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

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

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

1. Carrollton, GA
2. Valdosta, GA
3. Decatur, GA
4. Marietta, GA
5. Dalton, GA
6. Tifton, GA
7. Kennesaw, GA
8. Douglas, GA
9. Statesboro, GA
10. Lawrenceville, GA

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

Finally, if you live in Brunswick, GA - it's officially the worst college town in Georgia. Sorry, Brunswick!

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

• Best Places To Live In Georgia
• Best Counties To Live In Georgia
• Cheapest Places To Live In Georgia

The 10 Best College Towns In Georgia For 2024

Colleges: University of West Georgia

Colleges: Valdosta State University, Wiregrass Georgia Technical College

Colleges: Agnes Scott College, Gupton Jones College of Funeral Service, Columbia Theological Seminary

Colleges: Chattahoochee Technical College, Life University, Toni & Guy Hairdressing Academy-Atlanta

Colleges: Dalton State College, Georgia Beauty Academy

Colleges: Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College

Colleges: Cobb Beauty College Inc, Empire Beauty School-Kennesaw, ITT Technical Institute-Kennesaw

Colleges: South Georgia State College

Colleges: Georgia Southern University, Ogeechee Technical College, East Georgia State College - Statesboro

Colleges: Gwinnett Technical College, Empire Beauty School-Gwinnett, Georgia Gwinnett College

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

To crunch our data on Georgia'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 24 places in Georgia 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 Georgia For 2024." We updated this article for 2024. This is our six time ranking the best college towns in Georgia.

And it looks like Carrollton placed Summa Cum Laude.

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

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

The best college towns in Georgia are Carrollton, Valdosta, Decatur, Marietta, Dalton, Tifton, Kennesaw, Douglas, Statesboro, and Lawrenceville.

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 Georgia, starting with the absolute worst, Brunswick:

1. Brunswick
2. Fort Valley
3. Savannah
4. Thomasville
5. Columbus
6. Milledgeville
7. Swainsboro
8. Dahlonega
9. Atlanta
10. Barnesville

For more reading, check out:

• Best Places To Buy A House In Georgia
• Best Suburbs In Georgia
• Best Places To Raise A Family In Georgia

24 Best College Towns In Georgia

Rank	City	Population
1	Carrollton, GA	26622
2	Valdosta, GA	55266
3	Decatur, GA	24421
4	Marietta, GA	61387
5	Dalton, GA	34358
6	Tifton, GA	17059
7	Kennesaw, GA	33360
8	Douglas, GA	11694
9	Statesboro, GA	33185
10	Lawrenceville, GA	30465
11	Sandy Springs, GA	107221
12	Morrow, GA	6563
13	Americus, GA	16020
14	Albany, GA	68926
15	Barnesville, GA	6200
16	Atlanta, GA	494838
17	Dahlonega, GA	7083
18	Swainsboro, GA	7542
19	Milledgeville, GA	17021
20	Columbus, GA	204572
21	Thomasville, GA	18744
22	Savannah, GA	147583
23	Fort Valley, GA	8821
24	Brunswick, GA	15243