State College, Bellefonte Named Among Top Places to Live for Recent College Grads

Two of Centre County’s boroughs are among the top 250 places to live in the United States for recent college graduates, according to a new list by LendEdu.

The website — a marketplace for private student loans, loan refinancing and other financial products geared toward student loan borrowers — compiled the list of 250 Best Cities for Postgraduates using licensed data and six criteria. The list is comprised of locations ‘that present the ideal conditions for postgraduates looking to find their first homes,’ according to LendEdu.

The final result has State College ranked No. 31 and Bellefonte at No. 228.

LendEdu evaluated approximately 30,000 cities using the most recent data from Onboard Informatics for criteria that included ratio of the population aged 25-34, cost of living, income growth, entertainment experience, commute, and ratio of single residents.

County Commissioner Mark Higgins discussed the rankings at this week’s Board of Commissioners meeting. While seeing State College on the list was unsurprising, he said, he was happy to see Bellefonte recognized as well.

‘Keep in mind this is compared to 30,000 cities and towns,’ Higgins said. ‘Bellefonte is now nationally ranked as a place for young people to move. That was a very pleasant thing to find out.’

He also noted that Centre County is the only county in Pennsylvania with two municipalities on the list.

‘Great news for Centre County,’ he said. ‘There are [eight] cities and towns in Pennsylvania that are fabulous places for recent college grads to move to. State College of course is on the list, but Bellefonte is also on the list. Only county in Pennsylvania to have two.’

Indiana (64), Wilkes-Barre (108), Pottsville (153), Oil City (177), Lock Haven (219) and Danville (244) were the other Pennsylvania towns to make the list.

Grand Forks, N.D. was ranked No.1, followed by Laramie, Wyo., Ruston, La., Blacksburg, Va. and Shreveport, La., in the top five.

Last month, Niche, a website that analyzes public data to provide rankings and ratings of places to live and schools, ranked Houserville the No. 3 best place to live in the U.S. and Lemont No. 11.