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

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

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

  1. Fairbanks, AK
  2. Palmer, AK
  3. Anchorage, AK
  4. Juneau, AK

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

Even though there are only 4 cities on our list, you need to remember there are another 333 places in Alaska that don't even have a college. One might say you gotta be in it in to win it.

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

The 10 Best College Towns In Alaska For 2024

Fairbanks, AK
Source: Wikipedia User FairbanksMike | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 32,496
% Undergrad Pop.: 19.6% (best)
Median Rent: $1,404 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 695.3% (3rd best)
Crime Rank: 4th best
More on Fairbanks: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of Alaska Fairbanks

Palmer, AK
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 6,091
% Undergrad Pop.: 0.0% (4th best)
Median Rent: $1,101 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 962.8% (4th best)
Crime Rank: best
More on Palmer: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Alaska Bible College

Anchorage, AK
Source: Wikipedia User Frank K. from Anchorage, Alaska, USA | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 290,674
% Undergrad Pop.: 5.0% (3rd best)
Median Rent: $1,405 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 516.2% (2nd best)
Crime Rank: 3rd best
More on Anchorage: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Pacific University, Alaska Career College

Juneau, AK
Source: Wikipedia User Mark Hogan | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
8
/10

Population: 32,108
% Undergrad Pop.: 10.4% (2nd best)
Median Rent: $1,464 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 445.4% (best)
Crime Rank: 2nd best
More on Juneau: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of Alaska Southeast

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

To crunch our data on Alaska'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 4 places in Alaska 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 Alaska For 2024." We updated this article for 2024. This is our six time ranking the best college towns in Alaska.

And it looks like Fairbanks placed Summa Cum Laude.

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

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

The best college towns in Alaska are Fairbanks, Palmer, Anchorage, and Juneau.

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:

4 Best College Towns In Alaska

Rank City Population
1 Fairbanks, AK 32496
2 Palmer, AK 6091
3 Anchorage, AK 290674
4 Juneau, AK 32108

Best College Towns By State

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