I know what USNWR says about college towns but I wonder what the forum thinks about college towns (not including cities).
For reference USNWR top 7 (including cities)
Austin.
Berkeley, Calif.
Boston.
Boulder, Colo.
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Charlottesville, Va.
Madison, Wis.
I’m partial to Boulder and I have lived in town or nearby for 35 years. It is not as funky as it was in the 70s/80s, though. It’s never been cheap but of late is more about mainstream money – the Pearl Street Mall is packed with chain stores! Regardless it’s a fun, safe town for college kids and the weather is great, especially the 300+ days of sun. Good local public transport options and decent airport access.
Recent discovery due to my DD’s college choice: Northampton and Amherst, MA. Tiny compared to Boulder, but with a lot of the hippy, boutique, local vibe I remember from Boulder in days long past. The Five College consortium draws a good variety of students (I think around 30K all told). Public transport is good, although they keep threatening to cut it. Airport is Hartford and it’s a few minutes farther than we’d like but not bad. Weather… kinda sucks and my DD is a little unimpressed by the surrounding “mountains.” But she’s from Boulder so we’ll just disregard her mountain snobbery.
Can’t beat the UW campus and environs. Then and now. Madison the city also gets highly ranked as a good place to live. It is interesting to revisit State St and see how some things do and don’t change over the decades. Likewise campus buildings- a dynamic place.
Daughter is the the Twin Cities. Fabulous if you don’t mind the cold.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/304648-the-best-college-towns.html Lots of discussions on this
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/2025373-best-college-towns.html
Having trouble posting the link to all the threads, but do a search in the top search bar and lots of discussions on this will come up.
I love Austin, of course! It’s a wonderful city. And the good thing for college students is that they don’t have to be there during the hottest part of the year. I loved being able to swim outdoors around the end of February every year. Made it hard to study, though. 
Nothing beats Ann Arbor, MI.
College town I most would want to live in, of all I have visited: Ithaca.
Gorgeous natural surroundings- lake, gorges, waterfalls, great hiking. Buzzing little town with cultural events offered by two colleges, lovely Victorian and other nice houses, and lots of restaurants and stores compared to other towns with similar natural beauty.
Burlington Vermont hands down!
I think all of those mentioned in the first post are far too large to be considered “college towns.” My definition of a college town is one that revolves around the college - Oxford, Mississippi, for example. While I love Austin and Boston, they are large cities, not college towns.
^ That makes sense! My DD has the pleasure of both the Twin Cities and the lovely mixed residential-commercial neighborhood where her campus is located.
Chico, Davis, and San Luis Obispo California. These are pure College Towns. The universities are central to the very essence of each city.
I’m not sure how Berkeley tops the USNWR list. It might not even be in the top five in California.
Metro-Boston has 35 colleges and universities with close to 200,000 students. As a guy that’s had to cope with move-in day for 25+ years I can tell you, without any reservations, that Boston is a college town. Just becasue it isn’t dominated by one college doesn’t make it less of a college town. Students are everywhere. When they leave in May it makes a huge difference in the city.
For a small college town which revolves around the college - Princeton is great.
Berkeley, while not a traditional “college town”, is an integral part of the experience of being a student at Cal.
Visiting the area while DS was a student was such fun! We still fly to Oakland whenever we travel to Northern California just so we have an excuse to stop by our favorite places in Berkeley.
Santa Cruz is a great college town, too. A nice laid back, coastal/surfer/new age feeling with UCSC giving the town a vibrant, young boost.
Davis, California!
Reno, NV - University of Nevada smack dab in the middle of town - the town heavily supports the WolfPack
Athens, Ohio - Ohio University
Auburn, Alabama - Auburn University
Athens, Georgia - University of Georgia
Bloomington, IN
Does Santa Barbara, California qualify as a college town ? La Jolla ? (UC-Santa Barbara & UC-San Diego).