The Best College Towns In Nevada For 2026

Nevada doesn't get a lot of attention for its colleges, but there are 4 towns in the state with at least one four-year school -- and some of them make great places to spend four years.

We wanted to know which ones are the best college towns. You know the type of place: plenty of students, plenty to do, affordable rent, and safe enough to walk around at night.

So we used Saturday Night Science to rank all 4 of them on the colleges themselves, the town around them, and things to do. Elko came out on top.

The 4 Best College Towns In Nevada For 2026

Elko, NV
Las Vegas, NV
Henderson, NV
Reno, NV

Want the bigger picture? See where Nevada's towns land among the best college towns in America.

For more reading, check out:

No. 1 college town in Nevada

Elko, NV

Source: Wikipedia User Famartin | CC BY-SA 3.0

Colleges	Great Basin College
Undergrads	1,900 (9 per 100 residents)
Population	20,696
Median rent	$1,267
Graduation rate	52%
Cost to attend (per year)	$12,947

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Elko is home to Great Basin College. There are 9 undergrads for every 100 residents, the median rent is $1,267 a month, and the average cost to attend is $12,947 a year. It ranks 1st for crime among the 4 towns we ranked.

No. 2 college town in Nevada

Las Vegas, NV

Source: Flickr User maywong_photos | CC BY 2.0

Colleges	College of Southern Nevada, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Arizona College of Nursing-Las Vegas
Undergrads	54,284 (8 per 100 residents)
Population	660,400
Median rent	$1,563
Graduation rate	53%
Cost to attend (per year)	$27,213

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Las Vegas is home to College of Southern Nevada, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Arizona College of Nursing-Las Vegas. There are 8 undergrads for every 100 residents, the median rent is $1,563 a month, and the average cost to attend is $27,213 a year. It ranks 4th for crime among the 4 towns we ranked.

No. 3 college town in Nevada

Henderson, NV

Source: Wikipedia User John Phelan | CC BY-SA 3.0

Colleges	Nevada State University, Roseman University of Health Sciences, Touro University Nevada
Undergrads	4,321 (1 per 100 residents)
Population	332,141
Median rent	$1,824
Graduation rate	67%
Cost to attend (per year)	$23,718

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Henderson is home to Nevada State University, Roseman University of Health Sciences, Touro University Nevada. There are 1 undergrads for every 100 residents, the median rent is $1,824 a month, and the average cost to attend is $23,718 a year. It ranks 2nd for crime among the 4 towns we ranked.

No. 4 college town in Nevada

Reno, NV

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 4.0

Colleges	University of Nevada-Reno, Truckee Meadows Community College
Undergrads	23,280 (9 per 100 residents)
Population	273,212
Median rent	$1,556
Graduation rate	51%
Cost to attend (per year)	$20,516

Find Movers · Crime Report · Cost Of Living

Reno is home to University of Nevada-Reno, Truckee Meadows Community College. There are 9 undergrads for every 100 residents, the median rent is $1,556 a month, and the average cost to attend is $20,516 a year. It ranks 3rd for crime among the 4 towns we ranked.

Saturday Night Science

How we determined the best college towns in Nevada

First, we decided that every town on the list had to have at least one four-year college -- a school that grants bachelor's degrees -- and at least 5,000 residents. There are 4 towns in Nevada that fit the bill.

Then we ranked every town on these categories:

The town: unemployment rate, median rent, and crime per capita
The colleges: graduation rate, the average cost to attend, and student body diversity
Things to do: bars, museums and libraries per capita, and population density
Students: undergrads as a share of the population
Size: population, since bigger towns have more going on

We ranked each town on every measure, averaged those ranks into a score for each category, and then averaged the categories. The town with the best overall score is the best college town in Nevada.

Our data comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (enrollment, graduation rates, cost, and diversity), the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey, the FBI's 2024 crime report. We left out colleges that are online-only or mostly online, since their students don't actually live in town. A handful of towns don't report crime to the FBI, so we gave them the average.

We updated this article for 2026. This is our eleventh time ranking the best college towns in Nevada.

Summary

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

If you're looking for the best college towns in Nevada, Elko is where to start.

The best college towns in Nevada are Elko, Las Vegas, Henderson, and Reno.

For more college towns, check out the best college towns in America.

Good to know

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best college town in Nevada for 2026?

Elko is the best college town in Nevada for 2026, followed by Las Vegas and Henderson.

How did you rank the best college towns in Nevada?

We looked at every town in Nevada with at least 5,000 residents and a four-year college, then ranked them on city characteristics, college characteristics, things to do, the share of residents who are students, and size. The town with the best average rank is number one.

What is the worst college town in Nevada?

Reno ranks last of the 4 college towns we ranked in Nevada for 2026.