Connecticut’s three major population centers — Hartford, Bridgeport and New Haven — remain among the 75 best U.S. communities for college students, according to an annual index.
Hartford ranked No. 4, out of 20 mid-size metro areas with 1 million to 2.5 million residents, according to the American Institute for Economic Research in Barrington, Mass. Ranked ahead of Hartford: No. 1 San Jose, Calif.; followed by Raleigh, N.C.; and Austin, Texas.
Among small metro areas with populations of 250,000 to 1 million, Bridgeport was No. 3 and New Haven No. 12, the institute said.
The locations were chosen from an analysis of the 222 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with student populations of 15,000 or more.
 All three were on last year’s ranking, but Hartford and Bridgeport each fell one spot on this year’s list. New Haven climbed six spots on the ranking.
The College Destinations Index goes beyond standard college and university rankings, which typically focus on the schools themselves, including cost, academics and athletic programs. Instead, the CDI analyzes the areas in which the schools are located, including the overall academic environment, quality of life, such as cost of living and arts and leisure activities, and professional opportunities. Â
“Deciding what school to attend should involve more than what the school itself has to offer,” says Keming Liang, AIER’s lead researcher on the project. “Where to attend college is just as important, because like the colleges themselves, the towns and cities in which they are located vary widely in the opportunities they offer students and recent graduates.”
