ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Only Austin, Texas, finished ahead of Ann Arbor in a new nationwide ranking of college towns, with the home of the University of Michigan placing second out of 415 cities in the personal finance site WalletHub’s 2027 study.
The study graded each city on 31 measures sorted into three groups. Academic and economic opportunities were worth up to 50 points, while wallet friendliness and social environment were each worth 25. Ann Arbor collected 59.62 points overall, which also put it at the top of the list for small cities. Austin led the full field with 61.83.
The city did best on the academic side, coming in 33rd for opportunities and 31st for social life. Cost was the weak spot, as Ann Arbor landed 195th for wallet friendliness.
Local schools came in 12th nationally on educational quality, and WalletHub put the yearly price of in-state tuition with housing and meals at $36,932, well below the roughly $95,000 charged in the priciest cities. Students make up 352 of every 1,000 residents, and the study also credited the city’s Division 1 sports and noted that only two cities had cheaper pizza on average.
East Lansing, home of Michigan State University, was the next Michigan entry at 71st.
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