College Station Is The No. 1 Small College Town in Texas, Among Best In America, Study Says

College Station has been recognized by WalletHub as one of the best college towns in America.

College Station and Missoula, Montana share the No. 4 spot in the small city category for towns with fewer than 125,000 people. It’s ranked 1^st in Texas and 23rd overall among cities of all sizes.

The publication ranked more than 400 U.S. cities based on key indicators of academic, social and economic opportunities for students, with data ranging from cost of living and crime rate to the quality of higher education in the cities.

“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,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub analyst. “Towns with a low cost of living, plenty of activities and large student populations can make your college experience a lot less stressful and a lot more enjoyable. In addition, cities with a great economic environment can make it easier to get a job during or immediately after college.”

Texas A&M was recently named the top university in Texas and the No. 11 public university in the nation by The Wall Street Journal. Among other recent recognitions, the College of Engineering was named a top-10 public engineering school by U.S. News & World Report, with the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering ranked best in the nation. The college also secured the top spot for engineering research expenditures in fiscal year 2023, with $444.7 million in spending. The Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering — part of both the College of Engineering and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences — is also ranked No. 1 in the nation.