Lawrence is the eighth-best college town in the country, according to a national economic group.

The American Institute for Economic Research ranked Lawrence at No. 8 among college towns with populations below 250,000 in its 2012 College Destinations Index.

The rankings are based on 12 different metrics, including the number of students in the city’s population, cost of living, per-capita income and the percentage of 25- to 34-year-olds with at least a bachelor’s degree.

Lawrence was the second-ranked Big 12 Conference town on the list, after Ames, Iowa, home of Iowa State University. It outranked Columbia, Mo. (No. 10), and Manhattan, Kan. (No. 14).

Metropolitan areas with larger populations were ranked on separate lists.