Grand Forks was named the fifth best small college town in the United States by Schools.com last month, while Fargo took top honors in the online list.

The rankings were compiled based on a variety of factors: percentage of the population aged 18-34, percentage with a bachelor’s degree, median annual rent compared to earnings, unemployment rate, commute time, walkability and numbers of bars and restaurants per capita.

Schools.com assembled the list after surveying 170 cities with a population less than 150,000.

Grand Forks has a population of 56,057, with 18.5 percent of people over the age of 25 having a bachelor’s degree, according to the information provided by Schools.com.

The unemployment rate in Grand Forks is 2.9 percent, which is well under the national average of 4.9 percent. The median annual rent was listed at $7,224.

This is not the only list that Grand Forks has been included on recently. The Association of Defense Communities named Grand Forks one of the top defense communities in the United States at the end of February.

This recognition was based on how communities interact with and support military personnel and their families.

Additionally, Timeasset.com named Grand Forks as the United States’ top college hockey town in February.

Cities were measured both on their fan intensity and quality of life. Grand Forks was rated very highly in both measures and was clearly the winner, with a “Hockey Towns Index” of 94.36 compared to runner-up Hanover, N.H’s, score of 90.76.

Staff Report