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

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

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

1. New Haven, CT
2. Willimantic, CT
3. Bridgeport, CT
4. Groton, CT
5. Stamford, CT
6. New Britain, CT
7. Storrs, CT
8. Middletown, CT
9. New London, CT
10. Hartford, CT

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

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

• Best Places To Live In Connecticut
• Cheapest Places To Live In Connecticut
• Most Dangerous Cities In Connecticut

The 10 Best College Towns In Connecticut For 2024

Colleges: Southern Connecticut State University, Yale University, Gateway Community College

Colleges: Eastern Connecticut State University, Windham Memorial Hospital-Radiologic Technology Program, Windham Technical High School

Colleges: Housatonic Community College, University of Bridgeport, St Vincent's College

Colleges: University of Connecticut-Avery Point, Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy-Groton

Colleges: University of Connecticut-Stamford

Colleges: Central Connecticut State University, Lincoln Technical Institute-New Britain, Charter Oak State College

Colleges: University of Connecticut

Colleges: Wesleyan University, Middlesex Community College, Vinal Technical High School

Colleges: Connecticut College, Mitchell College, Ridley-Lowell Business & Technical Institute-New London

Colleges: Capital Community College, Trinity College, Lincoln Technical Institute-Hartford

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

To crunch our data on Connecticut'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 14 places in Connecticut 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 Connecticut For 2024." We updated this article for 2024. This is our six time ranking the best college towns in Connecticut.

And it looks like New Haven placed Summa Cum Laude.

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

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

The best college towns in Connecticut are New Haven, Willimantic, Bridgeport, Groton, Stamford, New Britain, Storrs, Middletown, New London, and Hartford.

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 College Towns In Connecticut
• Best Places To Buy A House In Connecticut
• Most Expensive Places To Live In Connecticut

14 Best College Towns In Connecticut

Rank	City	Population
1	New Haven, CT	135736
2	Willimantic, CT	17762
3	Bridgeport, CT	148470
4	Groton, CT	9364
5	Stamford, CT	135413
6	New Britain, CT	74212
7	Storrs, CT	17606
8	Middletown, CT	48152
9	New London, CT	27596
10	Hartford, CT	121057
11	Waterbury, CT	114480
12	Danbury, CT	86456
13	West Haven, CT	55336
14	East Hartford, CT	50942