Wikipedia—which is never wrong—defines a “college town” as:

A college town or university town is a community (often a separate town or city, but in some cases a town/city neighborhood or a district) that is dominated by its university population. The university may be large, or there may be several smaller institutions such as liberal arts collegesclustered, or the residential population may be small, but college towns in all cases are so dubbed because the presence of the educational institution(s) pervades economic and social life. Many local residents may be employed by the university—which may be the largest employer in the community—many businesses cater primarily to the university, and the student population may outnumber the local population.

That’s consistent with my own definition, which is why places like Boulder, Ann Arbor, State College, Ames, and Iowa City, which all made the top 10, seem more representative of what a college town is than, say, Columbus, Pittsburgh or Minneapolis, which is interesting because Pittsburgh and Minneapolis made the list even though when I think of “college town,” they are not what comes to mind. And if they are, then how is Columbus not?

Here’s the “official” top 25 according to bestcollegereviews.org:

Best college towns according to https://t.co/ElSa3TpYva

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What’s the best “College Town” you’ve ever been to?