Is Columbia or Clemson the best college town in SC? A new report says it has the answer
The Gamecocks recently had huge upset win against the Tigers in football, but their in-state rivalry is never over.
And WalletHub, a major personal finance website, has seemingly added to that rivalry with a new report ranking more than 400 college towns across the U.S.
So which South Carolina college town reigns supreme?
According to the report, Clemson is the better pick, coming in at 37th on the list among U.S. college towns. Columbia earned a far lower 144th ranking.
Both are still far away from the top 10 best college towns in the U.S. The top spot went to Austin, TX, while Raleigh, NC, earned the 10th ranking. Flint, MI was dead last on the list.
To determine the rankings, WalletHub compared the more than 400 college towns based on 32 key indicators of academic, social and economic opportunities for students. The data set ranged from cost of living to higher education quality and crime rate.
Sources of data used in the report include the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the FBI, the National Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Here is where Clemson and Columbia ranked in three main metrics: cost of living, the social environment and academic and economic opportunities.
Clemson
- Cost of living: 52nd
- Social environment: 49th
- Academic and economic opportunities: 234th
Columbia
- Cost of living: 193rd
- Social environment: 72nd
- Academic and economic opportunities: 295th
Here are the 10 best college towns in the U.S., according to the report.
- Austin, TX
- Ann Arbor, MI
- Orlando, FL
- Gainesville, FL
- Tampa, FL
- Rexburg, ID
- Provo, UT
- Scottsdale, AZ
- Miami, FL
- Raleigh, NC
This story was originally published December 5, 2022 at 8:00 AM.
