On March 25, Clemson was voted No. 1 in ‘America’s most underrated college towns to visit now’ by the popular travel search engine, KAYAK.

Other college towns on the list include Ann Arbor, Michigan; Athens, Georgia; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and Oxford, Mississippi.

America’s most underrated college towns are “walkable, energetic and packed with great food, local culture, and a built-in buzz that doesn’t clock out when football season ends,” according to an article on KAYAK’s website.

Initially, the KAYAK team gathered a broad set of underrated college towns in the U.S. spanning across multiple regions.

Afterward, they pruned the list based on three factors: travel interest, pricing and overall fit with travel trends, Sarah Kennedy, KAYAK’s senior public relations manager, told The Tiger in an interview.

Clemson is one of many “underrated” destinations because “it’s still flying under the radar despite offering a strong travel experience,” Kennedy said.

She added that it’s one of the “places travelers may not be prioritizing yet, but should be.”

Clemson was a top pick for editors because of its classic Southern charm and balanced experience. The city offers a walkable downtown, access to Lake Hartwell and college-town fun.

When analyzing hotel data, Clemson appeared as a location “with meaningful search volume,” which indicates “strong curiosity from travelers,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy added that Clemson has reasonable hotel prices, so “it reflects the kind of high-value destination people are increasingly seeking out.”

Research from KAYAK found that an average hotel in Clemson is around $228 per night.

Using data and community insights, KAYAK found that almost 84% of travelers now prefer small-town travel and to explore lesser-known destinations over major cities, according to the 2026 What The Future Report.

The report also found that almost 63% of travelers are planning quick, more spontaneous getaways that don’t require weeks of planning, making college towns the ideal travel destination.