Madison ranked 8th best midsize college city in America by WalletHub

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A report released Tuesday from WalletHub reaffirms that Madison is a great place for college students to live and go to school in. Madison ranked in the top 10 for 2023′s Best College Towns & Cities in America list this year among midsize cities.

The study puts Wisconsin in at number eight among midsize cities and at 35th overall. WalletHub’s report sought out to determine what towns and cities nationwide provide the best living conditions, especially amid college application season and as living expenses continue to rise. The organization wanted to help prospective students get the best bang for their buck and the best education.

WalletHub compared over 400 cities nationwide and grouped them by city size. The report compared academic, social and economic growth potential. It also weighed factors like crime rate, quality of higher education and cost of living.

As part of the Wallet Friendliness category of the study, WalletHub takes into account the average cost of pizza and burgers, movie and bowling cost, and cost of higher education. The student didn’t give the rank for burger and pizza prices, but did put Madison in at 98th for Cost of Higher Education out of 415.

When comparing all cities that WalletHub looked into, Austin, Texas, was ranked first overall for the 2023 Best College Towns and Cities in America.

Among midsize cities, Orlando came in the top spot. Here is the full top 10 midsize cities:

1. Orlando, FL (61.42)
2. Gainesville, FL (60.89)
3. Scottsdale, AZ (58.35)
4. Irvine, CA (56.73)
5. Salt Lake City, UT (55.99)
6. Cary, NC (55.33)
7. Reno, NV (54.91)
8. Madison, WI (54.41)
9. Charleston, SC (54.16)
10. New Haven, CT (54.11)

Milwaukee came in at 56th among large cities. Among small cities, Stevens Point (30), Green Bay (52), La Crosse (67), Whitewater (76), Oshkosh (78), Eau Claire (85) and Kenosha (105) also made the list.

The report is a follow up to WalletHub’s 2023 College and University Rankings list. On that list, UW-Madison was ranked 95th overall and 15th in the Midwest.

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