The 10 Best College Towns In Utah For 2024

1. Ogden, UT

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 86,754
% Undergrad Pop.: 18.3% (5th best)
Median Rent: $1,056 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 432.3% (10th best)
Crime Rank: 10th best
More on Ogden: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Weber State University, Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College, Nightingale College

2. Logan, UT

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 53,246
% Undergrad Pop.: 33.6% (best)
Median Rent: $976 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 247.9% (4th best)
Crime Rank: 3rd best
More on Logan: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Utah State University, Bridgerland Applied Technology College, Stevens-Henager College

3. Ephraim, UT

Source: Wikipedia User Flickr user Ken Lund | CC BY-SA 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 5,739
% Undergrad Pop.: 26.2% (3rd best)
Median Rent: $907 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 838.4% (12th best)
Crime Rank: best
More on Ephraim: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Snow College

4. Provo, UT

Source: Wikipedia User Creator: Javin Weaver | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 114,400
% Undergrad Pop.: 26.4% (2nd best)
Median Rent: $1,089 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 440.9% (11th best)
Crime Rank: 4th best
More on Provo: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Brigham Young University-Provo, Provo College, AmeriTech College-Provo

5. Salt Lake City, UT

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 201,269
% Undergrad Pop.: 11.2% (6th best)
Median Rent: $1,254 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 360.5% (8th best)
Crime Rank: 12th best
More on Salt Lake City: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Salt Lake Community College, University of Utah, Westminster College

6. Orem, UT

Source: Wikipedia User uvuphotos | CC BY 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 97,100
% Undergrad Pop.: 21.8% (4th best)
Median Rent: $1,290 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 339.1% (7th best)
Crime Rank: 7th best
More on Orem: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Utah Valley University, Utah College of Massage Therapy-Utah Valley, Stevens-Henager College

7. Draper, UT

Source: Wikipedia User Scott Catron | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 50,635
% Undergrad Pop.: 0.0% (11th best)
Median Rent: $1,735 (12th best)
Unemployment Rate: 220.4% (2nd best)
Crime Rank: 5th best
More on Draper: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: AmeriTech College-Draper, The Art Institute of Salt Lake City, Argosy University-Salt Lake City

8. West Jordan, UT

Source: Wikipedia User Scott Hughes from Dallas, TX, US | CC BY-SA 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 116,383
% Undergrad Pop.: 0.2% (9th best)
Median Rent: $1,489 (10th best)
Unemployment Rate: 416.8% (9th best)
Crime Rank: 9th best
More on West Jordan: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Broadview University-West Jordan, Taylor Andrews Academy of Hair Design-West Jordan

9. Murray, UT

Source: Wikipedia User CountyLemonade/CL | CC BY 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 50,041
% Undergrad Pop.: 1.1% (8th best)
Median Rent: $1,376 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 324.2% (5th best)
Crime Rank: 11th best
More on Murray: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: ITT Technical Institute-Murray, Eagle Gate College-Murray, Cameo College of Essential Beauty

10. West Haven, UT

Source: Wikipedia User Val42 (talk) (Uploads) | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 18,334
% Undergrad Pop.: 1.6% (7th best)
Median Rent: $1,553 (11th best)
Unemployment Rate: 184.2% (best)
Crime Rank: 8th best
More on West Haven: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Colleges: Stevens-Henager College

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

To crunch our data on Utah's best college towns, we had to first 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 10 places in Utah 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 Utah For 2024".

And it looks like Ogden placed Summa Cum Laude.

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

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

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:

10 Best College Towns In Utah

Rank	City	Population
1	Ogden, UT	86754
2	Logan, UT	53246
3	Ephraim, UT	5739
4	Provo, UT	114400
5	Salt Lake City, UT	201269
6	Orem, UT	97100
7	Draper, UT	50635
8	West Jordan, UT	116383
9	Murray, UT	50041
10	West Haven, UT	18334

The 10 Best College Towns In Utah For 2024