The 10 Cheapest College Cities in the US – Almost Half Are in Texas – NBC New York

For for the second year in a rowAccording to them, the Texas city is the most wallet-friendly college town in the US The latest WalletHub ranking. This year, however, Edinburg – home to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley – failed to maintain its first-place position.

Instead, first place went to Brownsville, Texas, up from third place last year. The city is home to many colleges, including Texas Southmost College and Our Lady of the Lake University of the Rio Grande Valley.

Brownsville is located on the southernmost tip of Texas, about four and a half hours south of San Antonio. The average household income is approximately $47,000 and the average gross rent is $872 per month. according to US Census data. According to the latest census, the city has just over 190,000 inhabitants, of which almost 30% are under 18 years of age.

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To rank the most wallet-friendly college cities in the U.S., WalletHub analyzed 415 cities of all sizes with populations of at least 7,500 students. It then ranked these cities on several indicators, including housing costs, higher education costs and student loan debt per person.

According to WalletHub, here are the 10 most wallet-friendly cities and college towns in the US:

1. Brownsville, Texas — Our Lady of the Lake University in the Rio Grande Valley
2. Brookings, South Dakota – South Dakota State University
3. Laredo, Texas – Texas A&M International University
4. Edinburgh, Texas — University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley
5. Lawton, Oklahoma —Cameron University
6. Oxford, Ohio -University of Miami
7. Nacogdoches, Texas -Stephen F. Austin State University
8. Valdosta, Georgia – Valdosta State University
9. Richmond, Kentucky — Eastern Kentucky University
10. West Lafayette, Indiana -Purdue University

University towns can also be good for retirees and families

You don’t have to be a college student to enjoy life in a college town – it can be a good fit for retirees and families.

Cities that host colleges or universities may offer local residents access to on-campus events such as concerts, art exhibitions and lecture series, or the ability to audit classes.

“A small town with one or two community colleges may be less expensive to live in due to the strong tax base of local schools, and may also offer residents more cultural opportunities” – Mark Fabrizi, professor of secondary education at Eastern Connecticut State University ” – says the WalletHub report.

Additionally, engaging with the local community can help students broaden their worldview and cultivate empathy for others, Fabrizi says.

“Personal interactions between disparate (and sometimes antagonistic) people can have a humanizing effect and foster empathy and mutual understanding, and these interactions should be cultivated intentionally,” the report states.

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