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

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

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

  1. Fairfax, VA
  2. Arlington, VA
  3. Farmville, VA
  4. Harrisonburg, VA
  5. Radford, VA
  6. Lexington, VA
  7. Fredericksburg, VA
  8. Williamsburg, VA
  9. Salem, VA
  10. Richmond, VA

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

Finally, if you live in Roanoke, VA - it's officially the worst college town in Virginia. Sorry, Roanoke!

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

The 10 Best College Towns In Virginia For 2024

Fairfax, VA
Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
7.5
/10

Population: 24,242
% Undergrad Pop.: 65.2% (best)
Median Rent: $1,972 (22nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 368.1% (10th best)
Crime Rank: 13th best
More on Fairfax: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Colleges: George Mason University, Stratford University, Columbia College

Arlington, VA
Source: Wikipedia User Mariordo (Mario Roberto Dur�n Ortiz) | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
7.5
/10

Population: 235,845
% Undergrad Pop.: 1.4% (20th best)
Median Rent: $2,227 (25th best)
Unemployment Rate: 277.9% (3rd best)
Crime Rank: 13th best
More on Arlington: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Colleges: Marymount University, Strayer University-Virginia, Graham Webb International Academy of Hair

Farmville, VA
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
4
/10

Population: 7,647
% Undergrad Pop.: 44.3% (3rd best)
Median Rent: $869 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 320.6% (7th best)
Crime Rank: 23rd best
More on Farmville: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Longwood University

Harrisonburg, VA
Source: Wikipedia User Alma mater | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 51,784
% Undergrad Pop.: 29.7% (6th best)
Median Rent: $1,060 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 674.8% (26th best)
Crime Rank: 9th best
More on Harrisonburg: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: James Madison University, Eastern Mennonite University

Radford, VA
Source: Wikipedia User DwayneP at English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 16,379
% Undergrad Pop.: 46.5% (2nd best)
Median Rent: $967 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 720.3% (27th best)
Crime Rank: 4th best
More on Radford: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Radford University

Lexington, VA
Source: Wikipedia User Tim Menzies from Morgantown, West Virginia | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
7.5
/10

Population: 7,346
% Undergrad Pop.: 40.9% (4th best)
Median Rent: $1,000 (7th best)
Unemployment Rate: 246.6% (2nd best)
Crime Rank: best
More on Lexington: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Washington and Lee University, Virginia Military Institute

Fredericksburg, VA
Source: Wikipedia User Ken Lund from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 28,258
% Undergrad Pop.: 14.5% (10th best)
Median Rent: $1,462 (19th best)
Unemployment Rate: 518.3% (16th best)
Crime Rank: 25th best
More on Fredericksburg: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of Mary Washington, Eastern Virginia Career College, Virginia Baptist College

Williamsburg, VA
Source: Wikipedia User Vaoverland at English Wikipedia | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility
8
/10

Population: 15,486
% Undergrad Pop.: 36.1% (5th best)
Median Rent: $1,274 (17th best)
Unemployment Rate: 601.9% (20th best)
Crime Rank: 6th best
More on Williamsburg: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: College of William and Mary

Salem, VA
Source: Wikipedia User Mojo Hand | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 25,372
% Undergrad Pop.: 16.3% (7th best)
Median Rent: $1,053 (8th best)
Unemployment Rate: 353.9% (8th best)
Crime Rank: 7th best
More on Salem: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: American National University, Roanoke College, ITT Technical Institute-Salem

Richmond, VA
Source: Wikipedia User CoredesatChikai | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 227,171
% Undergrad Pop.: 7.9% (14th best)
Median Rent: $1,227 (14th best)
Unemployment Rate: 608.0% (2best)
Crime Rank: 24th best
More on Richmond: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Virginia Commonwealth University, J Sargeant Reynolds Community College, Virginia Union University

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

To crunch our data on Virginia'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 21 places in Virginia 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 Virginia For 2024." We updated this article for 2024. This is our six time ranking the best college towns in Virginia.

And it looks like Fairfax placed Summa Cum Laude.

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

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

The best college towns in Virginia are Fairfax, Arlington, Farmville, Harrisonburg, Radford, Lexington, Fredericksburg, Williamsburg, Salem, and Richmond.

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 Virginia, starting with the absolute worst, Roanoke:

  1. Roanoke
  2. Petersburg
  3. Glen Allen
  4. Staunton
  5. Newport News
  6. Ashland
  7. Lynchburg
  8. Buena Vista
  9. Norfolk
  10. Winchester

For more reading, check out:

21 Best College Towns In Virginia

Rank City Population
1 Fairfax, VA 24242
2 Arlington, VA 235845
3 Farmville, VA 7647
4 Harrisonburg, VA 51784
5 Radford, VA 16379
6 Lexington, VA 7346
7 Fredericksburg, VA 28258
8 Williamsburg, VA 15486
9 Salem, VA 25372
10 Richmond, VA 227171
11 Virginia Beach, VA 457900
12 Winchester, VA 28103
13 Norfolk, VA 236973
14 Buena Vista, VA 6639
15 Lynchburg, VA 79166
16 Ashland, VA 7617
17 Newport News, VA 185118
18 Staunton, VA 25581
19 Glen Allen, VA 16246
20 Petersburg, VA 33261
21 Roanoke, VA 99213

Best College Towns By State

Enjoy The Snack?