When picking a college, a school's location can sometimes be just as important as its academics.
The American Institute of Economic Research has released its latest College Destination Index, which compared college towns around the country based on their academic environment, quality of life, and professional opportunity.
The index separated the destinations by population size. Here we've rounded up the best of the small college towns, all with a population under 250,000. We've included select statistics about each town; click here to see the full report.
#20 Waterloo, IA
This small town, home to Allen College and Hawkeye Community College, has a remarkably low cost of living, and new businesses are cropping up all of the time. The much larger University of Northern Iowa, enrollment 13,000, is located in neighboring Cedar Falls.
Student concentration: 118.4 college students per 1,000 people
Average rent for 2-bedroom apartment: $635
Income per capita: $36,605
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
#19 Bloomington, IN
Indiana University's flagship campus and its more than 32,000 undergrads are located here, which could explain why more than 42% of the city's 25-34 year-old population have at least a bachelor's degree.
Student concentration: 237.8 college students per 1,000 people
Average rent for 2-bedroom apartment: $747
Income per capita: $30,252
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
#18 Logan, UT
This mountain town, site of Utah State University, has the lowest average rent of all of the college towns on this list. Its 3.6% unemployment rate is also one of America's lowest.
Student concentration: 145 college students per 1,000 people
Average rent for 2-bedroom apartment: $631
Income per capita: $26,872
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
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