California city lands in top 10 best college towns in the US

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California may have some of the best colleges in the country, but its high cost of living may be holding the state back.

A new list from WalletHub breaks down the best college towns in the U.S., and just one California city made the top 10. The list ranks schools based on their combination of affordability, academics, and work opportunities.

San Diego ranked seventh overall on the list. The Southern California city, which is home to UC San Diego, San Diego State University, University of San Diego, and more, also ranked 12th in the academic and economic opportunities category.

Despite making it into the top 10, California’s college towns crowded the bottom of the list, with 8 of the bottom 10 college towns being in the Golden State.

The worst college town was Compton, home of Compton College. East Los Angeles, Carson, and Norwalk also were in the bottom 5, along with Kendall, Florida.

California also dominated the cost of living category, with five California cities — Santa Clara, San Francisco, Sunnyvale, Santa Monica, and Stanford at joint top for the 5 highest cost of living for college students.

Standford ranked second in the highest cost of education category.

To determine their ranking, WalletHub compared the over 400 U.S. cities by 31 indicators of academic, social and economic opportunities for students. The data set ranges from the cost of living and the crime rate to the quality of higher education in the city.

“Picking the right college is crucial, but it’s also important to make sure that the surrounding college town will be a place where you’ll truly love spending your college years,” said Chris Lupo, an analyst at Wallethub.

“Towns with a low cost of living, plenty of activities and large student populations can make your college experience a lot less stressful and a lot more enjoyable. In addition, cities with a great economic environment can make it easier to get a job during or immediately after college.”

The WalletHub study of the best college towns used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Center for Education Statistics, and more.

While they may be costly, California’s many college towns are some of the most beautiful in the country. Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz were recently included in a list of the most beautiful college towns in America from HouseBeautiful.

Santa Barbara ranked fourth on the list, and was noted for its stunning views of mountains and the ocean. Santa Cruz was ranked the seventh most beautiful college town in the U.S., due in part to its proximity to both redwood forests and beaches.

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