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

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

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

1. Oshkosh, WI
2. Stevens Point, WI
3. Madison, WI
4. Whitewater, WI
5. Menomonie, WI
6. Manitowoc, WI
7. Appleton, WI
8. La Crosse, WI
9. Ripon, WI
10. Platteville, WI

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

Finally, if you live in Watertown, WI - it's officially the worst college town in Wisconsin. Sorry, Watertown!

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

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

The 10 Best College Towns In Wisconsin For 2024

Colleges: University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Bella Academy of Cosmetology

Colleges: University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Colleges: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison Area Technical College, University of Wisconsin Colleges

Colleges: University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Colleges: University of Wisconsin-Stout

Colleges: Silver Lake College of the Holy Family, Empire Beauty School-Manitowoc

Colleges: Fox Valley Technical College, Lawrence University, Gill-Tech Academy of Hair Design

Colleges: University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Western Technical College, Viterbo University

Colleges: Ripon College

Colleges: University of Wisconsin-Platteville

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

To crunch our data on Wisconsin'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 23 places in Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin For 2024." We updated this article for 2024. This is our six time ranking the best college towns in Wisconsin.

And it looks like Oshkosh placed Summa Cum Laude.

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

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

The best college towns in Wisconsin are Oshkosh, Stevens Point, Madison, Whitewater, Menomonie, Manitowoc, Appleton, La Crosse, Ripon, and Platteville.

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 Wisconsin, starting with the absolute worst, Watertown:

1. Watertown
2. Wauwatosa
3. Ashland
4. Kenosha
5. Eau Claire
6. Milwaukee
7. Waukesha
8. Superior
9. De Pere
10. Green Bay

For more reading, check out:

• Best Cities For Singles In Wisconsin
• Best Places To Retire In Wisconsin
• Most Dangerous Cities In Wisconsin

23 Best College Towns In Wisconsin

Rank	City	Population
1	Oshkosh, WI	66373
2	Stevens Point, WI	25549
3	Madison, WI	268516
4	Whitewater, WI	15725
5	Menomonie, WI	16563
6	Manitowoc, WI	34500
7	Appleton, WI	75133
8	La Crosse, WI	52043
9	Ripon, WI	7823
10	Platteville, WI	11543
11	Mequon, WI	25102
12	River Falls, WI	16165
13	Plymouth, WI	8907
14	Green Bay, WI	106846
15	De Pere, WI	25373
16	Superior, WI	26562
17	Waukesha, WI	70945
18	Milwaukee, WI	573299
19	Eau Claire, WI	69098
20	Kenosha, WI	99493
21	Ashland, WI	7903
22	Wauwatosa, WI	47919
23	Watertown, WI	22978