Photo: Clotee Pridgen Alloc… · CC BY-SA 3.0California State University-Monterey Bay is 3.5 miles from Sand City
No college sits inside Sand City’s boundary, but California State University-Monterey Bay’s campus in Seaside, with 6,204 students on campus, is 3.5 miles from the center of town, and Monterey Peninsula College is 3 miles away in Monterey. About 8% of Sand City’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 Sand City. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Sand City
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Sand City
Two private colleges within 12.3 miles, two public colleges within 3.5 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 Sand City’s median household income ($77,917) 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 Sand City: 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 Sand City
Is Sand City a college town?
No. About 8 of every 100 Sand City residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as California (8). The nearest campus, Naval Postgraduate School, is 2.3 miles away in Monterey.
What colleges are near Sand City?
Within 15 miles: Naval Postgraduate School (2.3 miles, 1,478 students on campus), Monterey Peninsula College (3 miles, 5,588), Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (3.2 miles, 334), California State University-Monterey Bay (3.5 miles, 6,204), Hartnell College (10.7 miles, 6,904) and Central Coast College (12.3 miles, 565).
What is the closest community college to Sand City, and what does it cost?
Monterey Peninsula College in Monterey, 3 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 Sand City. 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 →