Having a great college town is a point of emphasis on the recruiting trail for coaches.

Sure, it doesn’t speak louder than winning or national championship contention, but having a town where people are into the football and your players feel like they can have a good time and be a part of a community is a selling point for football coaches.

That’s especially true in the Big Ten, which boasts some of the best college football towns in the country.

Sports Betting in Big Ten Country

There is big news coming to the upcoming 2022-23 Big Ten football season (and NFL season). Ohio online sports betting and Maryland sports betting are on the way.

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Actually, according to one recent poll, compiled using data from the United States Census Bureau, the Big Ten is proud home to the top ranking college town in the country: Iowa City.

Reviews.org put together a comprehensive list of college towns, factoring in things like cost of living, city access, nightlight and other important points of data towards the discussion. The site then went on to rank the top college towns in each state, which is certainly interesting fodder for states like Florida, California or Texas — which boast multiple big-time colleges each — but the rankings also compiled an overall list of the best college towns.

The Hawkeyes, and their hometown of Iowa City, came in at No. 1, according to the methodology behind the rankings. That explanation can be read below:

We gathered a list of college towns and narrowed that list down to cities with fewer than 250K* residents and we kept in mind that the metro areas surrounding the smaller towns would also include the student population.

Using data from United States Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we analyzed overall population, student population, rental costs, college education rates, transportation access, unemployment rates, and bar availability. From there, we narrowed it down further by weighing cost of living, unemployment rates for 20–24 year olds, and easy access to the city.

Iowa City and college football are synonymous, but it’s worth noting that the Hawkeyes tend to get great support for all of their sports, including men and women’s basketball, wrestling, gymnastics and baseball.

It’s a great town if you love a great college atmosphere. That’s been hard to deny for anyone who’s ever spent any time in Iowa City, and now it’s statistically true as well — at least according to this report.