Tiny Alfred, NY Is Named America's "Collegiest College Town"

New York isn’t just a big college state – it’s the biggest. We have the most four-year colleges out of any state in the US. So with so many students coming to New York for higher education, we have plenty of great college towns. If I told you New York had the collegiest college town in America, what city would you guess?

New York City might be the most obvious answer. There are almost 100 universities and colleges in NYC alone. Maybe you’d guess Ithaca for its Ivy League heritage. Maybe you’d pick Syracuse, or somewhere in the Capital Region. All great guesses, but apparently wrong. According to The Washington Post, America’s collegiest (definitely not a college-level word, but still) college town is a New York town you may not have ever heard of.

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I asked my coworkers, a lot of them New York natives, about the town to see if anyone knew it. Only one did. She knew because she went to a soccer tournament there as a high schooler. The town has two colleges and one traffic light, so you’d be forgiven for not stopping in.

So what makes Alfred the collegiest college town, per WaPo? It’s not school spirit. It’s not huge athletic programs. It’s not massive ragers. It’s all about the student body – specifically, how much of Alfred’s population is college students.

Washington Post

Census data shows that a whopping 84.6% of Alfred is undergraduates, which must leave the area pretty dead during the summer. Fortunately, both schools are on good terms with each other, otherwise there would likely be brutal prank wars across Main Street. They both come together each Spring to celebrate “Hot Dog Day.” Shoutout to Alfred, NY – the collegiest college town around!

These Are New York's 14 Most Expensive Colleges For 2022-2023

The Business Journals calculated total yearly cost for higher learning across America. Their total cost figures no financial aid, no in-state discounts for public universities, and the cost of books, room, board, and general living expenses.

By far, New York is the country’s the most expensive state for college, with more schools in the top 60 than any other state. We have 14: one in the top five, and three more in the top 20. Massachusetts finished second with 10 colleges in the most expensive 60. This is probably not a distinction to be particularly proud of, but as inflation continues this trend isn’t likely to slow down over the next year.

New York's 15 Biggest Party Schools Ranked For 2022

This ranking comes from the US college aggregate website Niche. Started in 2002, Niche provides comprehensive reviews and information for colleges on pretty much anything you’d want to search. They used student reviews and other data to pull this together, so we’re standing by it. Now let’s get this party started!

Source: A Tiny NY Village Was Just Named America’s Top College Town