This Missouri city beat Lawrence on a list of best college towns in the country
St. Charles, Missouri, was recently named the second best “small college town” in America by Preply, an online tutoring and learning platform.
The town, northwest of St. Louis and right along the Missouri River, earned the ranking from Preply for its affordability, social environment and economic opportunities. Some of the key categories considered were the average rent price for a one bedroom apartment, which is $925, and the average monthly salary for one person, which is $4,500.
The list also highlighted the low cost of beer, the high number of parks and a really low crime rate.
Lawrence made the list of best college towns but was not featured in the top 10, instead coming in at number 78.
What’s up with St. Charles?
St. Charles is the ninth largest city in Missouri and the oldest city to sit on the Missouri River. It has a population of about 71,000 people and has rich French and German roots. Its downtown area runs along the riverfront.
The city is home to a couple of colleges. Lindenwood University is a small, private four-year institution with just under 5,000 undergraduate students and more than 2,000 graduate students. St. Charles Community College is also in town and offers a number of associate degrees and certificates for its 5,000 plus students.
In 2018, Money Magazine also named St. Charles among the top 50 places to live in the U.S.
“The people of St. Charles appreciate their city as a nice place to raise kids, with great schools, little crime, and reasonably priced homes,” the article reads.
How Preply came up with the list
Topping Preply’s list of best small college towns was Ann Arbor, Michigan. Newark, Delaware, came in third place.
The study surveyed 200 towns in total and ranked them based on three major categories: wallet friendliness, social environment and economic opportunities.
The wallet friendliness factor included the cost of a meal from an inexpensive restaurant for one person, a monthly fitness club fee for one person, costs of rent in the city center and cost of a beer.
The social environment is determined by the diversity of the city, number of cafes, parks and nightlife spots per capita and the crime rate.
Lastly, when determining how much economic opportunity was available in each city, the study looked at the average monthly salary, unemployment and employment rates and the cost of buying an apartment.
Here’s a look at the top 10 small college towns named in the study
Ann Arbor, Michigan
St. Charles, Missouri
Newark, Delaware
La Crosse, Wisconsin
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Rochester, Minnesota
Clemson, South Carolina
West Lafayette, Indiana
Asheville, North Carolina
Auburn, Alabama
