The 20 best college towns in America

The city of roughly 200,000 (for its metro area population) earned the top spot thanks to its accessibility - more than 20% of commuters take public transportation or cycle around Boulder Creek Corridor - and diverse and educated population. Boulder also has an active bar-and-restaurant scene, with plenty of coffee shops and microbreweries.

AIER compiled its list using nine economic, demographic, and quality-of-life factors. It defines college towns as having fewer than 250,000 residents.

Aside from the overall ranking, we included cities' individual scores for noteworthy metrics including rent, earnings, and bars and restaurants. We chose the one metric where the city scored the highest out of the nine.

Scroll through to find out the 20 best college towns.