Photo: bill mulder from santa margarita, usa · CC BY 2.0Santa Margarita is a college town: 16 of every 100 residents are students
No college sits inside Santa Margarita’s boundary, but California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo’s campus in San Luis Obispo, with 22,376 students on campus, is 6.8 miles from the center of town, and Cuesta College is 8.6 miles away in San Luis Obispo. Across California, 8 of every 100 residents are enrolled in college.
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 Santa Margarita. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Santa Margarita
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
What it’s like to live in Santa Margarita
How much the colleges shape the town, from the Census Bureau’s survey of residents.
16 of every 100 Santa Margarita residents are in college (CA: 8).
How students change Santa Margarita’s other numbers
Read the town’s other grades with this in mind. How TownRatings handles college towns →
Students who live off campus count in the Census poverty figures: 3.1% of Santa Margarita residents are below the poverty line, 3.7% when college students are left out (that estimate could be off by 4 points either way). 0% of the students themselves are below the line. In college towns, the Jobs & income grade uses the rate without students and leaves unemployment out.
The Cost grade counts the share of renters paying 30% or more of income on rent, leaving it out only where students are a quarter of residents or more. Here they are 16%, so student incomes still weigh on that figure.
CDC’s estimates follow each place’s age mix, and Santa Margarita’s median age is 37.5 (California 37.9), so the adult figures describe a young population.
Crime is counted per resident, and students who live here count as residents. A college with its own police department reports its incidents under that department, not the city.
Colleges within 15 miles of Santa Margarita
One private college within 9.1 miles, one public college within 6.8 miles, and Cuesta College 8.6 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. Pick your family’s income.
Starts at Under $30k; the Census has no median household income for Santa Margarita.
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 Santa Margarita: 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 Santa Margarita
Is Santa Margarita a college town?
Yes. 16 of every 100 Santa Margarita residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), against 8 across California. The nearest campus, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, is 6.8 miles away in San Luis Obispo.
What colleges are near Santa Margarita?
Within 15 miles: California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (6.8 miles, 22,376 students on campus), Cuesta College (8.6 miles, 7,216) and Laurus College (9.1 miles, 641).
What is the closest community college to Santa Margarita, and what does it cost?
Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, 8.6 miles away. Tuition and fees are $1,350 a year for California residents; the federal net price, $12,124, 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 Santa Margarita. 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 →