Just Revealed: The Best College Town in Minnesota

Minnesota is no slouch when it comes to being the home of great colleges and universities, and we now know just which college town is the best in the entire state.

Some say the best college town in Minnesota is a place where the coffee is strong, the winters are stronger, and the school spirit could thaw even the iciest sidewalks. Others just call it home—at least until graduation, that is. But just which college town is the best in the state?

Minnesota may be the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but it's also the land of 425,000 college students. That's the number of students the Minnesota Office of Higher Education says are enrolled in public and private postsecondary institutions at the undergraduate and graduate levels across the state.

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Those nearly half a million students in the North Star State might be students at one of Minnesota's public universities. The Minnesota Office of Higher Education says our state's seven state universities all offer programs leading to bachelor's or master's degrees. They include:

Bemidji State University
Metropolitan State University
Minnesota State University Mankato
Minnesota State University Moorhead
Southwest Minnesota State University
St. Cloud State University
Winona State University

Of course, there's also the University of Minnesota, which has five different four-year campuses:

University of Minnesota Twin Cities
University of Minnesota Crookston
University of Minnesota Duluth
University of Minnesota Morris
University of Minnesota Rochester

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And don't forget about Minnesota's private colleges. According to the Minnesota Private College Council, 18 private colleges call the Bold North home:

Augsburg University (Minneapolis)
Bethany Lutheran College (Mankato)
Bethel University (Arden Hills)
Carleton College (Northfield)
College of Saint Benedict (St. Joseph)
College of St. Scholastica (Duluth)
Concordia College (Moorhead)
Concordia University (St. Paul)
Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter)
Hamline University (St. Paul)
Macalester College (St. Paul)
Minneapolis College of Art and Design (Minneapolis)
Saint John’s University (Collegeville)
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota (Winona)
St. Catherine University (St. Paul)
St. Olaf College (Northfield)
University of Northwestern – St. Paul (Roseville)
University of St. Thomas (St. Paul)

So just which college town is the best in the state? That was the question the crew at World Atlas set out to answer in their latest survey. And after they crunched all the numbers, they have crowned Duluth as Minnesota's Best College Town!

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Duluth, of course, is home to the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). World Atlas says it was founded as the Duluth Normal School by the Minnesota State Legislature in 1895 and became part of the U of M system in 1947. Today, nearly 10,000 students attend school at UMD, as World Atlas explains:

UMD offers degrees in business, engineering, natural sciences, education, and liberal arts, among other fields, and as of 2025, ranks number four among the top Regional Universities in the Midwest (it takes the spot for Minnesota).

So there you go. I thought Winona, St. Cloud or even Mankato might give Duluth a run for their money as the best college town, but I guess not. Now, if you don't want to go back to school but would still like a job with a decent salary, keep scrolling to check out the Highest Paying Jobs in Minnesota!