Madison is a hip beautiful town, with a fab downtown! Picture hard-working weekdays and bar crawling weekends!

National College Rank: #45

Acceptance Rate: 57.2%

Population: 235,626

Academics: B+

Sports: A-

Food: B+

Diversity: C+

Eye Candy: A-

Greek Life: B

Safety: B

Nightlife: A

Parking: C

Weather: C

Floridian beaches may not seem like the epitome of a great college education, but contrary to popular belief, University of Florida is one of the largest colleges in the nation. And they know how to party it up too, in bikinis no less!

National College Rank: #45

Acceptance Rate: 57.2%

Population: 235,626

Academics: B+

Sports: A-

Food: B+

Diversity: C+

Eye Candy: A-

Greek Life: B

Safety: B

Nightlife: A

Parking: C

Weather: C

Although Ewing, NJ was rated one of the top best college towns, there isn't enough information on the school for CP to conduct "student likes/dislikes" surveys.

Population: 35,790

Acceptance Rate: 46%

The famous Yale University. Home of the Bulldogs, famed Whiffenpoofs and the only Ivy on this list! Having one the oldest and most prestigious universities in the US makes New Haven a sure thing on our Best College Towns List.

National College Rank: #3

Acceptance Rate: 7.5%

Population: 123,330

Academics: A+

Sports: B

Food: A

Diversity: A-

Eye Candy: A

Greek Life: C+

Safety: C

Nightlife: A-

Parking: B

Weather: C+

I'm going to try to add my non-bias two cents on this one, since I am a U of M alum! Most renowned for the largest college football stadium in the US, Ann Arbor is home to the Big House, Wolverines and some great liberal hippies. It is the exact quintessential college town you picture in your head. Complete with old buildings and ivy. Go Blue!

National College Rank: #29

Acceptance Rate: 50%

Population: 114,024

Academics: A-

Sports: B+ (What?!)

Food: B

Diversity: B- (This one makes no sense as it's the most diverse campus in the nation!)

Eye Candy: B+

Greek Life: A

Safety: B-

Nightlife: A

Parking: C+ (This is generous, I'd give it a D+)

Weather: C+ (Once again, generous, imagine -30 degree windchill!)

This is the second city from Colorado clearly deserved since you can't really beat picturesque snow-capped mountains! Boulder, Colorado hits the top spot on the list of best college towns in America!

National College Rank: #86

Acceptance Rate: 84%

Population: 100,160

Academics: B

Sports: B

Food: B

Diversity: C

Eye Candy: B-

Greek Life: B-

Safety: B-

Nightlife: B+

Parking: B-

Weather: B+