The American Institute of Economic Research ranked the "75 Best College Towns" and two of ours came in the top 10:
Mizzou, number 10
Lawrence, KS, number 8
Based on this criteria:
- Student Concentration: number of college students per 1,000 population
- Student Diversity: percentage of student body that are non-U.S. residents
- Research Capacity: academic R&D expenditures per capita
- Degree Attainment: percent of the 25-to-34-year-old population with bachelor’s degree or higher
- Cost of Living: based upon average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment
- Arts and Leisure: number of cultural and entertainment venues per 100,000 population
- City Accessibility: percentage of workers over age 16 who commute on foot or by public transportation or bicycle
- Creative Class: percentage of workforce in the arts, education, knowledge industries, science and engineering, management and other fields
- Earning Potential: income per capita
- Entrepreneurial Activity: net annual increase in total number of business establishments per 100,000 population
- Brain Gain/Drain: year-over-year ratio of population with B.A. degree (it is only population with B.A degree, not all the college level) living in the area
- Unemployment rate
