FARGO - Fargo’s low unemployment and short commutes helped the city earn the top spot on a new ranking of small college towns.

The Schools.com report from earlier this month looked at 170 cities with at least one four-year college or university and fewer than 150,000 residents, ranking each community on a 20-point scale that analyzed the percentage of residents ages 18-34, median annual rent, walkability and other factors.

Fargo came out on top and also had the ninth-highest rate of residents over 25 with a bachelor's degree at 24.8 percent. The city’s 2.5 percent unemployment rate and median annual rent of $7,260 helped boost the overall ranking.

Craig Whitney, president and CEO of the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber, said it wasn’t a surprise -- Fargo has enjoyed high honors in several national rankings. Fargo was named the No. 11 city for young families and No. 10 best city for entrepreneurs earlier this year, for example.

Those honors don’t include the frequent national attention Fargo gets for its low unemployment or North Dakota State University’s educational and athletic successes, he said.

“They are things that are going to help us, in my opinion, to not only keep our students here and keep our people here in this workforce, but get people to look at why they would want to consider taking a position here,” he said.

Grand Forks was ranked No. 5 by Schools.com, earning a high score for a low unemployment rate, short commute times and a strong nightlife scene with four bars per 10,000 residents.

Aberdeen, S.D., was ranked No. 2, while Mankato, Minn., was No. 6 and Rochester, Minn., was No. 17.