For many college students, it's tough to imagine life after college when they're cramming for exams and cranking out research papers. Yet the time does come when they'll venture into the "real world" with their degrees.

Before graduation rolls around, college students often find themselves wondering where to start their after-school journeys. To help with this homework, real estate website Point2 has developed a list of the best places for life after college, and Houston — home of University of Houston and Rice University — lands at No. 33 overall.

The website looked at an array of factors to come up with its ranking, such as population growth, business growth, median age, household income growth, poverty rate, and housing availability and prices.

Point2 considered only the 86 places that host the country's 100 most successful colleges and universities, as rated by U.S. News & World Report.

Other Texas communities on the list are:

• No. 1 Austin, home of University of Texas.
• No. 5 Fort Worth, home of Texas Christian University.
• No. 17 College Station, home of Texas A&M University.
• No. 21 Dallas, home of Southern Methodist University.
• No. 24 Waco, home of Baylor University.

"While education and innovation keep these educational institutions on the map, it's the economic and social conditions in the city that convince students to pursue a career and build a life in their college town. That's why household incomes, home prices, the number of businesses and startups, and even the city's poverty rates weigh heavy," Point2 says.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.