In terms of the MSU vs. U-M rivalry... one school REALLY came out on top in this ranking.

A lot can go into picking a school. Prospective students are not only looking for a great education, but a place to call home for the next several years.

👇17 Michigan Schools Make List of 500 Best Colleges in U.S.👇

A new report by the personal-finance website Wallethub compared more than 400 U.S. cities based on 31 key indicators across three dimensions: wallet friendliness, social environment, and academic/economic opportunities. They analyzed things like cost of living, crime rate, to the quality of higher education in the city

READ MORE: This is Michigan's Toughest College to Get Into

As Wallethub points out, student living expenses can reach over $36,000 for a 12-month period, so students should try to find the most bang for their buck.

Which Michigan college town is the best, according to Wallethub?

City of Ann Arbor, Facebook
City of Ann Arbor, Facebook
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Ann Arbor, home to the University of Michigan, has been named the No. 2 overall college town in the U.S. and the No. 1 small college town in the U.S.

With an overall score of 62.67, Ann Arbor received a 211 in wallet friendliness, 27 in social environment, and 31 in academic and economic opportunities.

Wallethub's findings on Ann Arbor:

  • Average cost of a year with in-state tuition plus room and board is $33,556 compared to the nearly $90,000 cost in the most expensive cities.
  • 361 out of every 1,000 residents is a student, which allows young people to more easily build friendships.
  • Ann Arbor has access to NCAA Division 1 basketball, baseball, soccer, hockey, and football, plus the the third lowest average pizza price in the U.S.

The No. 1 school in Wallethub's overall ranking? Austin, Texas. It received an overall score of 65.16, 191 in wallet friendliness, 17 in social environment, and 14 in academic and economic opportunities.

Now, you might be wondering how East Lansing, home to Michigan State University fared in comparison to Ann Arbor...

Here's how Michigan schools ranked in the overall Best College Towns and Cities ranking:

  • No. 50 - Grand Rapids
  • No. 61 - East Lansing
  • No. 114 Mt. Pleasant
  • No. 117 - Lansing
  • No. 145 - Kalamazoo
  • No. 191 - Ypsilanti
  • No. 236 - Sterling Heights
  • No. 263 - Dearborn
  • No. 258 Warren
  • No. 348 Detroit
  • No. 352 - Flint

Some notable stats from the study:

  • Lansing has the No. 3 lowest cost of living out of the 415 schools reported on.
  • Sterling Heights has some of the least amount of rental units available, coming in at 410.

If you're curious wallet found the worst college town in the U.S. to be East L.A.

Check out Wallethub's full study here.

Best Colleges and Universities in Michigan in 2025

The 17 Michigan schools made WalletHub's list of the 500 best colleges and universities in America.

Gallery Credit: Jacob Harrison