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Northern Connecticut and Western Massachusetts are home to many communities with economies that depend on business serving higher education institutions and people - especially:
- Worcester, MA: (Clark University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Assumption College, UMass Worcester, Becker College, etc.),
- Hartford, CT: (Hartford University, Trinity College, University of St. Joseph, etc.)
- Amherst, MA: (UMass, Amherst College, Hampshire College),
- Northampton, MA: (Smith College),
- South Hadley, MA: (Mount Holyoke College),
- and Springfield, MA: (AIC, Springfield College, and Western New England University, etc.).
With fewer students and staff returning to campus in the fall, college town businesses such as auto care, restaurants, bars, and beauty salons are even more likely to stay closed when compared to other types of businesses in college towns.
Automotive businesses in college towns, for example, are 29 percent more likely to permanently close compared with other businesses in their respective states, Yelp said.
Compared to their states, year-over-year, college towns saw a 10 percent greater drop in consumer interest in April when many students left town to go home.
While college towns have been hit hard by the COVID-19 economy, they are starting to rebound, Yelp said. They’re getting a back to school “bump.”
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