Iowa is home to three public universities and more than a dozen private colleges and universities. WalletHub , a personal finance website, ranked more than 400 U.S. cities based on factors such as wallet friendliness, social environment, and academic and economic opportunities to identify the best college towns in the U.S.

Here's how cities like Ames and Iowa City ranked according to WalletHub.

How did WalletHub determine the best college towns?

Wallethub graded each metric on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the most favorable conditions for a college student. To be included in the list, a city needed to have at least 7,500 students. Academic and economic opportunities, such as quality of education and earning potential for graduates, were weighted most heavily in the c

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