September 8, 2009

Students attending the University of Virginia are living in one of the best college towns in the country, according to the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER). The College Destinations Index released their list of America's 75 best college towns Tuesday. Charlottesville is number six.

The AIER says the towns and cities in which universities are located vary widely in the opportunities they offer students and recent graduates.

For purposes of comparison, AIER organized America’s more than 360 metropolitan statistical areas into four population categories: major metropolitan areas (with populations of 2.5 million or more), mid-size metro areas (1 to 2.5 million residents), small cities (250,000 to 1 million residents) and college towns (under 250,000). Charlottesville ranked in the college towns category.

The Institute used twelve criteria to rank the cities on academic environment, quality of life and professional opportunities. They included student concentration, diversity, cost of living, city accessibility, and earning potential among other criteria.

AIER became publisher of the College Destinations Index in 2008, taking over from Collegia, a regional planning organization in Wellesley, Mass., which had published the index since 2003.

Major Metros:
1) New York City; 2) San Francisco; 3) Boston; 4) Washington, DC; 5) Seattle; 6) Los Angeles; 7) Baltimore; 8) San Diego; 9) Minneapolis-St. Paul; 10) Miami; 11) Philadelphia; 12) Chicago; 13) Phoenix; 14) Houston; 15) Atlanta

Mid-size Metros:
1) San Jose, CA; 2) Austin, TX; 3) Hartford, CT; 4) Raleigh, NC; 5) Denver, CO; 6) Salt Lake City, UT; 7) Pittsburgh, PA; 8) Orlando, FL; 9) Portland, OR; 10) Sacramento, CA; 11) New Orleans, LA; 12) Richmond, VA; 13) Buffalo, NY; 14) Nashville, TN; 15) Providence, RI; 16) Rochester, NY; 17) Jacksonville, FL; 18) Columbus, OH; 19) Oklahoma City, OK; 20) Las Vegas, NV

Small Metros:
1) Boulder, CO; 2) Bridgeport, CT; 3) Ann Arbor, MI; 4) Gainesville, FL; 5) Madison, WI; 6) Durham, NC; 7) Trenton-Ewing, NJ; 8) Honolulu, HI; 9) Ft. Collins, CO; 10) Santa Barbara, CA; 11) Santa Cruz, CA; 12) Lincoln, NE; 13) Naples, FL; 14) San Luis Obispo, CA; 15) Albany, NY; 16) Manchester, NH; 17) Portland, ME; 18) New Haven, CT; 19) Oxnard, CA; 20) Sarasota, FL

CollegeTowns:
1) Ithaca, NY; 2) State College, PA; 3) Ames, IA; 4) Champaign-Urbana, IL; 5) Iowa City, IA; 6) Charlottesville, VA; 7) Corvallis, OR; 8) Bloomington, IN; 10) Columbia, MO; 10) College Station, TX; 11) Burlington, VT; 12) Athens, GA; 13) Logan, UT; 14) Lawrence, KS; 15) Fargo, ND; 16) Flagstaff, AZ; 17) Blacksburg, VA; 18) Lafayette, IN; 19) Morgantown, WV; 20) Bellingham, WA