Photo: Fettlemap · CC BY-SA 3.0The Colleges of Law at Ventura is 4.4 miles from El Rio
No college sits inside El Rio’s boundary, but The Colleges of Law at Ventura’s campus in Ventura, with 260 students on campus, is 4.4 miles from the center of town, and Ventura College is 4.8 miles away in Ventura. About 8% of El Rio’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 El Rio. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from El Rio
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of El Rio
Two private colleges within 13.3 miles, one public college within 8.6 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 El Rio’s median household income ($72,598) 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 El Rio: 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 El Rio
Is El Rio a college town?
No. About 8 of every 100 El Rio residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as California (8). The nearest campus, The Colleges of Law at Ventura, is 4.4 miles away in Ventura.
What colleges are near El Rio?
Within 15 miles: The Colleges of Law at Ventura (4.4 miles, 260 students on campus), Ventura College (4.8 miles, 5,191), Oxnard College (5.5 miles, 3,573), California State University-Channel Islands (8.6 miles, 4,817) and Thomas Aquinas College (13.3 miles, 539).
What is the closest community college to El Rio, and what does it cost?
Ventura College in Ventura, 4.8 miles away. Tuition and fees are $1,426 a year for California residents; the federal net price, $-982, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does California State University-Channel Islands cost if we live in California?
Tuition and fees are $7,159 a year in-state and $19,759 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $6,857 (under $30,000 income) to $20,473 (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 El Rio. 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 →