Photo: Father of Nehrams2020 · CC BY-SA 3.0Merced College is 6.6 miles from Atwater
No college sits inside Atwater’s boundary, but Merced College’s campus in Merced, with 7,026 students on campus, is 6.6 miles from the center of town. About 6% of Atwater’s residents are enrolled in college, below California (8%).
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 Atwater. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Atwater
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Atwater
Both are public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from Atwater.
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 Atwater’s median household income ($64,472) 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 Atwater: 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 Atwater
Is Atwater a college town?
No. About 6 of every 100 Atwater residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below California (8). The nearest campus, Merced College, is 6.6 miles away in Merced.
What colleges are near Atwater?
Within 15 miles: Merced College (6.6 miles, 7,026 students on campus) and the University of California-Merced (9.4 miles, 9,145).
What is the closest community college to Atwater, and what does it cost?
Merced College in Merced, 6.6 miles away. Tuition and fees are $1,200 a year for California residents; the federal net price, $5,040, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does the University of California-Merced cost if we live in California?
Tuition and fees are $15,623 a year in-state and $49,823 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $7,945 (under $30,000 income) to $28,734 (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 Atwater. 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 →