Dallas' spirited neighbor Plano has entered the spotlight as the No. 16 best midsize college town in the U.S., while Dallas ranks among the best largest college towns, a new study by WalletHub has proclaimed.
While Plano might not be thought of as a "college town," it is home to primary campuses of Collin College (Spring Creek Campus and the Courtyard Center); Collin College has an annual enrollment of over 60,000 students. To qualify for the study, a city must have a university or college population of at least 7,500 students.
To determine the best college towns, WalletHub analyzed 415 cities based on their "wallet-friendliness," social environment, and academic and economic opportunities for college graduates. Cities are ranked overall and are sorted into one of three population categories: large, midsize, and small cities.
Several North Texas cities were represented across the three rankings by population, but none ranked higher than Plano. This Dallas suburb ranked as the 54th best college town in the nation overall, and ranks as the third-best college town in Texas.
Out of the three key dimensions, Plano ranked highest for its academic and economic opportunities – landing 25th nationally. This category analyzed Plano's quality of higher education, the earning potential for college graduates, unemployment rates, job growth rates, the share of part-time jobs and median income of part-time workers, and more.
In the remaining two categories for its "social environment" and "wallet friendliness," Plano respectively ranked 223rd and 271st nationwide. The social environment ranking compared the number of students per capita, the share of single people, crime rates, and the number of cafés, breweries, festivals, and shopping centers per capita, among others; the wallet-friendliness category examined local housing costs, student loan debt per person, the adjusted cost of living for young people, and other financial factors.
"As student living expenses can reach over $39,000 per year, it’s important to find the most bang for your buck," the report's author wrote. "Therefore, it’s best to live in a city with a reasonable cost of living, along with good academic and work opportunities. The ideal city should also provide a fun social environment to help students deal with the stress of college."
Dallas ranked as the 35th best large college town in the U.S., and it ranked 108th overall regardless of city size.
This is how the rest of North Texas fared in the report:
- Denton – No. 77 overall, No. 23 among midsize cities
- Fort Worth – No. 100 overall, No. 31 among large cities
- McKinney – No. 110 overall, No. 31 among midsize cities
- Richardson – No. 139 overall, No. 57 among small cities
- Irving – No. 141 overall, No. 39 among midsize cities
- Carrollton – No. 150 overall, No. 42 among midsize cities
- Arlington – No. 189 overall, No. 53 among large cities
- Grand Prairie – No. 230 overall, No. 71 among midsize cities
- Garland – No. 265 overall, No. 83 among midsize cities
- Mesquite – No. 317 overall, No. 111 among midsize cities
Other top college towns in Texas
Austin once again topped the list as the No. 1 best college town in America, boosted by the city's wealth of local colleges and universities and the local economy. The Capital City has outshone obvious contenders like Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, for five years in a row, and it also tops the large cities list.
According to the report's findings, Austin has the 15th best academic and economic opportunities for college students and graduates, and the 16th best social environment. WalletHub commends Austin for having one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation and the "34th-best annual job growth rate," while also offering students ample ways to "de-stress after class."
"On top of that, Austin ranks 22nd in the nation for the quality of higher education among more than 400 cities in our study," the report said. "It also has the 112th-cheapest in-state tuition (including room and board), at $34,651 per year."
Four other cities in the Lone Star State appeared on the overall list of America's best college towns: College Station (No. 37), San Antonio (No. 72), Houston (No. 73), and Lubbock (No. 83).
In the rankings by city size, San Antonio ranked as the No. 2 best large college town in Texas and 23rd in the U.S., with Houston right behind as the third-best statewide and 24th nationwide.
San Marcos, a college town between Austin and San Antonio, ranked as the No. 2 best small college town in Texas, and 54th best among the small colleges nationally. In the overall list regardless of city size, San Marcos ranked 132nd nationally.
The top 10 best college towns in America for 2027 are:
- No. 1 – Austin
- No. 2 – Ann Arbor, Michigan
- No. 3 – Charlottesville, Virginia
- No. 4 – Raleigh, North Carolina
- No. 5 – Atlanta
- No. 6 – Tampa, Florida
- No. 7 – San Diego
- No. 8 – Scottsdale, Arizona
- No. 9 – Orlando
- No. 10 – Charleston, South Carolina
