Blacksburg ranked No. 5 Best College Town to Live In

Montgomery County, Virginia - Blacksburg has been ranked the No. 5 Best College Town in America to Live In by Movoto Real Estate. The San Mateo, CA. based real estate website compiled the top 10 list to determine the most desirable college towns in America to live in, citing that “colleges and universities bring a level of culture to an area, a level of excitement that’s attractive to many people.” Of the 167 locations evaluated by Movoto, Blacksburg received high marks for being one of the safest places on the list as well as its short commute time.

To create the ranking, Movoto first looked at the 100 top-ranked liberal arts colleges and universities according to U.S. News, ties included. The resulting 167 locations across the U.S. were assessed using seven unique criteria, which Movoto believed to make a great place to live.

The criteria used, included: total amenities, quality of life (cost of living, median home price, median rent, median household income, and student-to-teacher ratio), total crimes, tax rates (sales and income), unemployment rates, commute time, and weather in terms of temperature and air quality.

David Cross, Content Editor of Movoto, had the following commentary regarding Blacksburg’s ranking:

Blacksburg’s best ranking came from its commute time. It takes area residents just 16 minutes to get to work, the 16th shortest time on our list. For comparison, it takes New Yorkers an average of 44 minutes to make it to work. In addition to a low commute time, Blacksburg was among the safest places on our list. Our data indicates there were 1,426 crimes per 100,000 people, good enough to make the locale the 19th safest place on our list.

Movoto isn’t the first to recognize Blacksburg among the best college towns in America. Late last year, the American institute for Economic Research ranked the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area – home of Virginia Tech, Radford University and New River Community College – the No. 8 College Town in the country.

About Us

Montgomery County, Virginia - home of Virginia Tech and the towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg - is a progressive, technology-driven community with an abundance of outdoor amenities. The Montgomery County Economic Development Department actively supports the startup, retention and expansion of companies in Montgomery County as well as the recruitment of new businesses to the community.  To learn more, visit www.YesMontgomeryVA.org.