C-U ranks high on 'best college town' list

Champaign-Urbana is the fourth best college town in the United States, according to a study conducted by the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER).

On Sept. 8, AIER released their College Destination Index, which lists the best college metropolitan areas in the country. On the 2009 list, C-U was ranked fourth, behind Ithaca, NY, State College, Penn., and Arnes, Iowa.

Keming Liang, a research associate for AIER, said there were several criteria that helped C-U earn its distinction. He said a major reason was its large percentage of international students and the high education levels of the residents.

Also, among the criteria were the amount of students in relation to the rest of the population, the cost of living and "creative class," which is the percentage of citizens working in arts and entertainment in the area.

"In general, the academic environment for Champaign is performing very well," Liang said. "It has a very high degree of attainment, and has a tremendous amount of research."

Nate Raybeck, graduate student, said the University did well competing against elite universities such as Cornell (Ithaca, NY).

However, Raybeck said some of the classification breakdowns were "kind of strange." He said some results were unclear, specifically the category called "creative class," which ranked some cities, at zero percent.

Robin Kaler, spokeswoman for the University, said she is happy with the ranking, but is not surprised.

"It's lovely that these people recognize what we already know," Kaler said. "Champaign-Urbana is a wonderful community, and the University of Illinois is among the nation's very best public research universities. That is true with or without this ranking."

Liang said AIER did not actually survey the area, but used data from government surveys such as the U.S. Census and the U.S. Department of Housing and Public Development. He said the results are not focused on the importance of the campus, but on the entire area.

Some students said they agree with the results of the study.

Callan Beeson, sophomore in ACES, said the town has a good variety of leisure activities.

"It is definitely a well-kept environment," he said.

Drew Beeson, junior in LAS and Callan's brother, said he thought there is a lot to experience in C-U. He said the city's transportation system is particularly beneficial for students who want to explore the town.

"You can hop on a bus to downtown Champaign whenever," he added.