The 10 Best College Towns In Iowa For 2022
By Nick Johnson & Chris Kolmar | 04/07/2022
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 Iowa 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 Iowa 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 Iowa for 2022.
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 Iowa City, Sioux Center and Decorah - we tip our hats to you and we'll schedule a tour for next week. You can see where Iowa City ranks in terms of the best college town in America.
Read on to find out more or for more on Iowa check out:
Population: 75,849
% Undergrad Pop.: 25.4% (3rd best)
Median Rent: $976 (18th best)
Unemployment Rate: 472.6% (12th best)
Crime Rank: 11th best
More on Iowa City: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: University of Iowa, La James International College-Iowa City, The Salon Professional Academy-Iowa City
Population: 7,592
% Undergrad Pop.: 18.7% (5th best)
Median Rent: $699 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 30.7% (best)
Crime Rank: best
More on Sioux Center: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Dordt College
Population: 7,615
% Undergrad Pop.: 34.4% (best)
Median Rent: $652 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 330.2% (6th best)
Crime Rank: 3rd best
More on Decorah: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Luther College
Population: 11,727
% Undergrad Pop.: 11.8% (10th best)
Median Rent: $711 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 403.8% (10th best)
Crime Rank: 12th best
More on Oskaloosa: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: William Penn University
Population: 9,069
% Undergrad Pop.: 14.8% (7th best)
Median Rent: $739 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 632.0% (15th best)
Crime Rank: 13th best
More on Grinnell: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Grinnell College
Population: 66,361
% Undergrad Pop.: 33.3% (2nd best)
Median Rent: $944 (17th best)
Unemployment Rate: 726.7% (17th best)
Crime Rank: 10th best
More on Ames: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Iowa State University, PCI Academy-Ames
Population: 10,508
% Undergrad Pop.: 25.0% (4th best)
Median Rent: $695 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 794.4% (18th best)
Crime Rank: 9th best
More on Storm Lake: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Buena Vista University, Faust Institute of Cosmetology-Storm Lake
Population: 215,408
% Undergrad Pop.: 2.6% (14th best)
Median Rent: $881 (15th best)
Unemployment Rate: 603.3% (14th best)
Crime Rank: 18th best
More on Des Moines: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Drake University, Grand View University, AIB College of Business
Population: 10,279
% Undergrad Pop.: 13.0% (8th best)
Median Rent: $788 (11th best)
Unemployment Rate: 141.5% (2nd best)
Crime Rank: 2nd best
More on Pella: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Central College
Population: 10,327
% Undergrad Pop.: 2.5% (15th best)
Median Rent: $761 (7th best)
Unemployment Rate: 929.2% (19th best)
Crime Rank: 6th best
More on Fairfield: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Maharishi University of Management
To crunch our data on Iowa'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 17 places in Iowa 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:
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 Iowa For 2022".
And it looks like Iowa City placed Summa Cum Laude.
If you're looking for the best college towns in Iowa, 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.
For more reading, check out:
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa City, IA | 75849 |
| 2 | Sioux Center, IA | 7592 |
| 3 | Decorah, IA | 7615 |
| 4 | Oskaloosa, IA | 11727 |
| 5 | Grinnell, IA | 9069 |
| 6 | Ames, IA | 66361 |
| 7 | Storm Lake, IA | 10508 |
| 8 | Des Moines, IA | 215408 |
| 9 | Pella, IA | 10279 |
| 10 | Fairfield, IA | 10327 |
| 11 | Waverly, IA | 10172 |
| 12 | Mount Pleasant, IA | 8574 |
| 13 | Davenport, IA | 102199 |
| 14 | Indianola, IA | 15921 |
| 15 | Dubuque, IA | 58052 |
| 16 | Cedar Rapids, IA | 133125 |
| 17 | Ankeny, IA | 64744 |
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