Conway, S.C., home of Coastal Carolina University, has been recognized as one of the best college towns in the country. ePodunk.com, based in Ithaca, N.Y., recently released its College Town Index, a ranking of the top 10 college towns in four categories.

Conway was ranked 10th for college towns with a population of less than 20,000. ePodunk.com, a community information site, assessed college towns across the country, ranking them by statistics designed to measure intellectual, cultural and economic activity.

According to ePodunk.com, Conway "is proud of its history. Its population is growing, its unemployment rate is low and the beaches are just a short drive away."

The first-time study used 14 statistical measures, including population, median age, total college enrollment, per-capita income, unemployment rate and owner-occupied housing. The survey also took into account the number of restaurants, book stores and entertainment companies in each city, as well as public library holdings, circulation and expenditures. Cultural activity was also measured by factors such as the presence of a symphony orchestra and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities.