The 10 Best College Towns In Texas 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 Texas is home to a handful of them.

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

Instead, ride along with us as we determine which college towns in Texas 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 Texas For 2024

  1. Canyon, TX
  2. College Station, TX
  3. McAllen, TX
  4. Nacogdoches, TX
  5. Commerce, TX
  6. Wichita Falls, TX
  7. San Marcos, TX
  8. Arlington, TX
  9. Beaumont, TX
  10. Denton, TX

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 Canyon, College Station and McAllen - we tip our hats to you and we'll schedule a tour for next week. You can see where Canyon ranks in terms of the best college town in America.

Finally, if you live in Terrell, TX - it's officially the worst college town in Texas. Sorry, Terrell!

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

The 10 Best College Towns In Texas For 2024

Canyon, TX
Source: Wikipedia User Charles Henry | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
8
/10

Population: 15,089
% Undergrad Pop.: 37.3% (3rd best)
Median Rent: $919 (8th best)
Unemployment Rate: 258.4% (3rd best)
Crime Rank: best
More on Canyon: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: West Texas A & M University

College Station, TX
Source: Wikipedia User Pmelton87 | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 120,451
% Undergrad Pop.: 30.1% (5th best)
Median Rent: $1,129 (28th best)
Unemployment Rate: 470.5% (23rd best)
Crime Rank: 12th best
More on College Station: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Texas A & M University-College Station, Vista College - College Station

Mcallen, TX
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 142,722
% Undergrad Pop.: 7.9% (18th best)
Median Rent: $955 (12th best)
Unemployment Rate: 539.7% (32nd best)
Crime Rank: 13th best
More on Mcallen: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: South Texas College, South Texas Vocational Technical Institute-McAllen, Brightwood College-McAllen

Nacogdoches, TX
Source: Wikipedia User Billy Hathorn | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
3
/10

Population: 32,148
% Undergrad Pop.: 31.9% (4th best)
Median Rent: $873 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 824.6% (54th best)
Crime Rank: 14th best
More on Nacogdoches: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Stephen F Austin State University

Commerce, TX
Source: Wikipedia User Michael Barera | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 9,078
% Undergrad Pop.: 48.1% (2nd best)
Median Rent: $913 (7th best)
Unemployment Rate: 692.9% (48th best)
Crime Rank: 17th best
More on Commerce: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Texas A & M University-Commerce

Wichita Falls, TX
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
4
/10

Population: 102,482
% Undergrad Pop.: 5.0% (23rd best)
Median Rent: $949 (11th best)
Unemployment Rate: 444.1% (19th best)
Crime Rank: 45th best
More on Wichita Falls: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Midwestern State University

San Marcos, TX
Source: Wikipedia User Larry D. Moore | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 67,143
% Undergrad Pop.: 28.9% (7th best)
Median Rent: $1,251 (37th best)
Unemployment Rate: 676.2% (44th best)
Crime Rank: 43rd best
More on San Marcos: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Texas State University, Total Transformation Institute of Cosmetology

Arlington, TX
Source: Wikipedia User Original uploader was Therearenospoons at en.wikipedia | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 393,469
% Undergrad Pop.: 4.1% (27th best)
Median Rent: $1,297 (4best)
Unemployment Rate: 555.1% (34th best)
Crime Rank: 39th best
More on Arlington: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: The University of Texas at Arlington, ITT Technical Institute-Arlington, Arlington Baptist College

Beaumont, TX
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
3
/10

Population: 114,573
% Undergrad Pop.: 9.4% (14th best)
Median Rent: $992 (16th best)
Unemployment Rate: 531.9% (3best)
Crime Rank: 53rd best
More on Beaumont: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Lamar University, Academy of Hair Design-Beaumont, Brightwood College-Beaumont

Denton, TX
Source: Wikipedia User Aaron Jacobs on en.wikipedia | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility
7.5
/10

Population: 142,262
% Undergrad Pop.: 17.9% (10th best)
Median Rent: $1,264 (39th best)
Unemployment Rate: 481.8% (24th best)
Crime Rank: 32nd best
More on Denton: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of North Texas, Texas Woman's University, Ogle School Hair Skin Nails-Denton

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

To crunch our data on Texas'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 45 places in Texas 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 Texas For 2024." We updated this article for 2024. This is our six time ranking the best college towns in Texas.

And it looks like Canyon placed Summa Cum Laude.

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

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

The best college towns in Texas are Canyon, College Station, McAllen, Nacogdoches, Commerce, Wichita Falls, San Marcos, Arlington, Beaumont, and Denton.

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 Texas, starting with the absolute worst, Terrell:

  1. Terrell
  2. Fort Worth
  3. Georgetown
  4. Waxahachie
  5. Marshall
  6. San Antonio
  7. Seguin
  8. Irving
  9. Euless
  10. Garland

For more reading, check out:

45 Best College Towns In Texas

Rank City Population
1 Canyon, TX 15089
2 College Station, TX 120451
3 Mcallen, TX 142722
4 Nacogdoches, TX 32148
5 Commerce, TX 9078
6 Wichita Falls, TX 102482
7 San Marcos, TX 67143
8 Arlington, TX 393469
9 Beaumont, TX 114573
10 Denton, TX 142262
11 Stephenville, TX 21020
12 Plainview, TX 20113
13 Austin, TX 958202
14 Midland, TX 132490
15 Edinburg, TX 100964
16 Brownwood, TX 18820
17 Abilene, TX 126356
18 Odessa, TX 113353
19 San Angelo, TX 99422
20 Lubbock, TX 258190
21 El Paso, TX 677181
22 Kerrville, TX 24333
23 Lake Jackson, TX 27954
24 Richardson, TX 118063
25 Waco, TX 140545
26 Tyler, TX 106440
27 Kingsville, TX 25265
28 Laredo, TX 255293
29 Houston, TX 2296253
30 Longview, TX 82176
31 Southlake, TX 30779
32 Belton, TX 23137
33 Dallas, TX 1300642
34 Corpus Christi, TX 317804
35 Prairie View, TX 8039
36 Garland, TX 244026
37 Euless, TX 60360
38 Irving, TX 254962
39 Seguin, TX 30318
40 San Antonio, TX 1445662
41 Marshall, TX 23509
42 Waxahachie, TX 41801
43 Georgetown, TX 71788
44 Fort Worth, TX 924663
45 Terrell, TX 18001

Best College Towns By State

Enjoy The Snack?