The Best College Campuses Methodology
The Best College Campuses ranking is based on key statistics and student reviews using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Top-ranked colleges offer outstanding campus resources across classrooms, labs, performance venues, housing, food, and recreational facilities. Learn where our data comes from.
Factors Considered
| Factor | Description | Source | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student Surveys on Campus Quality | Niche survey responses scored on a 1-5 scale regarding the quality of campus facilities at each school. | Self-reported by Niche users | 50.0% |
| Campus Food Grade | Niche Campus Food grade, which incorporates meal plan cost and student surveys regarding food on campus. | Multiple Sources | 15.0% |
| Campus Housing Grade | Niche Campus Housing grade, which incorporates factors such as average housing costs, housing capacity, housing crime rates, as well as student surveys regarding dorms on campus. | Multiple Sources | 15.0% |
| Local Area Grade | Niche Local Area grade, which incorporates factors such as median rent, local crime rates, access to amenities, as well as student surveys regarding the local area around campus. | Multiple Sources | 15.0% |
| Safety Grade | Safety grade, which incorporates factors such as campus crime rate, local crime rate, as well as student surveys regarding health and safety services on campus. | Multiple Sources | 5.0% |
The same methodology is used to produce the Niche Campus Grade for each ranked school as well as additional colleges. Statistics obtained from the U.S. Department of Education represent the most recent data available, as self-reported by the colleges.
For more details about how we calculate our rankings, click here. If you work for a school and would like to update your data, please claim your school.