The 10 Best College Towns In Texas For 2022


Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2022. This is our fifth time ranking the best college towns in Texas.
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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 the 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.

Without further ado, here are the best college towns in Texas for 2022.

The 10 Best College Towns In Texas For 2022

  1. Canyon, TX
  2. College Station, TX
  3. McAllen, TX
  4. Arlington, TX
  5. Plainview, TX
  6. San Marcos, TX
  7. Wichita Falls, TX
  8. Denton, TX
  9. Commerce, TX
  10. Edinburg, 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 2022

Canyon, TX
Overall SnackAbility
8
/10

Population: 15,648
% Undergrad Pop.: 35.9% (3rd best)
Median Rent: $821 (8th best)
Unemployment Rate: 330.0% (5th best)
Crime Rank: 2nd best
More on Canyon: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: West Texas A & M University

College Station, TX
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 115,802
% Undergrad Pop.: 31.3% (4th best)
Median Rent: $1,001 (30th best)
Unemployment Rate: 466.3% (22nd best)
Crime Rank: 14th 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: 142,557
% Undergrad Pop.: 7.9% (19th best)
Median Rent: $829 (10th best)
Unemployment Rate: 567.9% (36th best)
Crime Rank: 11th best
More on Mcallen: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

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

Arlington, TX
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 397,269
% Undergrad Pop.: 4.0% (28th best)
Median Rent: $1,089 (36th best)
Unemployment Rate: 520.7% (28th best)
Crime Rank: 38th 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

Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 20,194
% Undergrad Pop.: 22.9% (8th best)
Median Rent: $655 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 509.9% (26th best)
Crime Rank: 20th best
More on Plainview: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Wayland Baptist University

San Marcos, TX
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 64,053
% Undergrad Pop.: 30.3% (6th best)
Median Rent: $1,099 (37th best)
Unemployment Rate: 739.6% (50th best)
Crime Rank: 27th best
More on San Marcos: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Texas State University, Total Transformation Institute of Cosmetology

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

Population: 104,657
% Undergrad Pop.: 4.9% (24th best)
Median Rent: $828 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 496.4% (25th best)
Crime Rank: 46th best
More on Wichita Falls: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Midwestern State University

Denton, TX
Overall SnackAbility
7.5
/10

Population: 139,734
% Undergrad Pop.: 18.3% (10th best)
Median Rent: $1,121 (43rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 492.1% (24th best)
Crime Rank: 20th 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

Commerce, TX
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 9,473
% Undergrad Pop.: 46.0% (2nd best)
Median Rent: $831 (11th best)
Unemployment Rate: 756.4% (52nd best)
Crime Rank: 20th best
More on Commerce: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Texas A & M University-Commerce

Edinburg, TX
Overall SnackAbility
4
/10

Population: 97,734
% Undergrad Pop.: 11.4% (12th best)
Median Rent: $810 (7th best)
Unemployment Rate: 698.5% (45th best)
Crime Rank: 28th best
More on Edinburg: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

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

To crunch our data on Texas'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 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 2022".

And it looks like Canyon placed Summa Cum Laude.

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

If you're looking for the best college towns in Texas, 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.

If you're curious, these are the worst college towns in Texas, starting with the absolute worst, Terrell:

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

For more reading, check out:

45 Best College Towns In Texas

Rank City Population
1 Canyon, TX 15648
2 College Station, TX 115802
3 Mcallen, TX 142557
4 Arlington, TX 397269
5 Plainview, TX 20194
6 San Marcos, TX 64053
7 Wichita Falls, TX 104657
8 Denton, TX 139734
9 Commerce, TX 9473
10 Edinburg, TX 97734
11 Nacogdoches, TX 32912
12 Midland, TX 141194
13 Stephenville, TX 20887
14 Beaumont, TX 117321
15 Austin, TX 965872
16 Kingsville, TX 25367
17 El Paso, TX 679879
18 Lake Jackson, TX 27269
19 Abilene, TX 124691
20 Richardson, TX 118583
21 Lubbock, TX 257013
22 San Angelo, TX 100509
23 Kerrville, TX 23511
24 Odessa, TX 122630
25 Laredo, TX 260571
26 Waco, TX 137779
27 Brownwood, TX 18554
28 Houston, TX 2313238
29 Southlake, TX 31684
30 Longview, TX 82183
31 Tyler, TX 105859
32 Euless, TX 56334
33 Dallas, TX 1338846
34 Corpus Christi, TX 326332
35 Belton, TX 22173
36 Garland, TX 238622
37 Irving, TX 240475
38 San Antonio, TX 1529133
39 Prairie View, TX 6813
40 Marshall, TX 22881
41 Seguin, TX 29458
42 Waxahachie, TX 36735
43 Fort Worth, TX 892221
44 Georgetown, TX 75470
45 Terrell, TX 18513

Best College Towns By State

Enjoy The Snack?