2 Florida Cities Make Top 5 List For Best College Towns in 2024

There’s more to college than showing up to class and taking tests. Finding the right campus is one of the biggest factors when deciding on which University or school to attend. How do you choose the right college? Lucky for us, Florida has 2 of the best college towns in America.

Colleges usually consume the towns they’re in and these college towns directly impact the kind of social scene the college has. Some college campuses are amazing, but the nightlife and social scene don’t add up. Sometimes, the college town is amazing, but the campus and education aren’t great.

WalletHub just updated their standings and took 415 cities across the country, all varying in size, and graded them across three different dimensions. Wallet Friendliness, Social Environment, and Academic & Economic Opportunities were the dimensions used to determine this list.

After determining the three dimensions, WalletHub used 31 key metrics with different point values and weights. Housing costs, average cost of pizza & burger, students per capita, breweries per capita, quality of higher education, job-growth rate and more. These metrics were graded on a 100-point scale with 100 being the most favorable conditions for college students. They limited their study to only cities that had at least a population of 7,500 students or more and used the weighted average of each city to calculate the overall score.

Orlando might be home to Mickey Mouse, but it also ranks as the third best college town and city in the country. The average semester costs $24,036 and is one of the least expensive places for tuition, housing, and various other expenses. And if you’re looking to stay in Orlando after college, the job growth rate is 8.69%. That is one of the highest in the country. Orlando has no shortage of nightlife, entertainment and is within an hour of the Florida coast.

Tampa comes in hot at the number four spot. Tampa is home to many different colleges like Eckerd College, University of Tampa, and the University of South Florida. The biggest college  in Tampa Bay, the University of South Florida has an annual net price of $11,004 with just under 50,000 total students. You have the nightlife, professional sports teams, and shopping of Downtown Tampa and are only a short drive from the white sand beaches of the gulf.

Click here to see the full breakdown and list.

Being a sneakerhead in 2023 is the quickest route to cleaning out a bank account faster than a Craigslist scammer. Hop on Google and you’ll find a pair of Nike SB Dunks going for $150,000. Now, is it a rare shoe? Probably, but worth the price tag? You decide. We asked you on social media what your favorite sneaker brands were and you didn’t disappoint. Let's dive into the favorite sneakers in Tampa.

The sneaker industry is a constantly growing industry. In 2023, the sneaker world generated a whopping $75.77 billion in revenue. The industry is expected for an annual projected growth of 5.31%, according to Statista.

Everyone knows of the big few names like Nike and Adidas, but it's the smaller subsets within brands that carry the weight. With Nike, you’ve got the Dunks, Airmax, Jordans, and more but within those sneaker models are more collab models that add to the rarity and value.

First, let’s start with Florida’s favorite sneakers. According to AIOBOT.com, Travis Scott Sneakers are the top overall most popular for the state. The Travis Scott signature sneakers are a collab between Scott and Nike. They feature the classic Nike Swoosh, BUT in reverse. The shoes almost all retail for under $200, but sport a resale value of well over $1000. If you see someone rocking a backwards Nike swoosh, you’re witnessing a collector.

The next most popular shoe in the sunshine state is the Vans Old Skool. The Vans Old Skool has been around for decades, but remains a go-to classic for everyone. Now, we’re talking more about usability and function rather than resale since they have been a skateboarding classic since the 60s. These days, you’ll find people sporting the Old Skools in any niche.

Along with the Vans Old Skool, the Nike Air Max 270 follows for third place. The Air Max 270 is a very popular workout shoe and resembles a modern take on the classic early 2000s sneakers from Nike and offer a wide variety of color choices.

This is where you guys come in. We asked you your favorite sneaker brands, and you delivered. With close to 100 entries, we compiled a list of the top 5 favorite sneakers in Tampa Bay.

Nike comes in first place with over 40 votes. This isn't much of a surprise given the fact almost everyone has owned Nikes at one point or another. The favorite sneakers from Nike are Jordan 1s, Air Max, and Dunks. This falls in line with the favorite sneaker brand and models for the entire state of Florida. 

Adidas comes in second place with 12 votes and upsets the number 2 spot, for the state of Florida. Individual models like the Yeezys, Ultraboosts and Superstars are among the favorites for Adidas buyers in Tampa.

Vans comes in at a tie for third place with 9 votes. You said Vans in general, so we don’t have an individual breakdown of models, but we can expect the Old Skool, Slip Ons, and Sk8-Hi’s are among the favorites.

New Balance also comes in at 3rd place tying Vans. New Balance has seen a recent resurgence in new customers since expanding their line of sneakers. The recent popularity of "Dad" shoes (for some) lends to the popularity of New Balance.

Puma comes in 4th place with 6 votes. We didn't get an individual breakdown of your favorite models from Puma, but Puma has found a resurgence since collaborating with brands and athletes over the past few years. From the shoes the bus driver wore, to top 5 favorite sneaker brand in Tampa. Puma has collabed with Mercedes, LaMelo Ball, Neymar Jr., SpongeBob, Dixie D’Amelio, June Ambrose and more.

Oncloud comes in for a three way tie for 5th place, with 5 votes. Even if you're not familiar with Oncloud, you've probably seen them on feet. They are usually sitting at the front of any athletic store shoe department and have become very popular shoes within the last few years.

Skechers ties it up for 5th place with 5 votes. Sketchers used to be the "old man" sneaker, but more recently they've found new popularity with new and old styles.  They have new slip-ons, that are fan favorites, and maximize comfort and function as well as many other new models.

Converse has been a long time favorite for decades and ties it up for 5th place with 5 votes. There are many different styles of Converse, but Chuck Taylor's are by far the most popular shoe within the brand. The quality has significantly dropped over the past few years with cheap canvas and plastic mesh material inside. They're also sporting a higher price tag than before.