Photo: InSapphoWeTrust from Los Angeles, California, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0The University of Hawaii-West Oahu is 10.5 miles from Waianae
No college sits inside Waianae’s boundary, but the University of Hawaii-West Oahu’s campus in Kapolei, with 1,319 students on campus, is 10.5 miles from the center of town, and Leeward Community College is 13.4 miles away in Pearl City. About 3% of Waianae’s residents are enrolled in college, below Hawaii (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 Waianae. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Waianae
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Waianae
Both are public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from Waianae.
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 Waianae’s median household income ($81,733) 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.
Questions about college near Waianae
Is Waianae a college town?
No. About 3 of every 100 Waianae residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below Hawaii (6). The nearest campus, the University of Hawaii-West Oahu, is 10.5 miles away in Kapolei.
What colleges are near Waianae?
Within 15 miles: the University of Hawaii-West Oahu (10.5 miles, 1,319 students on campus) and Leeward Community College (13.4 miles, 2,455).
What is the closest community college to Waianae, and what does it cost?
Leeward Community College in Pearl City, 13.4 miles away. Tuition and fees are $3,214 a year for Hawaii residents; the federal net price, $5,137, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does the University of Hawaii at Manoa cost if we live in Hawaii?
Tuition and fees are $12,186 a year in-state and $34,218 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $10,675 (under $30,000 income) to $22,562 (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 Waianae. 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 →