Photo: Visitor7 · CC BY-SA 3.0College of the Desert is 14.4 miles from Coachella
No college sits inside Coachella’s boundary, but College of the Desert’s campus in Palm Desert, with 7,129 students on campus, is 14.4 miles from the center of town. About 5% of Coachella’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 Coachella. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Coachella
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Coachella
It is public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from Coachella.
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 $48–75k, where Coachella’s median household income ($68,596) 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.
Questions about college near Coachella
Is Coachella a college town?
No. About 5 of every 100 Coachella residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below California (8). The nearest campus, College of the Desert, is 14.4 miles away in Palm Desert.
What colleges are near Coachella?
Within 15 miles: College of the Desert (14.4 miles, 7,129 students on campus).
What is the closest community college to Coachella, and what does it cost?
College of the Desert in Palm Desert, 14.4 miles away. Tuition and fees are $1,326 a year for California residents; the federal net price, $15,728, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Crafton Hills College cost if we live in California?
Tuition and fees are $1,188 a year in-state and $14,556 from out of state.
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 Coachella. 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 →