Photo: DPPed · CC BY-SA 3.0Phoenix is home to 14 colleges, with about 49,000 students on campus
Grand Canyon University (24,302 students on campus) and Phoenix College (7,530) are inside the city. About 6% of Phoenix’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arizona (6%).
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 Phoenix. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college in Phoenix
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Phoenix
20 private colleges within 15 miles, one public college within 13.9 miles, and seven 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 $75–110k, where Phoenix’s median household income ($81,332) 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 Phoenix: 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. *Reported for all the campuses that file together: Carrington College-Phoenix North (5); Brookline College-Phoenix (4); Arizona College-Glendale (20); Miller-Motte College-Arizona Automotive Institute (22); Chamberlain University-Arizona (15); GateWay (2); Brookline College-Tempe (4); Arizona College of Nursing-Tempe (20); Arizona State University Campus Immersion (2); Universal Technical Institute of Arizona Inc (6); Universal Technical Institute-Phoenix (3).
What students study in Phoenix
Share of bachelor’s and associate degrees by field across Phoenix’s 10 colleges, weighted by undergraduates; then the biggest programs.
Biggest programs
College Scorecard: degree shares (PCIP; each college’s six largest fields are kept, the rest count as everything else) and the field-of-study file, median earnings 4 years after graduating. Left out: Grand Canyon University, University of Phoenix-Arizona, Aspen University, where most students study only online.
Questions about college in Phoenix
Is Phoenix a college town?
No. About 6 of every 100 Phoenix residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as Arizona (6). The largest campus in the city, Grand Canyon University, has 24,302 students on campus.
What colleges are in Phoenix?
Grand Canyon University, Phoenix College, Paradise Valley Community College, GateWay Community College and 10 more are inside the city. Glendale Community College is 5.8 miles away in Glendale.
What is the closest community college to Phoenix, and what does it cost?
Glendale Community College in Glendale, 5.8 miles away. Tuition and fees are $2,358 a year for Arizona residents; the federal net price, $11,650, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Glendale Community College cost if we live in Arizona?
Tuition and fees are $2,358 a year in-state and $8,958 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $10,512 (under $30,000 income) to $17,378 (over $110,000), housing and food included.
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 Phoenix. 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 →