Photo: Brandonrush · CC BY-SA 4.0Shorter College is 11 miles from Jacksonville
No college sits inside Jacksonville’s boundary, but Shorter College’s campus in N Little Rock, with 287 students on campus, is 11 miles from the center of town. About 6% of Jacksonville’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arkansas (5%).
From the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard, June 2026; IPEDS fall 2023 enrollment) and the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2020–24. Straight-line distances from the center of Jacksonville. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Jacksonville
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Jacksonville
Three private colleges within 13.4 miles, one public college within 14 miles, and two community colleges.
Degree-granting colleges with 100 or more students on campus (fall 2023 enrollment, minus students who study only online). Admitted: share of applicants offered a place. Net price: the average a year after grants, for students on federal aid. Graduate: within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting.
What would your family pay?
The average a year after grants, for families on federal aid, at the colleges within 15 miles. Pick your family’s income.
Starts at $48–75k, where Jacksonville’s median household income ($49,666) falls.
The average a year after grants and scholarships, for first-time, full-time students on federal aid, from the College Scorecard. Your own price depends on your aid package; every college has a net price calculator. For community colleges the net price counts housing and food at full cost, so tuition is shown beside it. “—”: not reported for that income.
Do students finish, and does it pay?
Each dot is a college within 15 miles of Jacksonville: across is the share who graduate, up is what they earn ten years after starting.
Graduation: first-time, full-time students within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 years (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting, for students who got federal aid.
Questions about college near Jacksonville
Is Jacksonville a college town?
No. About 6 of every 100 Jacksonville residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as Arkansas (5). The nearest campus, Shorter College, is 11 miles away in N Little Rock.
What colleges are near Jacksonville?
Within 15 miles: Shorter College (11 miles, 287 students on campus), the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College (11.6 miles, 2,253), Philander Smith University (13 miles, 841), Arkansas Baptist College (13.4 miles, 373) and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (14 miles, 2,164).
What is the closest community college to Jacksonville, and what does it cost?
Shorter College in N Little Rock, 11 miles away. Tuition and fees are $6,246 a year for Arkansas residents; the federal net price, $14,060, counts housing and food at full cost.
Neighbors talk college
Students, parents, alumni and the neighbors next door.
Colleges: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS (Scorecard 06/10/2026 · IPEDS 2024 · fall 2023 enrollment). “On campus” is fall enrollment minus students who study only online. Distances are straight-line from the center of Jacksonville. Residents in college, age, rent and poverty (including poverty without college students, table B14006): U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–24. Colleges are described, not graded; the College town label marks towns where 15% or more of residents are enrolled. How TownRatings describes colleges →