Best College Towns in New York: Rankings and Top U.S. Locations

Buffalo and Ithaca are the only two New York cities to break into the top 100 in a new national study of the best college towns in the United States, according to a report by WalletHub.

The rankings, released by the personal finance website WalletHub, analyzed 415 U.S. locations to determine how well surrounding communities support student life. The study weighed 31 different measures, ranging from basic affordability to the quality of local social environments and long-term economic prospects for graduates.

“Picking the right college is crucial, but it’s also important to make sure that the surrounding college town will be a place where you’ll truly love spending your college years,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said.

Lupo noted that towns offering a combination of low costs, high activity levels, and large student populations can significantly reduce stress levels for students.

While Buffalo and Ithaca secured high positions, other major New York hubs fell significantly lower in the national standings.

Buffalo secured the 65th spot overall with a score of 50.42. While it performed well in terms of social environment, ranking 43rd nationally, it struggled in economic categories, placing 312th for academic and economic opportunities.

Ithaca followed at No. 90 overall with a score of 49.58. The Finger Lakes city excelled in its social environment, which ranked 25th in the country, though it faced challenges with affordability, ranking 283rd for wallet friendliness.

The following table compares the rankings of various New York locations included in the study:

City/Town	Overall Rank	Social Environment Rank
Buffalo	65	43
Ithaca	90	25
Stony Brook	118	—
Rochester	155	—
Troy	180	—
Albany	201	—
New York City	280	—
Syracuse	312	—
New Rochelle	373	—
Yonkers	400	340

Yonkers sat at the bottom of the New York list, ranking 400th out of the 415 locations studied. The Westchester County city earned an overall score of 38, with its social environment ranking 340th and its wallet friendliness ranking 357th.

WalletHub’s methodology divided the rankings into three distinct pillars: wallet friendliness, social environment, and academic and economic opportunities.

The “wallet friendliness” metric focused on housing costs, general cost of living, the availability of rental housing, entertainment expenses, higher education costs, and the burden of student debt.

The “social environment” category looked at the vibrancy of the community. This included measuring student population density, nightlife, the presence of restaurants and cafes, sports clubs, local festivals, and general accessibility and crime rates.

Finally, the “academic and economic opportunities” category evaluated the long-term value of the location. This involved looking at higher education quality, the earning potential for graduates, employment availability, entrepreneurial activity, job growth, and the risk of “brain drain,” where graduates leave the area to find work elsewhere.

While New York had several entries, the top of the national list was dominated by other states. Austin, Texas, took the No. 1 spot, followed by Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Charlottesville, Virginia.

The data used for these rankings was collected as of September 2026, drawing from the U.S. Census Bureau, WalletHub’s own research, and the National Center for Education Statistics.

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