Roanoke Region’s Concentration of College Students Tops National Average
It’s back to school season, and Roanoke has more college students than markets its size and the nation overall.
We have long touted that Roanoke has more students per capita than Austin, Boston, Raleigh, and San Francisco.
Indeed, within an hour of Roanoke, there are 1.65 college students for every 1 college student on a per capita basis nationally. And Roanoke’s concentration of college students far surpasses that seen in Asheville, Spartanburg, Chattanooga, and other markets to which Roanoke is often compared.
The concentration of college students is a major strength for the Roanoke market and a differentiating factor. The challenge and key to future growth is to find ways to effectively tap into this unique talent engine.
Talent Solutions programming at the Roanoke Regional Partnership has this goal, and it is a goal worthy of pursuit given this unique market advantage.
| Enrollment within 50 Miles | Population within 50 Miles | Index Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roanoke | 91,736 | 901,042 | 165.1 |
| United States | 20,172,581 | 327,167,434 | 100.0 |
| Winston-Salem, NC | 105,572 | 2,046,126 | 83.7 |
| Fort Wayne, IN | 47,749 | 1,030,170 | 75.2 |
| Lynchburg, VA | 88,649 | 668,566 | 69.5 |
| Asheville, NC | 42,875 | 1,042,037 | 66.7 |
| Spartanburg, SC | 68,907 | 1,714,202 | 65.2 |
| Chattanooga, TN | 35,846 | 1,106,535 | 52.5 |
We can help you connect with this local college talent with tools such as the Get2KnowNoke Summer Internship Program and the newly launched Internship Job Board. Learn more about each of these tools or contact Erin Burcham, director of talent solutions to get involved.