San Francisco ranked No. 1 for best city or town for college students, according to the latest American
Institute for Economic Research report.
The University of San Francisco’s hometown is where it’s at for
college students, according to an independent analysis by the American
Institute for Economic Research (AIER) of 222 cities with student populations
of 15,000 or more.
San Francisco ranked No. 1, beating out New York, Washington
D.C., and Boston, among others, in AIER’s rankings of the 75 best cities or
towns to live in for college students based on 12 criteria, including
diversity, arts and leisure, research capacity, and entrepreneurial activity.
“Being at the heart of the best city for college students is
the ideal location for USF; this is where Jesuit universities were meant
to be, so that they could have maximal influence on society,” said USF
President Stephen A. Privett, S.J.
Salvador D. Aceves, USF vice provost and an associate
professor of accounting, called San Francisco’s No. 1 ranking an affirmation
that the city is a vibrant, entrepreneurial, and dynamic place where faculty
and students can solve problems and contribute to San Francisco’s success.
AIER’s College Destination Index uses third-party data from
the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the National Science
Foundation to go beyond college and university rankings to analyze the areas in
which the schools are located, the overall academic environment, quality of
life, and professional opportunities.
“Deciding what school to attend should involve more than
what the school itself has to offer,” said Keming Liang, AIER’s lead researcher
on the project. “Where to attend college is just as important because like the
colleges themselves the towns and cities in which they are located vary widely
in the opportunities they offer students and recent graduates.”
To find out more about AIER’s rankings and to view a
complete list of cities and towns that made the grade click here.
