The 10 Best College Towns In Florida For 2022


Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2022. This is our fifth time ranking the best college towns in Florida.
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Believe it or not, America has the best colleges in the world. It's been proven by data (and surveys) that the U.S. educational system is of the highest quality

It's actually not even close and Florida is home to a handful of them.

While we could debate which colleges within the are the 'best,' that's not the goal of this post.

Instead, ride along with us as we determine which college towns in Florida are the best.

You know, the type of places where there's energy and stimulation, but the type of place you can walk around at night. The happiest, chillest, most downright fun places where you can send your kids off to college where you won't break the bank, or worry about their well being.

Without further ado, here are the best college towns in Florida for 2022.

The 10 Best College Towns In Florida For 2022

  1. St. Petersburg, FL
  2. Clearwater, FL
  3. Gainesville, FL
  4. Tampa, FL
  5. Sarasota, FL
  6. Fort Myers, FL
  7. Cocoa, FL
  8. Pensacola, FL
  9. Coral Gables, FL
  10. Tallahassee, FL

While some of these may not seem like a 'real' college town per se, when you look at the numbers, it's hard to argue against.

And for those who live in St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Gainesville - we tip our hats to you and we'll schedule a tour for next week. You can see where St. Petersburg ranks in terms of the best college town in America.

Finally, if you live in Leesburg, FL - it's officially the worst college town in Florida. Sorry, Leesburg!

Read on to find out more or for more on Florida check out:

The 10 Best College Towns In Florida For 2022

St. Petersburg, FL
Overall SnackAbility
8
/10

Population: 264,001
% Undergrad Pop.: 0.0% (47th best)
Median Rent: $1,168 (24th best)
Unemployment Rate: 465.0% (15th best)
Crime Rank: 29th best
More on St. Petersburg: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of South Florida-St Petersburg, Southeastern College-St. Petersburg

Clearwater, FL
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 115,975
% Undergrad Pop.: 17.2% (16th best)
Median Rent: $1,167 (23rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 635.0% (38th best)
Crime Rank: 13th best
More on Clearwater: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: St Petersburg College, Pinellas Technical College-Clearwater, National Aviation Academy of Tampa Bay

Gainesville, FL
Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 133,611
% Undergrad Pop.: 34.0% (5th best)
Median Rent: $965 (8th best)
Unemployment Rate: 505.2% (19th best)
Crime Rank: 4best
More on Gainesville: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of Florida, Santa Fe College, City College-Gainesville

Tampa, FL
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 395,912
% Undergrad Pop.: 8.9% (23rd best)
Median Rent: $1,178 (28th best)
Unemployment Rate: 577.3% (27th best)
Crime Rank: 8th best
More on Tampa: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of South Florida-Main Campus, Hillsborough Community College, The University of Tampa

Sarasota, FL
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 57,787
% Undergrad Pop.: 1.7% (35th best)
Median Rent: $1,177 (26th best)
Unemployment Rate: 366.7% (8th best)
Crime Rank: 32nd best
More on Sarasota: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Suncoast Technical College, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota School of Massage Therapy

Fort Myers, FL
Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 83,505
% Undergrad Pop.: 15.4% (17th best)
Median Rent: $1,096 (19th best)
Unemployment Rate: 450.9% (12th best)
Crime Rank: 15th best
More on Fort Myers: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Florida SouthWestern State College, Florida Gulf Coast University, Southern Technical College

Cocoa, FL
Overall SnackAbility
4
/10

Population: 20,151
% Undergrad Pop.: 65.8% (best)
Median Rent: $865 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 614.4% (35th best)
Crime Rank: 5best
More on Cocoa: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Eastern Florida State College

Pensacola, FL
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 52,918
% Undergrad Pop.: 31.6% (6th best)
Median Rent: $998 (11th best)
Unemployment Rate: 582.1% (28th best)
Crime Rank: 35th best
More on Pensacola: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Pensacola State College, The University of West Florida, George Stone Technical Center

Coral Gables, FL
Overall SnackAbility
9
/10

Population: 49,937
% Undergrad Pop.: 17.9% (13th best)
Median Rent: $1,794 (48th best)
Unemployment Rate: 323.2% (5th best)
Crime Rank: 16th best
More on Coral Gables: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of Miami, University of Southernmost Florida-Coral Gables Campus

Tallahassee, FL
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 192,885
% Undergrad Pop.: 19.6% (11th best)
Median Rent: $1,022 (14th best)
Unemployment Rate: 708.1% (42nd best)
Crime Rank: 37th best
More on Tallahassee: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Florida State University, Tallahassee Community College, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

How'd we figure out the best college towns in Florida?

To crunch our data on Florida's best college towns, we had to first decide which qualities (or rankings) make sense to use in the data, and then crunch the numbers for our rankings.

First off, we firmly decided that only cities with a 4 year college should make the cut -- so there has to be at least one college granting bachelors degrees in town.

You might be surprised to hear that there are only 41 places in Florida with an institution of higher learning with that criteria.

Source of data include OpenStreetMaps, the College Scorecard, the U.S. Census, and FBI reporting data to include the following factors:

  • Students Make Up Large % of the Population
  • College-specific Factors
    • Graduation rate
    • Tuition Cost
    • Student Body Diversity
  • Town Characteristics
    • Safety
    • Affordability
    • Income and Employment Opportunities
  • Things to Do
    • Bars
    • Museums & Libraries
    • Population Density

We ranked each city across each of the criteria, with one being the best.

We rolled up the individual scores into the category and ranked them again based on the category.

Finally, we took the average rank across each category, with the city posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title "Best College Town In Florida For 2022".

And it looks like St. Petersburg placed Summa Cum Laude.

There You Have It -- The Best College Towns In The

If you're looking for the best college towns in Florida, you came to the right place.

These places all have great college sports programs, tons of stuff to do, and are great places to raise a family.

If you're curious, these are the worst college towns in Florida, starting with the absolute worst, Leesburg:

  1. Leesburg
  2. Trinity
  3. West Palm Beach
  4. Kissimmee
  5. Ocala
  6. Lakeland
  7. North Miami
  8. DeLand
  9. Lake Wales
  10. Bradenton

For more reading, check out:

41 Best College Towns In Florida

Rank City Population
1 St. Petersburg, FL 264001
2 Clearwater, FL 115975
3 Gainesville, FL 133611
4 Tampa, FL 395912
5 Sarasota, FL 57787
6 Fort Myers, FL 83505
7 Cocoa, FL 20151
8 Pensacola, FL 52918
9 Coral Gables, FL 49937
10 Tallahassee, FL 192885
11 Miramar, FL 140479
12 Fort Lauderdale, FL 181818
13 Niceville, FL 15619
14 Orlando, FL 284817
15 Boca Raton, FL 98776
16 Winter Park, FL 30764
17 Melbourne, FL 82281
18 Naples, FL 21750
19 Temple Terrace, FL 26901
20 Orange Park, FL 8764
21 Sanford, FL 60337
22 Doral, FL 62367
23 Lake City, FL 12166
24 Miami, FL 461080
25 Jacksonville, FL 902488
26 Pompano Beach, FL 111202
27 Avon Park, FL 10539
28 Daytona Beach, FL 68711
29 Miami Gardens, FL 110767
30 Marianna, FL 6607
31 Palatka, FL 10388
32 Bradenton, FL 57346
33 Lake Wales, FL 16515
34 Deland, FL 33620
35 North Miami, FL 62468
36 Lakeland, FL 110335
37 Ocala, FL 60021
38 Kissimmee, FL 72410
39 West Palm Beach, FL 111006
40 Trinity, FL 12761
41 Leesburg, FL 23142

Best College Towns By State

Enjoy The Snack?