Photo: dconvertini · CC BY-SA 2.0Monterey Peninsula College is 3.2 miles from Pacific Grove
No college sits inside Pacific Grove’s boundary, but Monterey Peninsula College’s campus in Monterey, with 5,588 students on campus, is 3.2 miles from the center of town. About 6% of Pacific Grove’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 Pacific Grove. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Pacific Grove
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Pacific Grove
One private college within 2.3 miles, two public colleges within 7.5 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 $75–110k, where Pacific Grove’s median household income ($106,065) 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 Pacific Grove: 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 Pacific Grove
Is Pacific Grove a college town?
No. About 6 of every 100 Pacific Grove residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below California (8). The nearest campus, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, is 2.3 miles away in Monterey.
What colleges are near Pacific Grove?
Within 15 miles: Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (2.3 miles, 334 students on campus), Monterey Peninsula College (3.2 miles, 5,588), Naval Postgraduate School (3.4 miles, 1,478), California State University-Monterey Bay (7.5 miles, 6,204) and Hartnell College (14.9 miles, 6,904).
What is the closest community college to Pacific Grove, and what does it cost?
Monterey Peninsula College in Monterey, 3.2 miles away. Tuition and fees are $1,188 a year for California residents; the federal net price, $11,373, counts housing and food at full cost.
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 Pacific Grove. 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 →