LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Not just the college but the college town can make a difference for students, according to a recent survey, and a number of college towns in Arkansas are receiving high marks.
In a WalletHub study published Tuesday, Fayetteville, Conway and Little Rock placed well, providing a balance of value and opportunities for higher education students. Jonesboro scored near the bottom of the 450 towns ranked.
The survey factored in wallet-friendliness, essentially cost-of-living, against the social environment alongside academic and economic opportunities.
Fayetteville was the highest-ranked Arkansas town cited in the survey, placing 60, featuring its social environment and academic and economic opportunities making up for a low wallet-friendliness score. Conway scored above Fayetteville for social and academic/economic opportunities, but a low wallet-friendliness score put it down to 179.
Little Rock placed 278 with the highest wallet-friendliness score among the Arkansas cities. Jonesboro was ranked 319 despite having the state’s highest social environment and academic opportunities.
The survey also ranked college towns by city size.
Fayetteville scored 27 out of 198 small towns, followed by Conway at 75 and Jonesboro at 139. Little Rock was ranked 97 of 150 midsize cities.
Austin, Texas, had a first-place ranking in the survey, and Flint, Michigan, was at the bottom of the list.