Photo: Boereck 14:52, 27 July 2006 (UTC) · CC BY-SA 3.0Los Medanos College is 5.9 miles from Clayton
No college sits inside Clayton’s boundary, but Los Medanos College’s campus in Pittsburg, with 5,265 students on campus, is 5.9 miles from the center of town. About 8% of Clayton’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 Clayton. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Clayton
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Clayton
Three private colleges within 11.9 miles, and two community colleges. The nearest public four-year college, University of California-Berkeley, is 18.6 miles away.
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 and the nearest public four-year college. Pick your family’s income.
Starts at Over $110k, where Clayton’s median household income ($175,707) 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: 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-Pleasant Hill Campus (5).
Questions about college near Clayton
Is Clayton a college town?
No. About 8 of every 100 Clayton residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as California (8). The nearest campus, Los Medanos College, is 5.9 miles away in Pittsburg.
What colleges are near Clayton?
Within 15 miles: Los Medanos College (5.9 miles, 5,265 students on campus), Contra Costa Medical Career College (7.4 miles, 337), Carrington College-Pleasant Hill Campus (7.9 miles, 432), Diablo Valley College (8 miles, 10,850) and Saint Mary's College of California (11.9 miles, 2,642).
What is the closest community college to Clayton, and what does it cost?
Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, 5.9 miles away. Tuition and fees are $1,312 a year for California residents; the federal net price, $7,443, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does the University of California-Berkeley cost if we live in California?
Tuition and fees are $16,347 a year in-state and $50,547 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $5,311 (under $30,000 income) to $34,529 (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 Clayton. 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 →