{"id":344727,"date":"2025-10-08T12:32:51","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T16:32:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/blog-api\/?p=344727"},"modified":"2025-10-27T12:05:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T16:05:07","slug":"what-are-the-top-u-s-college-towns-to-live-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/what-are-the-top-u-s-college-towns-to-live-in\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are the Top U.S. College Towns to Live In?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The latest university rankings are out and can only be good news for luxury real estate in prime locations, writes Elizabeth Fazzare<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Princeton, New Jersey<\/span><\/a> | <\/span>Callaway Henderson Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back-to-school season may have come and gone, but the U.S. luxury real estate market still has its eye on college towns following the release of the latest <\/span>Best Colleges rankings<\/span><\/a> by U.S. News. Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey; <\/span>MIT \u2013 Massachusetts Institute of Technology<\/span> and Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, take the respective top four spots again this year. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only have these schools outranked their peers, they continue to boost the profiles of their host cities by bringing fresh talent, cutting-edge research, rich culture and new wealth to their areas every academic cycle. This rare combination of resources makes these small towns particularly appealing to home buyers, whether faculty members or not.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cambridge, Massachusetts<\/span><\/a> | <\/span>Gibson Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cambridge is the country\u2019s oldest college town, hosting Harvard, the country\u2019s oldest college, and has long been a desirable market. \u201cFor a small city, Cambridge offers such a vibrant quality of life and can really stand on its own rather than as a suburb of [adjacent larger city] Boston,\u201d says Lauren Holleran, a global real estate advisor with Gibson Sotheby\u2019s International Realty and a Cambridge resident herself for nearly 30 years. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

College towns like Cambridge tend to offer a variety of real estate options, ranging from stylish condominiums, such as this <\/span>three-bedroom penthouse<\/span><\/a> with views of the Charles River and <\/span>a light-filled home<\/span><\/a> close to the coveted Harvard Square neighborhood, to more historic houses.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Princeton, New Jersey, a <\/span>seven-bedroom Tudor Revival<\/span><\/a> on the aptly named \u201cLibrary Place\u201d was built in 1896 by no less than U.S. president Woodrow Wilson. Recently renovated by architect Ron Berlin in what the sellers describe as a \u201cseven-year labor of love,\u201d it even has a tribute to the Princeton campus in its hand-painted frescoes of famous college landmarks. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Palo Alto, California<\/span><\/a> | <\/span>Golden Gate Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The general architectural character of college towns often skews historical and low density, while urban centers tend to be walkable, with parks and tree-lined streets adding visual appeal and public amenities. As Holleran says of Cambridge: \u201cWe\u2019ve got our own center of gravity with great restaurants, theater, culture and parks and it\u2019s just such a pleasant place to live, while still having access to city resources.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

College town buyers come from all walks of life. It was Stanford University talent that seeded Silicon Valley success in Palo Alto, California. Today, college staff and students share their city with tech entrepreneurs and developers. Sometimes, they are one and the same. The variety of real estate reflects this, from <\/span>a contemporary turnkey<\/span><\/a> in the ever-popular Community Center neighborhood to <\/span>a five-bedroom luxury home<\/span><\/a> in old town Palo Alto, an area full of tech titans. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Palo Alto, California<\/span><\/a> | <\/span>Golden Gate Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Holleran is currently noting fewer of the foreign \u201cinvestor buyers\u201d who usually make up a slice of Cambridge\u2019s real estate market, it remains buoyant. \u201cI\u2019m not seeing any diminution in excitement from parents who might have kids going to Harvard law school and want to buy something for them, or from postdoctoral buyers, professors and every administrator up from there,\u201d she says. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Academic excellence is often the foundation for a strong job economy in a region. Thanks to MIT and Harvard\u2019s joint prowess, Cambridge is a leader in healthcare, biotech and life sciences, attracting professionals and their families who work in those fields. Nearby Boston has a big client base in finance as much as in education, Holleran adds, a market that spills over into Cambridge for those homeowners looking for a smaller-town feel.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cambridge, Massachusetts<\/span><\/a> | <\/span>Gibson Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the college rankings are based on academics and campus factors, the top college towns create their own buzz, strengthened by the rigor and resources of their universities. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the real benefits of being in this market is that it has been so insulated from economic and political impacts,\u201d says Holleran. \u201cI think we\u2019re seeing some of them now, but it\u2019s just knocking some of the foam off the top, rather than really changing the baseline desirability.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calm, clutter-free and characterful: here\u2019s how to design the perfect contemporary study<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The latest university rankings are out and can only be good news for luxury real estate in prime locations, writes Elizabeth Fazzare Princeton, New Jersey | Callaway Henderson Sotheby\u2019s International Realty Back-to-school season may have come and gone, but the U.S. luxury real estate market still has its eye on college towns following the release […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":232770370,"featured_media":345010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1399],"tags":[1423,1461,1471],"class_list":["post-344727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-and-design","tag-california","tag-massachusetts","tag-new-jersey"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/College-Towns_Princeton1.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pf4gbL-1rG7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":342559,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/significant-sales-july-2024-highlights\/","url_meta":{"origin":344727,"position":0},"title":"Significant Sales: July 2024 Highlights","author":"SIR Admin","date":"August 24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"From an US$24M sale in Old Fort Bay, The Bahamas, to a \u20ac15M sale in Madliena, Malta, here are five sales represented by the Sotheby\u2019s International Realty\u00ae global network in July. 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