Photo: LittleT889 · CC BY-SA 4.0Thomas Aquinas College is 10.6 miles from Meiners Oaks
No college sits inside Meiners Oaks’ boundary, but Thomas Aquinas College’s campus in Santa Paula, with 539 students on campus, is 10.6 miles from the center of town, and Ventura College is 12.5 miles away in Ventura. About 5% of Meiners Oaks’ 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 Meiners Oaks. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Meiners Oaks
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Meiners Oaks
Two private colleges within 13.8 miles, and Ventura College 12.5 miles away. The nearest public four-year college, California State University-Channel Islands, is 24 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 $48–75k, where Meiners Oaks’ median household income ($70,192) 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 Meiners Oaks
Is Meiners Oaks a college town?
No. About 5 of every 100 Meiners Oaks residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as California (8). The nearest campus, Thomas Aquinas College, is 10.6 miles away in Santa Paula.
What colleges are near Meiners Oaks?
Within 15 miles: Thomas Aquinas College (10.6 miles, 539 students on campus), Ventura College (12.5 miles, 5,191) and The Colleges of Law at Ventura (13.8 miles, 260).
What is the closest community college to Meiners Oaks, and what does it cost?
Ventura College in Ventura, 12.5 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 Meiners Oaks. 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 →