Tennessee's most affordable college towns (Memphis, Knoxville: 2013, public schools, universities)

[JMT]

Great Value Colleges selected the 50 college towns with the best cost-of-living index scores as published by the Council for Community and Economic Research. The cost-of-living index considers such factors as grocery items, housing, utilities, transportation, and health care.

Five Tennessee cities made it into the 50 most affordable college towns in the country. Here are the Tennessee cities that made the list as well as the commentaries made about each city:

14. Knoxville
In 2011, Kiplinger listed Knoxville as one of its “Best Value Cities,” coming in at number five. Forbes Magazine similarly ranked Knoxville in the top five for “Businesses and Careers.”

11. Nashville
According to Forbes in 2013, Nashville ranks #5 among the “Best Places for Businesses and Careers.” Vanderbilt University has one of the most selective programs in the United States, accepting less than 12% of applicants who apply to the undergraduate program.

5. Murfreesboro
In a period of only 10 years (2000 – 2010), Murfreesboro saw an amazing population boom of almost 60%, without losing those qualities that made it such a special place to live. In 2006, Money magazine rated Murfreesboro as the 84th best place to live in the United States, out of a possible 725 cities having a population of over 50,000 residents. Similarly, even with a student enrollment of over 24,000, Middle Tennessee State University was ranked by Forbes magazine as a “top 100″ public institution in 2009.

4. Memphis
In 2013, Memphis was ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the “top 15″ cities in the United States. Students wishing to study pharmacology would do well to attend the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, which in 2010 was ranked 16th in the country by US News and World Report.

1. Cookeville
It would be hard to find a better college education in the South than the one you would receive at Tennessee Technological University. The U.S. News & World Report’s special “America’s Best Colleges” ranked TTU in the “Top 8 Public Schools in the South” every year from 2007- 2012, and they were mentioned as a “Top Public School in the South” in 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006. The Princeton Review called the school a “Best College Value” in 2006 and 2007.

The small town of Cookeville, population approximately 30,000, is an important economic contributing hub for the area, creating a micropolitan area that influences the businesses and economies of three counties.


The entire study:

50 Great Affordable College Towns in the U.S.

[jabogitlu]

And they didn't factor value of the education/university into the equation? I can't imagine it's cheaper to live in Nashville than in Knoxville (or for that matter, Johnson City which didn't even make the list...)

[Memphis1979]

I think they are leaving many good universities out of that list. UT Martin, for instance, is a great school with an extremely low cost of living in the town. Clarksville with Austin Peay, surely a hell of a lot cheaper to live here then in Murfreesboro, Memphis, and Nashville.

I don't take much stock in these kinds of rankings.