Job Prospects Help Make Iowa City No. 5 Best College Destination

Iowa City and University of Iowa pair to make this the No. 5 best college destination, according to a new index

Iowa City comes in near the top of the list of college towns, which is identified as those with 250,000 residents or less, in the “2009-2010 College Destinations Index” in the American Institute for Economic Research.

The rankings were based on cultural amenities, student population, job and internship prospects and other academic, social and economic factors. Twelve criteria were used to rank the cities on academic environment, quality of life and professional opportunities.

Ames placed No. 3 on the college towns list. The top five also included Ithaca, N.Y., State College, Pa., and Champaign-Urbana, at No. 1, 2 and 4, respectively.

The index classified towns by population size. New York City topped major metros with 2.5 million or more people. San Jose, Cal. topped mid-sized metros with a population between 2.5 million and one million people. Boulder, Colo. was listed as the No. small metro with a population between 250,000 and one million people.