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Web site: Missoula small, hip

Yet another source says we’re great college town

Missoula and Bozeman found their way onto yet another list touting them as wonderful places to live.

ePodunk, a Web site dedicated to providing in-depth information about American’s small towns and
cities, ranked Missoula fifth among the top-ranked college towns in the small city category
(population 20,000 to 99,999).

By BETSY COHEN of the Missoulian

The top four small college towns were ranked in order: Charlottesville, Va.; Bozeman; Hays, Kan.;
and Boulder, Colo.

Creators of the Web site were prompted to conduct the survey because more Americans are looking
to college towns as places to live.

On the site’s College Towns Index, ePodunk staff wrote: "In our view, great college towns have a
spark that comes not only from young blood, but from jazz clubs, literary events, book stores and
cafes. They are intellectual, cultural and economic hubs, balancing tradition with new business
growth. Often, they mix urban amenities and small-town charm."

Ranking of towns was based on communities with four-year colleges with populations of more than
2,000 students, and omitted communities with low rates of owner-occupied housing.

The survey combined 15 statistical sources to find college towns with strong economies and varied
arts and intellectual activities. The study did not assess the strengths or weakness of the colleges
themselves.

Statistics and sources for the survey findings included the 2000 population from U.S. Bureau of the
Census, change from 1990 population, percentage of owner-occupied housing, and the County
Business Pattern from the 1999 Bureau of Census.

Cities were grouped in four categories: Big cities, 300,000 or more people, medium-sized cities of
100,000 to 299,999 people, small cities with 20,000 to 99,999 people and towns with up to 19,999
people.

The top five big city college towns are, in order: Boston-Cambridge, Mass.; Minneapolis; Denver;
Columbus, Ohio; and Seattle.

The top five medium-sized cities are, in order: Columbia, S.C.; Tallahassee, Fla.; Madison, Wis.;
Urbana-Champaign, Ill.; and Ann Arbor, Mich.

For more information about the survey, log onto http://www.ePodunk.com

Reporter Betsy Cohen can be reached at 523-5253 or at [email protected].

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