Pittsburgh Is Nation's 4th-Best Large City For College: Study

PITTSBURGH, PA — Pittsburgh got the fourth-best grade in the 2022 class of large cities for college, according to a new study by financial analytics website WalletHub.

The city ranked only behind Austin, Tampa and Raleigh in a report released Tuesday. Rounding out the top 10 after Pittsburgh were Seattle, Atlanta, Miami, Columbus, Las Vegas and Cincinnati.

To help prospective college students narrow down their school choices, WalletHub compared more than 400 U.S. cities of varying sizes based on 30 key indicators of academic, social and economic opportunities for students. Factors that were studied included the cost of living, quality of education and crime rate.

According the study, Pittsburgh ranked as follows in these categories:

• 28th: Brain drain

• 36th: City accessibility

• 50th: Quality of higher education

• 108th: Students per capita

• 130th: Cost of living for young people

• 184th: Percentage of rental units

• 200th: Cost of higher education

In deciding which university to attend, the importance of the surrounding city and town is critical, according to Joseph H. Paris, the higher education program coordinator of the College of Education and Human Development at Temple University in Philadelphia.

"The location of a college or university plays an important role in students’ college life," Paris said in the study. "For example, students may seek an internship, employment opportunities, and entertainment nearby campus. Opportunities and experiences outside the classroom can be just as important as the learning and development that occurs on a college campus.

See the entire WalletHub study here.

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