Best College Cities In CA: WalletHub's 2020 List

CALIFORNIA — With the college application process now in full swing, the personal finance website WalletHub released a report on 2020's Best College Towns & Cities in America.

WalletHub compared more than 400 U.S. cities of varying sizes based on 31 key indicators of academic, social and economic opportunities for students. The data set ranged from cost of living to quality of higher education.

Each relevant metric was then listed with its corresponding weight, and the cities were graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the best possible college city.

"One of the most important steps in the process (college application) is the campus visit, which often includes a tour of the city or town that will serve as the student's home for the next several years," the study's authors wrote. "Experts have argued that a school's geographical location is just as important as a strong curriculum and supportive school environment to a student's academic success."

Austin, Texas, ranked as the best college city in the country, according to WalletHub, followed by Orlando, Florida, Scottsdale, Arizona, Tampa, Florida, and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

On the other end of the spectrum, Germantown, Maryland, ranked as the worst college town. Kendall, Florida, Shreveport, Louisiana, Bridgeport, Connecticut, and New Rochelle, New York, rounded out the bottom five.

A total of 90 California cities and towns landed on the list. San Diego ranked as the best college city in the state and the seventh-best in the country, followed by Los Angeles at 20th and Sacramento at 23rd. East Los Angeles came in last in California at 410th.

Here are the top 15 best college cities in the U.S., according to WalletHub:

1. Austin, Texas: 66.49
2. Orlando, Florida: 65.67
3. Scottsdale, Arizona: 63.13
4. Tampa, Florida: 63.02
5. Ann Arbor, Michigan: 62.64
6. Seattle, Washington: 60.55
7. San Diego, California: 60.2
8. Las Vegas, Nevada: 60.03
9. Salt Lake City, Utah: 59.93
10. Provo, Utah: 59.75
11. Reno, Nevada: 59.5
12. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: 59.45
13. Raleigh, North Carolina: 59.15
14. Minneapolis, Minnesota: 59.05
15. Gainesville, Florida: 58.94

See how California towns and cities ranked, from best to worst, below. National rankings are in parenthesis.

1. San Diego (7)
2. Los Angeles (20)
3. Sacramento (23)
4. San Francisco (36)
5. Long Beach (37)
6. Santa Barbara (39)
7. San Luis Obispo (43)
8. Berkeley (49)
9. Irvine (51)
10. Roseville (59)
11. San Jose (82)
12. Pasadena (94)
13. Santa Monica (97)
14. Temecula (107)
15. Davis (110)
16. Clovis (130)
17. Huntington Beach (138)
18. Isla Vista (144)
19. Torrance (148)
20. Costa Mesa (152)
21. Fresno (156)
22. Bakersfield (158)
23. San Marcos (161)
24. Stanford (166)
25. Anaheim (167)
26. Oceanside (168)
27. Murrieta (169)
28. Fullerton (182)
29. Sunnyvale (193)
30. Rancho Cucamonga (194)
31. Santa Clarita (196)
32. Chico (214)
33. Modesto (215)
34. Riverside (216)
35. Arden-Arcade (222)
36. Fremont (229)
37. Chula Vista (230)
38. Chino Hills (235)
39. Elk Grove (236)
40. Santa Cruz (241)
41. Santa Clara (242)
42. Merced (247)
43. San Buenaventura (Ventura) (260)
44. Visalia (261)
45. Santa Rosa (269)
46. Corona (272)
47. Ontario (280)
48. Concord (285)
49. Pomona (297)
50. Fairfield (303)
51. Fontana (307)
52. Redlands (313)
53. Stockton (314)
54. San Bernardino (316)
55. Redding (321)
56. Santa Ana (322)
57. Hayward (324)
58. Hawthorne (325)
59. Vallejo (329)
60. Victorville (330)
61. Simi Valley (331)
62. Oakland (340)
63. Rialto (342)
64. Antioch (348)
65. Norwalk (353)
66. Thousand Oaks (355)
67. Oxnard (358)
68. Palmdale (362)
69. Salinas (364)
70. El Cajon (365)
71. Garden Grove (370)
72. El Monte (371)
73. Moreno Valley (372)
74. Lancaster (373)
75. Westminster (375)
76. West Covina (378)
77. Downey (379)
78. Azusa (380)
79. Escondido (383)
80. Glendale (385)
81. Burbank (387)
82. Alhambra (388)
83. Inglewood (389)
84. Orange (392)
85. Richmond (395)
86. Daly City (397)
87. Carson (398)
88. Whittier (402)
89. Compton (409)
90. East Los Angeles (410)

The full report is available on WalletHub.