In its annual College Destinations Index, the American Institute for Economic Research has named Ithaca No. 1 on its list of the 75 best towns and cities with populations under 250,000 to live in if you’re a college student. Locations were chosen from an analysis of the 222 metropolitan statistical areas with student populations of 15,000 or more.

Ithaca grabbed the top spot on such idiosyncratic criteria as its student concentration (number of college students per 1,000 residents); student diversity (percentage of all students holding foreign passports); academic research and development expenditures per capita; degree attainment (percent of the 25-34 year old population with college degrees); and cost of living (!) .