University Town

Metros where the universities dimension is the single largest contributor to the composite score. Includes the pure gravity wells (Uppsala, Leiden, Göttingen) where the university accounts for 80% or more, alongside the diversified university cities where the institution is the anchor without being the entirety. Drawn from the Academic Gravity Wells analysis.

103 qualifying metrosMethodology →
Tier A
8
Pure gravity well
Tier B
27
University-defined
Tier C
38
University-anchored
Tier D
30
University-leading

Tier A — Pure gravity well

Universities contribute 80% or more of the composite. The university IS the city.

RankMetroUniversity shareTier
#608GöttingenGermany97%Emerging City
#423LeidenNetherlands90%Established City
#367UppsalaSweden90%Established City
#527WürzburgGermany88%Emerging City
#644MunsterGermany86%Emerging City
#638AachenGermany86%Emerging City
#623West LafayetteUnited States82%Emerging City
#503RegensburgGermany80%Emerging City

Tier B — University-defined

Universities contribute 65 to 80% of the composite. The university is most of what the city is.

RankMetroUniversity shareTier
#602London (ON)Canada79%Emerging City
#496TurkuFinland78%Emerging City
#661DurhamUnited Kingdom78%Emerging City
#594BlacksburgUnited States77%Emerging City
#655LancasterUnited Kingdom77%Emerging City
#497HobartAustralia76%Emerging City
#652OuluFinland76%Emerging City
#591Columbia (MO)United States76%Emerging City
#481SaskatoonCanada73%Emerging City
#632St. AndrewsUnited Kingdom73%Emerging City
#630CoimbraPortugal73%Emerging City
#494IthacaUnited States72%Emerging City
#302UlmGermany71%Established City
#604Santiago de CompostelaSpain69%Emerging City
#599Beer ShevaIsrael69%Emerging City
#597Pullman-MoscowUnited States68%Emerging City
#547AalborgDenmark68%Emerging City
#545NancyFrance68%Emerging City
#542LansingUnited States67%Emerging City
#593BathUnited Kingdom67%Emerging City
#539CharlottesvilleUnited States67%Emerging City
#587WollongongAustralia67%Emerging City
#431ChampaignUnited States66%Established City
#290MontpellierFrance66%Established City
#536EnschedeNetherlands66%Emerging City
#457TainanTaiwan66%Established City
#293OxfordUnited Kingdom65%Established City

Tier C — University-anchored

Universities contribute 50 to 65% of the composite. The university is the largest single contributor.

RankMetroUniversity shareTier
#577JilinChina65%Emerging City
#520LubbockUnited States64%Emerging City
#266UtrechtNetherlands64%Established City
#253CambridgeUnited Kingdom64%Regional Hub
#515YorkUnited Kingdom63%Emerging City
#314GentBelgium63%Established City
#510TuscaloosaUnited States63%Emerging City
#425GroningenNetherlands62%Established City
#504CoventryUnited Kingdom61%Emerging City
#463YangzhouChina60%Established City
#544ExeterUnited Kingdom60%Emerging City
#540BloomingtonUnited States60%Emerging City
#418Arnhem-NijmegenNetherlands60%Established City
#458ColumbiaUnited States60%Established City
#495College StationUnited States59%Emerging City
#417TrondheimNorway59%Established City
#490GainesvilleUnited States59%Emerging City
#419HaifaIsrael58%Established City
#260HsinchuTaiwan58%Established City
#387GrenobleFrance58%Established City
#400OdenseDenmark56%Established City
#241MalmoSweden55%Regional Hub
#466Fort CollinsUnited States55%Emerging City
#349PamplonaSpain54%Established City
#218GothenburgSweden54%Regional Hub
#459State CollegeUnited States54%Established City
#330CampinasBrazil53%Established City
#413MaastrichtNetherlands53%Established City
#236NantesFrance53%Regional Hub
#483Dunedin (NZ)New Zealand53%Emerging City
#448PerugiaItaly52%Established City
#386Quebec CityCanada52%Established City
#309MadisonUnited States52%Established City
#439EugeneUnited States51%Established City
#473TrentoItaly51%Emerging City
#434Clermont-FerrandFrance51%Established City
#433TallahasseeUnited States51%Established City
#44NanjingChina51%Major Metro

Tier D — University-leading

Universities contribute 40 to 50% of the composite. The university is the #1 dimension; the metro has a real second leg.

RankMetroUniversity shareTier
#426Erfurt-Weimar-JenaGermany50%Established City
#393South BendUnited States49%Established City
#299New HavenUnited States49%Established City
#388HamiltonCanada48%Established City
#142LausanneSwitzerland48%Regional Hub
#220AlbuquerqueUnited States48%Regional Hub
#414Newcastle-MaitlandAustralia47%Established City
#227StrasbourgFrance47%Regional Hub
#442GeelongAustralia47%Established City
#409SpringfieldUnited States47%Established City
#407Cedar RapidsUnited States47%Established City
#217BernSwitzerland47%Regional Hub
#358AberdeenUnited Kingdom46%Established City
#354TampereFinland46%Established City
#363LebanonUnited States46%Established City
#402Brighton & HoveUnited Kingdom46%Established City
#398LexingtonUnited States46%Established City
#373Baton RougeUnited States45%Established City
#328Des MoinesUnited States43%Established City
#408Pisa-LivornoItaly43%Established City
#183Rhine-NeckarGermany43%Regional Hub
#324LjubljanaSlovenia43%Established City
#377GwangjuSouth Korea42%Established City
#369Kitchener-WaterlooCanada41%Established City
#6BeijingChina41%Global Capital
#312RichmondUnited States41%Established City
#365BariItaly41%Established City
#364KarlsruheGermany41%Established City
#362GranadaSpain40%Established City
#286SheffieldUnited Kingdom40%Established City