The 10 Best College Towns In Michigan For 2024


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 Michigan is home to a handful of them.

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

Instead, ride along with us as we determine which college towns in Michigan 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.

The 10 Best College Towns In Michigan For 2024

  1. Ann Arbor, MI
  2. Big Rapids, MI
  3. East Lansing, MI
  4. Mount Pleasant, MI
  5. Ypsilanti, MI
  6. Dearborn, MI
  7. Rochester Hills, MI
  8. Houghton, MI
  9. Livonia, MI
  10. Howell, MI

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 Ann Arbor, Big Rapids and East Lansing - we tip our hats to you and we'll schedule a tour for next week. You can see where Ann Arbor ranks in terms of the best college town in America.

Finally, if you live in Oak Park, MI - it's officially the worst college town in Michigan. Sorry, Oak Park!

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

The 10 Best College Towns In Michigan For 2024

Ann Arbor, MI
Source: Wikipedia User | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility
8.5
/10

Population: 122,216
% Undergrad Pop.: 20.5% (9th best)
Median Rent: $1,472 (26th best)
Unemployment Rate: 365.3% (2nd best)
Crime Rank: 12th best
More on Ann Arbor: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Washtenaw Community College, Concordia University-Ann Arbor

Big Rapids, MI
Source: Wikipedia User rossograph | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 7,915
% Undergrad Pop.: 116.7% (best)
Median Rent: $732 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 722.4% (17th best)
Crime Rank: best
More on Big Rapids: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Ferris State University

East Lansing, MI
Source: Wikipedia User The original uploader was Jeffness at English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility
8
/10

Population: 45,403
% Undergrad Pop.: 75.6% (4th best)
Median Rent: $1,080 (16th best)
Unemployment Rate: 670.9% (14th best)
Crime Rank: 13th best
More on East Lansing: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Michigan State University, Douglas J Aveda Institute, Michigan State University-College of Law

Mount Pleasant, MI
Source: Wikipedia User http://maps.bpl.org | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 21,826
% Undergrad Pop.: 85.3% (3rd best)
Median Rent: $846 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 946.6% (23rd best)
Crime Rank: 15th best
More on Mount Pleasant: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Central Michigan University, M J Murphy Beauty College of Mount Pleasant, Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College

Ypsilanti, MI
Source: Wikipedia User Seidenstud | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 20,204
% Undergrad Pop.: 90.0% (2nd best)
Median Rent: $977 (12th best)
Unemployment Rate: 812.4% (2best)
Crime Rank: 23rd best
More on Ypsilanti: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Eastern Michigan University

Dearborn, MI
Source: Wikipedia User Dave Parker | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 108,414
% Undergrad Pop.: 6.1% (16th best)
Median Rent: $1,205 (20th best)
Unemployment Rate: 681.5% (15th best)
Crime Rank: 16th best
More on Dearborn: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Henry Ford College, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Everest Institute-Dearborn

Rochester Hills, MI
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
10
/10

Population: 76,041
% Undergrad Pop.: 16.8% (11th best)
Median Rent: $1,497 (27th best)
Unemployment Rate: 389.6% (4th best)
Crime Rank: 2nd best
More on Rochester Hills: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Oakland University, Rochester College

Houghton, MI
Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha'Eri | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 8,303
% Undergrad Pop.: 68.2% (5th best)
Median Rent: $819 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 1185.0% (25th best)
Crime Rank: 3rd best
More on Houghton: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Michigan Technological University

Livonia, MI
Source: Wikipedia User Dave Parker | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility
9
/10

Population: 94,928
% Undergrad Pop.: 3.3% (2best)
Median Rent: $1,235 (2best)
Unemployment Rate: 502.9% (10th best)
Crime Rank: 11th best
More on Livonia: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Schoolcraft College, Madonna University, L'esprit Academy

Howell, MI
Source: Wikipedia User Joshuay04 | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility
8.5
/10

Population: 10,067
% Undergrad Pop.: 3.3% (20th best)
Median Rent: $1,090 (17th best)
Unemployment Rate: 443.4% (6th best)
Crime Rank: 6th best
More on Howell: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Cleary University, Cleary University

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

To crunch our data on Michigan's best college towns, we used Saturday Night Science to 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 25 places in Michigan 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 Michigan For 2024." We updated this article for 2024. This is our six time ranking the best college towns in Michigan.

And it looks like Ann Arbor placed Summa Cum Laude.

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

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

The best college towns in Michigan are Ann Arbor, Big Rapids, East Lansing, Mount Pleasant, Ypsilanti, Dearborn, Rochester Hills, Houghton, Livonia, and Howell.

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 Michigan, starting with the absolute worst, Oak Park:

  1. Oak Park
  2. Southfield
  3. Novi
  4. Alma
  5. Albion
  6. Grand Rapids
  7. Lansing
  8. Kalamazoo
  9. Allendale
  10. Wyoming

For more reading, check out:

25 Best College Towns In Michigan

Rank City Population
1 Ann Arbor, MI 122216
2 Big Rapids, MI 7915
3 East Lansing, MI 45403
4 Mount Pleasant, MI 21826
5 Ypsilanti, MI 20204
6 Dearborn, MI 108414
7 Rochester Hills, MI 76041
8 Houghton, MI 8303
9 Livonia, MI 94928
10 Howell, MI 10067
11 Marquette, MI 20673
12 Adrian, MI 20607
13 Holland, MI 34186
14 Flint, MI 81863
15 Detroit, MI 636787
16 Wyoming, MI 76732
17 Allendale, MI 25206
18 Kalamazoo, MI 73342
19 Lansing, MI 112986
20 Grand Rapids, MI 198096
21 Albion, MI 7732
22 Alma, MI 9436
23 Novi, MI 65870
24 Southfield, MI 76107
25 Oak Park, MI 29495

Best College Towns By State

Enjoy The Snack?