Recap: This fall there are 8 home football games out of the 12 game regular season. We used this rather unprecedented home game advantage as an impetus to ask ourselves how we stack up against other, similar regions. How does Ann Arbor compare to other college towns in the US?
Saturday, September 24 – U of M vs. Penn State. Ann Arbor, MI vs. State College, PA.
Unlike last week’s game against CU Boulder, State College is not a common comparison to Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor is close to 2.5 times bigger than State College, actually. However, in terms of enrollment, Penn State is actually bigger than U of M. Enrollment at Penn State actually exceeds the population of State College, PA. When you think about it, the town’s name makes a lot more sense.
(For the data heads out there, population in the Census is usually calculated in a town by excluding college students – check out this article to go deep into the rabbit hole of how that can be problematic. We’ll be waiting right here when you get back…)
Penn State has been famous recently for the unprecedented level of student philanthropy that emanates from the THON organization, which raises money for children and families impacted by childhood cancer. In 2015 alone, THON raised over $13 million for the cause, and since its inception in 1977, it has raised over $127 million. Inspired by the THON program, U of M’s DMUM program was founded in 1997, and has raised over $5 million since then. We’ll get there someday!
Here’s how U of M and Ann Arbor compare to Penn State and State College:
ICYMI – Here are links to the last 3 posts about our athletic (and economic) competition!
