Brigham Young University’s hometown beat the University of Utah’s hometown in a ranking of the best college towns and cities in America — which will certainly surprise some of those loyal to the Utes.
Imagine their consternation when they learn that BYU-Idaho’s hometown is also ranked higher.
Provo finished fourth in Wallethub.com’s listing of 2019’s best college towns and cities in America; Salt Lake City finished 21st. Rexburg, Idaho — home of BYU-Idaho — finished right behind the Provo campus, in fifth.
According to Wallethub, it ranked 400 cities “based on 30 key indicators of academic, social and economic opportunities for students. Our data set ranges from cost of living to quality of higher education to crime rate.”
Orem (home to Utah Valley University) came in 13th on the list. Logan (home to Utah State University) finished 53rd.
Broken down by size, Provo was the No. 2 small city, Orem was No. 7, and Logan was No. 20. Salt Lake City was the No. 4 midsize city.
The top 25 cities overall are:
1. Austin, Texas
2. Orlando, Fla.
3. Ann Arbor, Mich.
4. Provo
5. Rexburg, Idaho
6. Stevens Point, Wisc.
7. Tampa, Fla.
8. West Lafayette, Ind.
9. Scottsdale, Ariz.
10. Las Vegas
11. Seattle
12. Storrs, Conn.
13. Orem
14. Los Angeles
15. Atlanta
16. Miami
17. San Diego
18. Gainesville, Fla.
19. College Station, Texas
20. Columbus, Ohio
21. Salt Lake City
22. St. Louis
23. Pittsburgh
24. Madison, Wisc.
25. Starkville, Miss.
Follow @ScottDPierce