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

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

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

  1. Easton, PA
  2. Millersville, PA
  3. West Chester, PA
  4. Bethlehem, PA
  5. Media, PA
  6. Huntingdon, PA
  7. Carlisle, PA
  8. Greensburg, PA
  9. Indiana, PA
  10. Bloomsburg, PA

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

Finally, if you live in Washington, PA - it's officially the worst college town in Pennsylvania. Sorry, Washington!

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

The 10 Best College Towns In Pennsylvania For 2024

Easton, PA
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 28,883
% Undergrad Pop.: 7.9% (34th best)
Median Rent: $1,211 (37th best)
Unemployment Rate: 441.4% (9th best)
Crime Rank: 2best
More on Easton: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Colleges: Lafayette College

Millersville, PA
Source: Wikipedia User (c)2006 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man) (from U.S. Census Bureau source) | GFDL 1.2
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 8,426
% Undergrad Pop.: 77.1% (3rd best)
Median Rent: $1,334 (4best)
Unemployment Rate: 407.6% (8th best)
Crime Rank: 2best
More on Millersville: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Colleges: Millersville University of Pennsylvania

West Chester, PA
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 19,016
% Undergrad Pop.: 54.3% (5th best)
Median Rent: $1,517 (47th best)
Unemployment Rate: 727.5% (32nd best)
Crime Rank: 2best
More on West Chester: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Colleges: West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Bethlehem, PA
Source: Wikipedia User 7mike5000, Tim Kiser, and Jschnalzer | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 76,555
% Undergrad Pop.: 8.4% (33rd best)
Median Rent: $1,218 (38th best)
Unemployment Rate: 562.0% (15th best)
Crime Rank: 2best
More on Bethlehem: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Colleges: Northampton County Area Community College, Lehigh University, Moravian College

Media, PA
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 5,860
% Undergrad Pop.: 28.6% (10th best)
Median Rent: $1,389 (45th best)
Unemployment Rate: 613.1% (20th best)
Crime Rank: 2best
More on Media: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Colleges: Delaware County Community College, Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Brandywine, Pennsylvania Institute of Technology

Huntingdon, PA
Source: Wikipedia User Generic1139 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 6,904
% Undergrad Pop.: 18.7% (20th best)
Median Rent: $775 (10th best)
Unemployment Rate: 394.2% (6th best)
Crime Rank: 2best
More on Huntingdon: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Colleges: Juniata College, Du Bois Business College-Huntingdon

Carlisle, PA
Source: Wikipedia User Doug Kerr | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 20,846
% Undergrad Pop.: 10.1% (29th best)
Median Rent: $964 (28th best)
Unemployment Rate: 405.5% (7th best)
Crime Rank: 4th best
More on Carlisle: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Dickinson College, Pennsylvania State University-Dickinson Law, McCann School of Business & Technology

Greensburg, PA
Source: Wikipedia User David Fulmer | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 14,876
% Undergrad Pop.: 18.3% (2best)
Median Rent: $774 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 653.7% (22nd best)
Crime Rank: 2best
More on Greensburg: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Colleges: University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg, Seton Hill University, Triangle Tech Inc-Greensburg

Indiana, PA
Source: Wikipedia User Scsmatt | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 14,082
% Undergrad Pop.: 27.9% (11th best)
Median Rent: $791 (11th best)
Unemployment Rate: 826.8% (38th best)
Crime Rank: 40th best
More on Indiana: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus, Cambria-Rowe Business College-Indiana, Indiana County Technology Center

Bloomsburg, PA
Source: Wikipedia User Ruhrfisch (talk) | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 12,836
% Undergrad Pop.: 53.3% (6th best)
Median Rent: $881 (22nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 542.6% (14th best)
Crime Rank: 2best
More on Bloomsburg: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Colleges: Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

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

To crunch our data on Pennsylvania'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 46 places in Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania For 2024." We updated this article for 2024. This is our six time ranking the best college towns in Pennsylvania.

And it looks like Easton placed Summa Cum Laude.

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

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

The best college towns in Pennsylvania are Easton, Millersville, West Chester, Bethlehem, Media, Huntingdon, Carlisle, Greensburg, Indiana, and Bloomsburg.

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 Pennsylvania, starting with the absolute worst, Washington:

  1. Washington
  2. Chambersburg
  3. Scranton
  4. Sharon
  5. Chester
  6. Allentown
  7. New Kensington
  8. Philadelphia
  9. Reading
  10. Erie

For more reading, check out:

46 Best College Towns In Pennsylvania

Rank City Population
1 Easton, PA 28883
2 Millersville, PA 8426
3 West Chester, PA 19016
4 Bethlehem, PA 76555
5 Media, PA 5860
6 Huntingdon, PA 6904
7 Carlisle, PA 20846
8 Greensburg, PA 14876
9 Indiana, PA 14082
10 Bloomsburg, PA 12836
11 California, PA 5328
12 Johnstown, PA 18429
13 Gettysburg, PA 7709
14 Glenside, PA 7726
15 Williamsport, PA 27755
16 Pittsburgh, PA 303843
17 Hazleton, PA 29671
18 Dubois, PA 7509
19 Lancaster, PA 57970
20 Mechanicsburg, PA 9402
21 Schuylkill Haven, PA 5242
22 Edinboro, PA 4958
23 Collegeville, PA 5172
24 Phoenixville, PA 18723
25 Lock Haven, PA 8422
26 Harrisburg, PA 50055
27 Swarthmore, PA 6507
28 Bradford, PA 7847
29 East Stroudsburg, PA 9345
30 Clarion, PA 4205
31 Meadville, PA 12929
32 Altoona, PA 43821
33 Dunmore, PA 14082
34 Beaver Falls, PA 8934
35 Mckeesport, PA 17749
36 Middletown, PA 7245
37 Erie, PA 94826
38 Reading, PA 94601
39 Philadelphia, PA 1593208
40 New Kensington, PA 12163
41 Allentown, PA 125292
42 Chester, PA 33048
43 Sharon, PA 13143
44 Scranton, PA 76119
45 Chambersburg, PA 21917
46 Washington, PA 13358

Best College Towns By State

Enjoy The Snack?