Mill City House · Photo: Jeffrey Beall from Colorado, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Colorado School of Mines is 2.7 miles from Applewood
No college sits inside Applewood’s boundary, but Colorado School of Mines’s campus in Golden, with 7,376 students on campus, is 2.7 miles from the center of town, and Red Rocks Community College is 2.2 miles away in Lakewood. About 5% of Applewood’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Colorado (6%).
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 Applewood. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Applewood
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Applewood
10 private colleges within 12.9 miles, two public colleges within 8.9 miles, and four 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 Over $110k, where Applewood’s median household income ($130,545) 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 Applewood: 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: Pima Medical Institute-Denver (13).
Questions about college near Applewood
Is Applewood a college town?
No. About 5 of every 100 Applewood residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as Colorado (6). The nearest campus, Red Rocks Community College, is 2.2 miles away in Lakewood.
What colleges are near Applewood?
16 colleges are within 15 miles. The largest: Front Range Community College (12.8 miles, 17,358 students on campus), Metropolitan State University of Denver (8.9 miles, 13,478) and Arapahoe Community College (12.7 miles, 11,756).
What is the closest community college to Applewood, and what does it cost?
Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood, 2.2 miles away. Tuition and fees are $4,859 a year for Colorado residents; the federal net price, $9,044, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Red Rocks Community College cost if we live in Colorado?
Tuition and fees are $4,859 a year in-state and $17,459 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $5,901 (under $30,000 income) to $18,064 (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 Applewood. 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 →