Hartnell College is 1.4 miles from Boronda
No college sits inside Boronda’s boundary, but Hartnell College’s campus in Salinas, with 6,904 students on campus, is 1.4 miles from the center of town. About 10% of Boronda’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as 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 Boronda. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Boronda
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Boronda
Two private colleges within 14 miles, two public colleges within 13 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 Boronda’s median household income ($63,125) 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 Boronda: 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 Boronda
Is Boronda a college town?
No. About 10 of every 100 Boronda residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as California (8). The nearest campus, Hartnell College, is 1.4 miles away in Salinas.
What colleges are near Boronda?
Within 15 miles: Hartnell College (1.4 miles, 6,904 students on campus), Central Coast College (1.5 miles, 565), California State University-Monterey Bay (7.3 miles, 6,204), Naval Postgraduate School (13 miles, 1,478), Monterey Peninsula College (13.7 miles, 5,588) and Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (14 miles, 334).
What is the closest community college to Boronda, and what does it cost?
Hartnell College in Salinas, 1.4 miles away. Tuition and fees are $1,404 a year for California residents; the federal net price, $2,039, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does California State University-Monterey Bay cost if we live in California?
Tuition and fees are $7,779 a year in-state and $20,379 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $9,970 (under $30,000 income) to $22,818 (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 Boronda. 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 →