If we don’t have much to do with the University of Texas at Austin (UT), we sometimes forget it’s there. But, we shouldn’t as it is one of the main reasons our economy is booming and job market is strong. Though Austin is moving away from its small “college town” roots, it still is not losing its respect as a highly desirable college town.
Austin Ranked #1 College Town in Big City Category
Recently, Wallet Hub did a study of the 2014 Best and Worst College Towns in America. The first twelve towns were all small cities, including our neighboring rival, College Station. Austin came in at lucky #13 on the overall list and was the 1st big city to get the nod. You can read the whole list here.
Best College Cities in America Overall
Here is the list of the top 25 college towns on the overall report (not considering size).
Oxford, OH- State College, PA
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Corvallis, OR
- College Station, TX
- Laramie, WY
- San Luis Obispo, CA
- Stillwater, OK
- Bozeman, MT
- East Lansing, MI
- Ames, IA
- Manhattan, KS
- Austin, TX
- Mankato, MN
- Bloomington, IN
- Iowa City, IA
- Fayetteville, AR
- Boulder, CO
- Charlottesville, VA
- Gainesville, FL
- Columbia, MO
- Auburn, AL
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Ithaca, NY
- Cedar Falls, IA
Oxford, OHTop 10 Best College Towns (Big City Category)
Here are the top 10 best college towns in the big city category. You’ll notice many of these cities are the cities Austin is often compared.
- Austin, TX
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Columbus, OH
- Tampa, FL
- Atlanta, GA
- Lexington, KY
- Raleigh, NC
- Seattle, WA
- Nashville, TN
- Minneapolis, MN
Austin Ranked #2 in Opportunities Rank
One of the categories they scored these towns on was opportunities. They considered earning potential of college graduates, percentage of part time jobs, unemployment rate, entrepreneurial activity, brain drain (change in share of population with a college degree), job growth rate and quality of higher education (which was given double weight). Austin ranked #2 on this list behind Oxford, OH, which is not surprising given how many UT graduates from outside of Austin decide to make Austin home once they graduate.
Considering Relocating to Austin to Attend UT?
Dorm living is much more expensive than buying a home or condo to live in while you’re here. And, when you’re an official resident of Texas, you’ll get in-state tuition. If you purchase a home or condo 1 year before you enroll, you’ll get all 4 years at the in-state price. Buying a condo or home in Austin is not as expensive as you might think. Check out our Condos Near UT and Homes Near UT to investigate some options. Then, check out our Austin Home Buyers page to learn more about our free buyer representation program that takes a consultative – not hard sales – approach. When you’re ready, call us at (512) 827-8323, email us at info@11OaksRealty.com or fill out our Relocation Survey to schedule a no obligation consultation. We can help you determine whether or not buying a condo or home in Austin to live in while you attend college would make sense for you.
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