Step aside, New Haven.
MoveBuddha “looked at the in-to-out move ratios and unemployment rates of hundreds of America’s college towns, whittling the list down to 34 standout cities where, in 2025, more people are moving in than out, and fewer residents over 16 are unemployed than the national average.”
Which town or city topped the list?
Connecticut’s own West Hartford, according to MoveBuddha: “Home to the Universities of Hartford, St. Joseph, and Connecticut’s Hartford campus, there are plenty of opportunities to expand your mind in a city with 2.92 moves inbound for every one out, and an unemployment rate around 12% lower than the national average.”
What is even more striking is West Hartford did not make their list last year, according to MoveBuddha.
Well-known handcrafted CT food now star of a retail first. It grew from a ‘community connection.’
Check out these other key takeaways from MoveBuddha:
- Reflecting strong, ongoing move interest, two South Carolina cities make the top 10 this year: Greenville and Beaufort.
- In general, southern hospitality is winning hearts (and moves): 44% of the top 25 booming college towns are sipping sweet tea below the Mason-Dixon.
- Asheville, NC, and Saratoga Springs, NY, retain their boomtown status from 2024, but Johnson City, TN, Hickory, NC, Chattanooga, TN, and Knoxville, TN, tumbled off the list in 2025.
- Of the 34 college towns with a favorable in-move ratio and lower-than-average unemployment, West Hartford, CT, is the most popular, with a 21% higher move ratio than #2 St. George, UT.
- With just 1.7% unemployment, Oxford, MS, offers grads the best chance at a stable job when the graduation parties are over and real life begins.
- Abilene, TX, has the lowest home prices among college boomtowns this year — an average home here will set you back $202,484.