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

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

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

1. Ashland, OR
2. McMinnville, OR
3. Corvallis, OR
4. Monmouth, OR
5. Portland, OR
6. Eugene, OR
7. Forest Grove, OR
8. Newberg, OR
9. La Grande, OR
10. Salem, OR

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

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

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

The 10 Best College Towns In Oregon For 2024

Colleges: Southern Oregon University

Colleges: Linfield College-McMinnville Campus

Colleges: Oregon State University, Phagans Beauty College

Colleges: Western Oregon University

Colleges: Portland Community College, Portland State University, University of Portland

Colleges: University of Oregon, Lane Community College, Northwest Christian University

Colleges: Pacific University

Colleges: George Fox University

Colleges: Eastern Oregon University

Colleges: Chemeketa Community College, Willamette University, Corban University

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

To crunch our data on Oregon'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 12 places in Oregon 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 Oregon For 2024." We updated this article for 2024. This is our six time ranking the best college towns in Oregon.

And it looks like Ashland placed Summa Cum Laude.

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

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

The best college towns in Oregon are Ashland, McMinnville, Corvallis, Monmouth, Portland, Eugene, Forest Grove, Newberg, La Grande, and Salem.

These places all have great college sports programs, tons of stuff to do, and are great places to raise a family.

For more reading, check out:

• Best Places To Buy A House In Oregon
• Most Expensive Places To Live In Oregon
• African American Cities In Oregon

12 Best College Towns In Oregon

Rank	City	Population
1	Ashland, OR	21401
2	Mcminnville, OR	34432
3	Corvallis, OR	60050
4	Monmouth, OR	11054
5	Portland, OR	646101
6	Eugene, OR	176755
7	Forest Grove, OR	26160
8	Newberg, OR	25379
9	La Grande, OR	13097
10	Salem, OR	175754
11	Klamath Falls, OR	21806
12	Wilsonville, OR	25992