The Perfect College City
About Lexington
Being in the heart of Lexington, Ky., a thriving city of 300,000 people, sets Transylvania apart from most other liberal arts colleges. It’s a distinction that will define your quality of life and your future.
A complete college experience is more than what happens on campus. It’s about access to internships and jobs, community service, arts and culture, interaction with a diverse population and numerous other opportunities that will make you career and grad school ready.
You want to spread your wings, to grow academically, socially, personally and culturally. And have fun. Take a look at just a preview of what we have to offer:
- 131 public parks
- 24 miles of shared-use trails designed for running and biking
- Third-highest number of performing arts, sports, and related event centers (per 100,000 people).
NOT JUST ANY CITY
- #2 Best Cities for New College Grads smartasset.com (2020)
- #4 City for Job Growth — bestplaces.net
- 50 Best Places to Live of 2024 — Money
- #9 Friendliest Cities in the South — Southern Living (2024)
- #24 Best Cities for Young Professionals – Thrillist (2018)
- #2 Best-Run Cities in America — Wallethub (2024)
- Lexington startups create more than 3,500 jobs every year — WTVQ
- #23 Top 25 U.S. Cities With the Best Quality of Life — Forbes
- #15 Best Places to live in the U.S. in 2024-2025 — U.S. News and World Report
- Top 50 Best Foodie Towns in America – The Daily Meal (2019)
- Top 50 Best Smaller College Towns With the Best Music Scenes – Good Deed Seats
- Top 10 mid-size U.S. city at drawing graduates — The Lane Report
- Percent of population between 20 and 34: 23.5% — statisticalatlas.com
- Median rent: $871 — livability.com
- Median household income: $68,247 — livability.com
A Top City for Entrepreneurs
Being in the heart of Lexington sets Transylvania apart from most other liberal arts colleges, as does Lexington’s ranking as one of the top 10 cities in the country for entrepreneurs, creating opportunities for students to connect with local business leaders through jobs, internships and networking.
Lexington is a fantastic city for artists. It has the culture of much larger cities. And there is a general knowledge and understanding of art that probably doesn’t exist in a lot of other communities in the state.
Kurt Gohde
Professor of Art
While You’re Here:
- See the horse races at Keeneland
- Shop at The Square
- Bike the Legacy Trail
- Visit our many downtown murals
- See a movie at Kentucky Theater
- Go to a concert
- Catch a Lexington Legends game
Major Employers:
- Toyota
- Valvoline
- Lexmark International
- Tempur Sealy International
- Big Ass Fans
- J.M. Smucker
- Lockheed Martin
- Alltech Inc.
- Lexington Clinic
- Link-Belt Construction
Bikes Are Welcome
Lexington is a very bike-friendly city. You can get from your dorm room to your internship in downtown Lexington, then out to ride the beautiful rural trails of the Kentucky Horse Park with ease. Don’t have a bike? No problem. The Transy Bikes shop in the campus center will loan you a bicycle, helmet and lock for free and even teach you to do basic maintenance and repairs.
