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

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

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

1. Ann Arbor, MI
2. Big Rapids, MI
3. East Lansing, MI
4. Mount Pleasant, MI
5. Ypsilanti, MI
6. Dearborn, MI
7. Rochester Hills, MI
8. Houghton, MI
9. Livonia, MI
10. Howell, MI

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 Ann Arbor, Big Rapids and East Lansing - we tip our hats to you and we'll schedule a tour for next week. You can see where Ann Arbor ranks in terms of the best college town in America.

Finally, if you live in Oak Park, MI - it's officially the worst college town in Michigan. Sorry, Oak Park!

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

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

The 10 Best College Towns In Michigan For 2024

Colleges: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Washtenaw Community College, Concordia University-Ann Arbor

Colleges: Ferris State University

Colleges: Michigan State University, Douglas J Aveda Institute, Michigan State University-College of Law

Colleges: Central Michigan University, M J Murphy Beauty College of Mount Pleasant, Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College

Colleges: Eastern Michigan University

Colleges: Henry Ford College, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Everest Institute-Dearborn

Colleges: Oakland University, Rochester College

Colleges: Michigan Technological University

Colleges: Schoolcraft College, Madonna University, L'esprit Academy

Colleges: Cleary University, Cleary University

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

To crunch our data on Michigan'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 25 places in Michigan 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 Michigan For 2024." We updated this article for 2024. This is our six time ranking the best college towns in Michigan.

And it looks like Ann Arbor placed Summa Cum Laude.

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

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

The best college towns in Michigan are Ann Arbor, Big Rapids, East Lansing, Mount Pleasant, Ypsilanti, Dearborn, Rochester Hills, Houghton, Livonia, and Howell.

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 Michigan, starting with the absolute worst, Oak Park:

1. Oak Park
2. Southfield
3. Novi
4. Alma
5. Albion
6. Grand Rapids
7. Lansing
8. Kalamazoo
9. Allendale
10. Wyoming

For more reading, check out:

• Best Places To Live In Michigan
• Conservative Cities In Michigan
• Best Cities For Singles In Michigan

25 Best College Towns In Michigan

Rank	City	Population
1	Ann Arbor, MI	122216
2	Big Rapids, MI	7915
3	East Lansing, MI	45403
4	Mount Pleasant, MI	21826
5	Ypsilanti, MI	20204
6	Dearborn, MI	108414
7	Rochester Hills, MI	76041
8	Houghton, MI	8303
9	Livonia, MI	94928
10	Howell, MI	10067
11	Marquette, MI	20673
12	Adrian, MI	20607
13	Holland, MI	34186
14	Flint, MI	81863
15	Detroit, MI	636787
16	Wyoming, MI	76732
17	Allendale, MI	25206
18	Kalamazoo, MI	73342
19	Lansing, MI	112986
20	Grand Rapids, MI	198096
21	Albion, MI	7732
22	Alma, MI	9436
23	Novi, MI	65870
24	Southfield, MI	76107
25	Oak Park, MI	29495