An old rivalry: Austin, College Station among nation's best college towns

​​​WASHINGTON – Austin and College Station have landed on WalletHub’s list of the top ten college cities and towns in America.

Austin, home to the University of Texas’ main campus among several other institutions, ranked first nationally. It was tenth in social environment, 23rd in academic and economic opportunities, and 209th in wallet friendliness. 

College Station, home to Texas A&M University’s main campus, was tenth overall and sixth in the rankings of small cities (fewer than 125,000 people). It was 29th in wallet friendliness, 53rd in social environment, and 125th in academic and economic opportunities. 

Brownsville (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley regional campus), Edinburg (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley​ main campus), Laredo (Laredo College and Texas A&M International University), and McAllen (South Texas College) were first, third, fourth, and fifth in lowest cost of living for young people, respectively. ​​

The rest of the top ten rankings are:

• No. 2 Ann Arbor, Mich., University of Michigan;

• No. 3 Provo, Utah, Brigham Young University​;

• No. 4 Orlando, University of Central Florida​; 

• No. 5 Oxford, Ohio, ​Miami University;

• No. 6 Gainesville, Fla., University of Florida;

• No. 7 Scottsdale, Ariz., Scottsdale Community College;

• No. 8 West Lafayette, Ind., Purdue University; and 

• No. 9 Rexburg, Idaho, Brigham Young University​ – Idaho.