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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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 Marshall, Morris and New Ulm - we tip our hats to you and we'll schedule a tour for next week. You can see where Marshall ranks in terms of the best college town in America.
Read on to find out more or for more on Minnesota check out:
Population: 13,604
% Undergrad Pop.: 30.5% (4th best)
Median Rent: $684 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 257.1% (5th best)
Crime Rank: 3rd best
More on Marshall: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Southwest Minnesota State University
Population: 5,320
% Undergrad Pop.: 34.6% (2nd best)
Median Rent: $750 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 178.5% (best)
Crime Rank: 10th best
More on Morris: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: University of Minnesota-Morris
Population: 13,209
% Undergrad Pop.: 7.8% (10th best)
Median Rent: $774 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 262.1% (7th best)
Crime Rank: 2nd best
More on New Ulm: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Martin Luther College
Population: 20,399
% Undergrad Pop.: 24.3% (6th best)
Median Rent: $812 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 540.2% (25th best)
Crime Rank: best
More on Northfield: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: St Olaf College, Carleton College
Population: 7,711
% Undergrad Pop.: 36.0% (best)
Median Rent: $650 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 326.1% (11th best)
Crime Rank: 7th best
More on Crookston: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: University of Minnesota-Crookston
Population: 424,536
% Undergrad Pop.: 9.1% (9th best)
Median Rent: $1,078 (14th best)
Unemployment Rate: 524.9% (24th best)
Crime Rank: 24th best
More on Minneapolis: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Augsburg College
Population: 117,134
% Undergrad Pop.: 0.1% (17th best)
Median Rent: $1,044 (13th best)
Unemployment Rate: 392.6% (15th best)
Crime Rank: 12th best
More on Rochester: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Rochester Community and Technical College, Crossroads College, Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences
Population: 78,879
% Undergrad Pop.: 0.0% (23rd best)
Median Rent: $1,418 (22nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 230.8% (4th best)
Crime Rank: 5th best
More on Plymouth: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Minnesota School of Business-Plymouth, PCI Academy-Plymouth, Minnesota School of Cosmetology-Plymouth Campus
Population: 71,298
% Undergrad Pop.: 0.9% (15th best)
Median Rent: $1,503 (27th best)
Unemployment Rate: 322.7% (9th best)
Crime Rank: 11th best
More on Woodbury: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Globe University-Woodbury
Population: 85,226
% Undergrad Pop.: 1.0% (14th best)
Median Rent: $1,220 (19th best)
Unemployment Rate: 404.6% (17th best)
Crime Rank: 2best
More on Bloomington: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Normandale Community College, National American University-Bloomington, Academy College
To crunch our data on Minnesota'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 19 places in Minnesota 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 Minnesota For 2022".
And it looks like Marshall placed Summa Cum Laude.
If you're looking for the best college towns in Minnesota, 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 | Marshall, MN | 13604 |
2 | Morris, MN | 5320 |
3 | New Ulm, MN | 13209 |
4 | Northfield, MN | 20399 |
5 | Crookston, MN | 7711 |
6 | Minneapolis, MN | 424536 |
7 | Rochester, MN | 117134 |
8 | Plymouth, MN | 78879 |
9 | Woodbury, MN | 71298 |
10 | Bloomington, MN | 85226 |
11 | Winona, MN | 26772 |
12 | St. Cloud, MN | 68390 |
13 | Richfield, MN | 36253 |
14 | Eagan, MN | 66377 |
15 | Blaine, MN | 65048 |
16 | Duluth, MN | 85852 |
17 | Bemidji, MN | 15277 |
18 | Brooklyn Center, MN | 30755 |
19 | Waite Park, MN | 7719 |
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