What does this nearest college ranking show?

It orders states by Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution. It is a comparison of this one published measure, not an overall ranking of where to live.

Where do these figures come from?

IPEDS via Urban Institute supplies this measure. States without a comparable published value are shown as not ranked rather than estimated.

How should I use this ranking?

Use it to narrow a search, then open a state or county profile for the underlying figures, source dates and caveats. A statewide number may not describe every neighbourhood.

Rankings · Schools

Lowest nearest college by state

Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution.

Straight-line distance from the county's population-weighted centre to the nearest campus, so it measures from where people live rather than the county's geometric middle.

How to read this ranking

District of Columbia has the lowest published nearest college in this comparison, at 1.0 mi. The next states shown are Rhode Island (2.1 mi) and New York (3.4 mi).

The table orders 51 states by miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution. It describes one published measure, not an overall judgment about where to live.

Use the result as a starting point, then compare the underlying source, dates, and local county figures before making a decision. Straight-line distance from the county's population-weighted centre to the nearest campus, so it measures from where people live rather than the county's geometric middle.

1District of Columbia1.0 mi
2Rhode Island2.1 mi
3New York3.4 mi
4Pennsylvania4.5 mi
5New Jersey4.7 mi
6California4.8 mi
7Connecticut4.9 mi
8Ohio4.9 mi
9Massachusetts5.4 mi
10Maryland5.5 mi
11Washington5.6 mi
12Florida5.8 mi
13Utah5.9 mi
14Nevada6.1 mi
15Illinois6.6 mi
16South Carolina6.9 mi
17Colorado7.2 mi
18Virginia7.2 mi
19Indiana7.4 mi
20Texas8.1 mi
21Georgia8.8 mi
22Tennessee8.8 mi
23Delaware8.9 mi
24Michigan8.9 mi
25West Virginia9.4 mi
26North Carolina9.7 mi
27Maine10 mi
28Louisiana10 mi
29New Hampshire10 mi
30Vermont10 mi
31Wisconsin11 mi
32Arizona11 mi
33Hawaii11 mi
34Oregon11 mi
35Kentucky12 mi
36Oklahoma12 mi
37Alabama12 mi
38Arkansas12 mi
39Iowa12 mi
40Missouri12 mi
41Kansas12 mi
42Minnesota13 mi
43Nebraska14 mi
44Idaho14 mi
45North Dakota15 mi
46South Dakota15 mi
47New Mexico18 mi
48Montana23 mi
49Mississippi24 mi
50Wyoming48 mi
51Alaska65 mi

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Frequently asked questions

What does this ranking show?: It orders states by Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution. It is one measure, not an overall verdict on where to live.
Where do the figures come from?: IPEDS via Urban Institute. States without a comparable published figure are listed as not ranked rather than estimated.
How should I use it?: Use it to narrow your search, then open a state or county profile for the source date, caveats and local context.

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<iframe src="https://movermath.com/embed/nearest-college" width="100%" height="420" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution by state"></iframe>

Source: IPEDS via Urban Institute. · How this is built

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