Photo: Astrophobe · CC BY-SA 4.0Bear Creek is a college town: 19 of every 100 residents are students
No college sits inside Bear Creek’s boundary, but Eckerd College’s campus in Saint Petersburg, with 1,986 students on campus, is 3.9 miles from the center of town, and Ultimate Medical Academy is 14.7 miles away in Clearwater. Across Florida, 6 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 Bear Creek. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Bear Creek
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
What it’s like to live in Bear Creek
How much the colleges shape the town, from the Census Bureau’s survey of residents.
19 of every 100 Bear Creek residents are in college (FL: 6).
How students change Bear Creek’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: 16.7% of Bear Creek residents are below the poverty line, 9.2% when college students are left out (that estimate could be off by 22 points either way). 47% 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 19%, so student incomes still weigh on that figure.
CDC’s estimates follow each place’s age mix, and Bear Creek’s median age is 51.3 (Florida 42.6), 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 Bear Creek
Three private colleges within 14.7 miles, one public college within 5.8 miles, and Ultimate Medical Academy 14.7 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 $48–75k, where Bear Creek’s median household income ($66,923) 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 Bear Creek: 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: Galen College of Nursing-Tampa Bay (20).
Questions about college near Bear Creek
Is Bear Creek a college town?
Yes. 19 of every 100 Bear Creek residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), against 6 across Florida. The nearest campus, Eckerd College, is 3.9 miles away in Saint Petersburg.
What colleges are near Bear Creek?
Within 15 miles: Eckerd College (3.9 miles, 1,986 students on campus), St Petersburg College (5.8 miles, 13,501), Galen College of Nursing-Tampa Bay (8.9 miles, 1,601) and Ultimate Medical Academy (14.7 miles, 110).
Why is Bear Creek’s poverty rate so high?
Students who live off campus count in the Census figures. 16.7% of residents are below the poverty line; leaving college students out, 9.2% are (ACS 2020–24, give or take 22 points).
What is the closest community college to Bear Creek, and what does it cost?
Ultimate Medical Academy in Clearwater, 14.7 miles away.
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 Bear Creek. 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 →