Minerva Club of Santa Maria · Photo: ELEAZARCH · CC BY-SA 4.0Santa Maria is home to two colleges, with 9,888 students on campus
Allan Hancock College (9,725 students on campus) and San Joaquin Valley College-Santa Maria (163) are inside the city. About 7% of Santa Maria’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 Santa Maria. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college in Santa Maria
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Santa Maria
One private college within 0.7 miles, and Allan Hancock College 1.5 miles away. The nearest public four-year college, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, is 28.1 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 $75–110k, where Santa Maria’s median household income ($84,746) 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. *Reported for all the campuses that file together: San Joaquin Valley College-Santa Maria (14).
What students study in Santa Maria
Share of bachelor’s and associate degrees by field across Santa Maria’s 2 colleges, weighted by undergraduates; then the biggest programs.
Biggest programs
College Scorecard: degree shares (PCIP; each college’s six largest fields are kept, the rest count as everything else) and the field-of-study file, median earnings 4 years after graduating.
Questions about college in Santa Maria
Is Santa Maria a college town?
No. About 7 of every 100 Santa Maria residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as California (8). The largest campus in the city, Allan Hancock College, has 9,725 students on campus.
What colleges are in Santa Maria?
Allan Hancock College and San Joaquin Valley College-Santa Maria are inside the city.
What is the closest community college to Santa Maria, and what does it cost?
Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, 1.5 miles away. Tuition and fees are $1,156 a year for California residents; the federal net price, $5,383, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo cost if we live in California?
Tuition and fees are $13,596 a year in-state and $34,665 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $7,529 (under $30,000 income) to $27,772 (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 Santa Maria. 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 →