Best College Towns That Are The Most Affordable

When you choose a college, you aren’t just picking a school, you’re picking a home for the next four years. The town your school is located in can determine a lot of things, including how much money you will ultimately spend. Searching for an affordable college experience can be difficult, and that is why the Simple Dollar team has conducted a thorough analysis of college towns across America to determine the 10 most affordable ones that you may want to keep on your radar.

Here are the top 10 affordable college towns:

1. Knoxville, TN
2. Cookeville, TN
3. Conway, AR
4. Cedar City, UT
5. Gainesville, FL
6. College Station, TX
7. Bloomington, IN
8. Muncie, IN
9. Kalamazoo, MI
10. Tuscaloosa, AL

Rating Methodology

In order to determine the most affordable college towns, a number of factors were considered from a variety of sources. Here is the process that was used to select the top 10 most affordable college towns:

1. Compiled a list of 100 towns and cities that have one or more colleges, based on ratings and reviews given by Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, Kiplinger, and other sources.
2. Measured affordability of the top college towns by looking at average rent of a one-bedroom apartment and cost of living indexes, which considers housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, and health care.
3. Considered access to sporting events, theater productions, and outdoor activities — although these did not weigh heavily on the decision process.
4. Eliminated all cities with a population over 200,000 (these cities are in the directory below but none made the top 10).

Knoxville, TN

Named as one of the South’s Best College Towns by Southern Living, Knoxville has the charm of a small town and the resources of a big city—along with an incredibly low cost of living. Featured on Forbes’ list of America’s Most Affordable Cities and Best Bang for the Buck Cities, Knoxville has a median one-bedroom rent price of $600, which is significantly lower than the surrounding metro area and the United States as a whole. Non-housing expenses like gas and groceries are about 11% below the national average, making Knoxville’s overall cost of living index score about 19 points below the national average.

Home to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville is a haven for serious football fans. It’s close proximity to the Great Smoky Mountains also makes the city an attractive destination for lovers of the outdoors. Those looking for more urban comforts shouldn’t miss the various music/food/culture festivals that take place throughout the year (Brewer’s Jam, OutDoor KnoxFest, Jazz on the Square…just to name a few!).

Cookeville, TN

A study conducted by the Council for Community and Economic Research named Cookeville the most affordable college town in the United States. With an average cost of a one-bedroom apartment being $634 and a cost-of-living index score of 85, this small town outranked many larger cities with comparably excellent schools.

Cookeville is home to Tennessee Technological University, which is ranked by U.S. News and World Report in the “Top 8 Public Schools in the South” every year from 2007-2012 and named a “Best College Value” by the Princeton Review in 2006 and 2007. Other highlights include a bustling arts scene—with the Appalachian Center for Craft, the newly renovated Cookeville Performing Arts Center, and the Bryan Symphony Orchestra all located in the area. Not huge on the arts? Cookeville also caters to lovers of boating, fishing, hiking, and golf (there are ten championship golf courses located within 35 miles of the town!).

Conway, AR

Conway is ranked by Kiplinger as one of the “Best Values for a City” in 2011, by Forbes as one of the “Best Cities for Young Professionals” and one of the “Cheapest Places to Live” in 2011, and by Yahoo! as on the “Top 10 Cheapest Cities in the Country” in 2012. The average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Conway is $522 (one of the cheapest!) and the city has a cost-of-living index score of 88, which is 12 points lower than the national average.

The three schools in Conway are impressive in their own right:

• Hendrix College named by Forbes as one of “America’s Best Colleges” in 2010, featured as a “Best Buy College” by the Fiske Guide to Colleges in 2010, and rated as one of the “Top 50 Schools that Produce Science PhD’s” by CBSMoneyWatch.com
• The University of Central Arkansas ranked by the U.S. News and World Report as a “Top Public School in the South” and mentioned in their America’s Best Colleges report in 2009
• Central Baptist gives 99% of their student body financial aid.

Being home to three colleges makes Conway a lively location for the theater productions, art exhibits, concerts, and lectures by acclaimed speakers. Toad Suck Park and Lake Conway are popular areas, with excellent fishing and water recreation. Check out the Toad Suck Daze festival in May — it’s the largest and most popular in the state.

Cedar City, UT

Cedar City is proud to house Southern Utah University, which is consistently named by Consumer Digest as one of the best universities in the western USA. It’s also ranked by the Princeton Review as a “Best Value College” and a “Regional Best College,” and listed as one of “America’s 100 Best College Buys.” The city itself ranks well by measures of affordability as well, with a cost-of-living index score 7 points below national average and with the average rent of a one-bedroom apartment at $900 (a bit steep compared to the rest of the list, but not bad nationally!)

Just a couple of hours north of Las Vegas and in close proximity to a number of national park, Cedar City is filled with things to do. Outdoor recreational activities include golf, skiing, and biking (check out the Brian Head Peak Activity Center in the summertime), and the area hosts a number of film, theater, and arts festivals throughout the year, giving Cedar City the epithet “Festival City.”

Gainesville, FL

The University of Florida, a school with over 50,000 students and a 2,000-acre campus is at the epicenter of Gainesville, and with good reason. Residents of Gainesville are invited on campus for lectures, seminars, art exhibits, musical performances, and job fairs. The vast research efforts at the university are creating jobs and a thriving business climate for the city.

Gainesville is more than just the location of the one of most consistently rated top party schools in the country, however. The city boasts maintaining 37 active parks, with ample opportunities to bike, fish, snorkel, camp, and hike. Gainesville’s downtown area is filled with bars, dance clubs, and music venues…all ideal features of a college town. According to the Huffington Post, Gainesville has “a reputation for being an inexpensive, lively college town with a Southern charm.” The average rent of a one-bedroom apartment at $643 a month and the cost-of-living index is score 10 points below the national average.

College Station, TX

Named by U.S. News and World Report as a “Great Underpriced College Town” and by Forbes as one of the top “20 Best College Towns in America,” College Station (aka “Aggieland”) is another great university location option. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city center is about $825. Costs lower dramatically if you live just outside the city, with an average rent of a one-bedroom apartment being around $570. Overall, College Station is 6 points below the national average cost-of-living.

The city is home to Texas A&M University, which is consistently listed as a “best value” among the nation’s top 100 public colleges by Kiplinger. It was recently named as a “best buy” in the 2014 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges and is ranked third overall in the nation in terms of research capacity. Not to mention, 65.6% of the student body received need-based grants. The school offers a lot more to College Station than just football. The community is invited to attend art exhibits, cultural performances, and lectures given by notable speakers.

Bloomington, IN

Indiana University, located at the heart of Bloomington, has been named as a “Best College for Value” (Princeton Review), a “Top Public College” and one of the “Top 100 Colleges” (Forbes), as well as the “Hottest Big State School” (News Week Magazine).

The city of Bloomington has also received its fair share of accolades. It was named one of the “Top 10 College Towns” by Livability.com and one of the “Best Small Towns for Food in America” by USA Today. It’s fairly evident that both Bloomington and IU are crowd pleasers. Readers in this crowd will also be pleased to know that the average rent of a one-bedroom apartment in Bloomington is $675, and an average cost-of-living is 2 points below the national average (slightly higher than most others on this list, but well worth it for this town).

Muncie, IN

At $491 a month for rent and a cost-of-living index score of a whopping 23 points below the national average, it’s no wonder that Muncie was named Forbes’ “Most Affordable College Town” in 2010. Though this town is small and not as particularly sprawling as some of the others described, it definitely has its highlights. High on that list is being home to Ball State University.
In 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranked Ball State as one of the “Up and Coming” colleges, and the school has been named as one of the “Best Universities in the Midwest” by the Princeton Review for 9 years. Other highlights of Muncie include the downtown district, which features a number of art galleries, a variety of restaurants and coffee shops, and fairly decent nightlife; as well as the city’s festivals and seasonal concerts.

Kalamazoo, MI

Kalamazoo gained media attention with the Kalamazoo Promise, a pledge by an anonymous group of donors to pay up to 100 percent of tuition to any Michigan State school for graduates of the public school system. This ought to set a bit of context for the city, which is innovative and inexpensive. Kalamazoo, Michigan is breaking social grounds without breaking the bank. The average rent of a one-bedroom apartment in this city is $586, and the cost-of-living is 19 points below the national average. Kalamazoo was named one of the “Best Cities for Cheapskates” by Kiplinger in 2012 and was ranked in the “Top Five Most Affordable College Towns” by Coldwell Banker Real Estate in 2011.

Kalamazoo is home to Western Michigan University, which has been ranked among the top 200 universities in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. It’s also home to Kalamazoo College, which applies a unique approach to secondary education by promotion “learning through experience.” The two colleges also provide a variety of cultural programs and festivals for the city. Other highlights of Kalamazoo include a large music scene (and the first Gibson guitar), eclectic restaurants and breweries, as well as access to Kalamazoo River for recreational water activities.

Tuscaloosa, AL

Although Tuscaloosa doesn’t hold as many frugality laurels as some of the other cities on this list, it should nonetheless be considered an excellent option for an affordable college town experience. The average rent of a one-bedroom apartment in Tuscaloosa is $687, with a cost-of-living index score 5 points below the national average. Tuscaloosa offers all the charm and hospitality of a typical Southern town, along with the amenities and options for activity of a bustling city.

The University of Alabama (Roll Tide!), is the leading public university in the state, with an enrollment of over 30,000. This powerhouse of a school makes living in Tuscaloosa consistently exciting. Downtown, there’s University Boulevard (aka “The Strip”), which is the center of student nightlife as well as a variety of places to dine. Those looking more outdoor fun should be sure to check out Moundville Archaeological Park and the cliffs at Lake Tuscaloosa!

The Top 100

Below is the full list of the top 100 college towns and cities. When there are multiple colleges in a city or town, we included the listing more than one time. In total, there are 100 different colleges towns and cities that made our list.

City	State	College	Cost of Living Index	Population
Florence	Alabama	University of North Alabama	87	39,447
Tuscaloosa	Alabama	University of Alabama	95	93,357
Tuscaloosa	Alabama	Stillman College	95	93,357
Tuscaloosa	Alabama	Shelton State University	95	93,357
Auburn	Alabama	Auburn University	110	56,908
Tuscon	Arizona	University of Arizona	92	524,295
Conway	Arkansas	University of Central Arkansas	88	62,939
Conway	Arkansas	Central Baptitst College	88	62,939
Conway	Arkansas	Hendrix College	88	62,939
Jonesboro	Arkansas	Arkansas State University	88	70,187
Fayetteville	Arkansas	University of Arkansas	91	76,899
Berkeley	California	University of California - Berkeley	231	115,403
San Luis Obispo	California	California Polytechnic State University	185	45,878
Boulder	Colorado	University of Colorado Boulder	155	101,808
Fort Collins	Colorado	Colorado State University	113	148,612
Gainesville	Florida	University of Florida	90	126,047
Tallahassee	Florida	Florida State University	96	186,971
Athens	Georgia	University of Georgia	91	118,999
Atlanta	Georgia	Gerogia State University	97	443,775
Atlanta	Georgia	Emory University	97	443,775
Atlanta	Georgia	Spelman College	97	443,775
Atlanta	Georgia	Morehouse College	97	443,775
Valdosta	Georgia	Valdosta State University	94	57,597
Savannah	Georgia	Armstrong Atlantic State University	83	142,022
Savannah	Georgia	Savannah State University	83	142,022
Savannah	Georgia	Savannah College of Art and Design	83	142,022
Boise	Idaho	Boise State University	107	212,303
Bloomington	Illinois	Illinios Wesleyan University	102	77,733
Bloomington	Illinois	Illinios State University	102	77,733
Champaign-Urbana	Illinois	Parkland College	91	82,517
Champaign-Urbana	Illinois	University of Illinois	91	82,517
Bloomington	Indiana	Indiana University Bloomington	98	81,963
Lafayette	Indiana	Purdue University	83	67,925
Muncie	Indiana	Ball State University	77	70,087
Richmond	Indiana	Earlham College	76	36,599
South Bend	Indiana	University of Notre Dame	83	100,800
Ames	Iowa	Iowa State	104	60,634
Iowa City	Iowa	University of Iowa	105	70,133
Waterloo	Iowa	University of Northern Iowa	80	68,297
Cedar Falls	Iowa	University of Northern Iowa	95	39,993
Lawrence	Kansas	University of Kansas	96	89,512
Manhattan	Kansas	Kansas State University	101	56,069
Manhattan	Kansas	Manhattan Christian College	101	56,069
Manhattan	Kansas	Manhattan Area Technical College	101	56,069
Bowling Green	Kentucky	Western Kentucky University	89	60,600
Louisville	Kentucky	University of Louisville	87	597,337
Ruston	Louisiana	Louisiana Tech University	93	21,953
Monroe	Louisiana	University of Louisiana at Monroe	88	49,156
Annapolis	Maryland	United States Naval Academy	137	38,620
Ann Arbor	Michigan	University of Michigan	111	116,121
Kalamazoo	Michigan	Western Michigan University	81	75,092
Ypsilanti	Michigan	Eastern Michigan University	90	19,621
Minneapolist-St. Paul	Minnesota	University of Minnesota	105	3.28 million
Minneapolist-St. Paul	Minnesota	University of St. Thomas	105	3.28 million
Minneapolist-St. Paul	Minnesota	Saint Paul College	105	3.28 million
Minneapolist-St. Paul	Minnesota	College of St. Catherine	105	3.28 million
Minneapolist-St. Paul	Minnesota	Metropolitan State University	105	3.28 million
Minneapolist-St. Paul	Minnesota	Macalester College	105	3.28 million
Minneapolist-St. Paul	Minnesota	Bethel University	105	3.28 million
Minneapolist-St. Paul	Minnesota	Augsburg College	105	3.28 million
Minneapolist-St. Paul	Minnesota	Northwestern College	105	3.28 million
Minneapolist-St. Paul	Minnesota	Hamline University	105	3.28 million
Mankato	Minnesota	Minnesota State University	98	20,577
Mankato	Minnesota	Bethany Lutheran College	98	20,577
Oxford	Mississippi	University of Mississippi	103	20,088
Hattiesburg	Mississippi	University of Southern Mississippi	90	47,169
Columbia	Missouri	University of Missouri	95	113,225
Columbia	Missouri	University of Missouri	95	113,225
Columbia	Missouri	Stephens College	95	113,225
Lincoln	Nebraska	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	91	265,404
Lincoln	Nebraska	Nebraska Wesleyan University	91	265,404
Omaha	Nebraska	University of Nebraska at Omaha	88	421,570
Omaha	Nebraska	Creighton University	88	421,570
Omaha	Nebraska	College of St. Mary	88	421,570
Omaha	Nebraska	Grace University	88	421,570
Albuquerque	New Mexico	University of New Mexico	101	555,417
Buffalo	New York	SUNY Buffalo	74	259,384
Ithaca	New York	Cornell University	113	30,331
Ithaca	New York	Ithaca College	113	30,331
Winston-Salem	North Carolina	Wake Forest	87	234,349
Winston-Salem	North Carolina	Salem College	87	234,349
Winston-Salem	North Carolina	Winston-Salem State University	87	234,349
Winston-Salem	North Carolina	University of North Carolina School of the Arts	87	234,349
Chapel Hill	North Carolina	University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill	128	58,424
Davidson	North Carolina	Davidson College	116	11,484
Durham	North Carolina	Duke University	98	239,358
Charlotte	North Carolina	University of North Carolina - Charlotte	94	775,202
Asheville	North Carolina	University of North Carolina - Asheville	102	85,712
Fargo	North Dakota	Rasmussen College	98	109,779
Fargo	North Dakota	North Dakota State University	98	109,779
Akron	Ohio	University of Akron	80	198,549
Ashland	Ohio	Ashland University	84	20,320
Athens	Ohio	Ohio University	97	23,755
Cincinnati	Ohio	University of Cincinnati	83	296,550
Cincinnati	Ohio	Xavier University	83	296,550
Cincinnati	Ohio	College of Mount St. Joseph	83	296,550
Cincinnati	Ohio	Cincinatti Christian University	83	296,550
Columbus	Ohio	Ohio State University	82	809,798
Columbus	Ohio	Franklin University	82	809,798
Dayton	Ohio	University of Dayton	76	141,359
Dayton	Ohio	Wright State University	76	141,359
Toledo	Ohio	University of Toledo	77	284,012
Findlay	Ohio	The University of Findlay	91	41,526
Stillwater	Oklahoma	Oklahoma State University	91	46,560
Tulsa	Oklahoma	University of Tulsa	85	393,987
Norman	Oklahoma	The Univerity of Oklahoma	88	115,562
Edmond	Oklahoma	University of Central Oklahoma	109	85,885
Edmond	Oklahoma	Oklahoma Christian University	109	84,885
Corvallis	Oregon	Oregon State University	121	54,998
Eugene	Oregon	University of Oregon	110	157,986
State College	Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania State University	115	41,983
Indiana	Pennsylvania	Indiana University of Pennsylvania	86	13,953
Johnstown	Pennsylvania	University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown	78	40,119
Erie	Pennsylvania	Gannon University	82	101,047
Erie	Pennsylvania	Mercyhurst University	82	101,047
Columbia	South Carolina	University of South Carolina	99	131,686
Clemson	South Carolina	Clemson University	100	14,089
Cookeville	Tennessee	Tennessee Technological University	85	31,010
Knoxville	Tennessee	University of Tennessee	81	182,200
Memphis	Tennessee	University of Memphis	73	655,155
Murfreesboro	Tennessee	Middle Tennessee State University	92	114,038
Nashville	Tennessee	Vanderbilt University	94	609,644
Nashville	Tennessee	Belmont University	94	609,644
Nashville	Tennessee	Tennessee State University	94	609,644
Nashville	Tennessee	Lipscomb University	94	609,644
Nashville	Tennessee	Fisk University	94	609,644
Nashville	Tennessee	Aquinas College	94	609,644
Nashville	Tennessee	Trevecca Nazarene University	94	609,644
College Station	Texas	Texas A&M University	94	97,801
Denton	Texas	University of North Texas	96	121,123
Fort Worth	Texas	Texas Christian University	90	777,992
Houston	Texas	University of Houston	98	2.161 million
Houston	Texas	Rice University	98	2.161 million
Lubbock	Texas	Texas Tech University	84	236,065
Lubbock	Texas	Lubbock Christian University	84	236,065
Waco	Texas	Baylor University	79	127,018
Austin	Texas	University of Texas	107	842,592
San Marcos	Texas	Texas State University	92	50,001
Nacogdoches	Texas	Steven F. Austin University	89	34,047
Georgetown	Texas	Southwestern University	105	52,303
Cedar City	Utah	Southern Utah University	93	29,118
Logan	Utah	Utah State	98	48,879
Burlington	Vermont	Burlington College	124	42,282
Burlington	Vermont	University of Vermont	124	42,282
Burlington	Vermont	Champlain College	124	42,282
Blacksburg-Christianburg-Radford	Virginia	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	95	162,708
Blacksburg-Christianburg-Radford	Virginia	Radford University	95	162,708
Charlottesville	Virginia	University of Virginia	123	43,956
Lexington	Virginia	Washington and Lee University	98	6,998
Lexington	Virginia	Virginia Military Institute	98	6,998
Olympia	Washington	Evergreen State College	113	47,698
Morgantown	West Virginia	West Virginia University	97	31,000
Eau Claire	Wisconsin	The University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire	91	66,966
Appleton	Wisconsin	Lawrence University	98	73,016
Madison	Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin - Madison	116	240,323