Photo: Nick Helten · CC BY-SA 3.0Marshalltown Community College is 13.4 miles from Garwin
No college sits inside Garwin’s boundary, but Marshalltown Community College’s campus in Marshalltown, with 1,389 students on campus, is 13.4 miles from the center of town. About 6% of Garwin’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Iowa (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 Garwin. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Garwin
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Garwin
It is public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from Garwin.
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 $48–75k, where Garwin’s median household income ($55,714) 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 Garwin
Is Garwin a college town?
No. About 6 of every 100 Garwin residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as Iowa (6). The nearest campus, Marshalltown Community College, is 13.4 miles away in Marshalltown.
What colleges are near Garwin?
Within 15 miles: Marshalltown Community College (13.4 miles, 1,389 students on campus).
What is the closest community college to Garwin, and what does it cost?
Marshalltown Community College in Marshalltown, 13.4 miles away. Tuition and fees are $5,496 a year for Iowa residents; the federal net price, $8,059, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does the University of Northern Iowa cost if we live in Iowa?
Tuition and fees are $9,936 a year in-state and $21,712 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $10,863 (under $30,000 income) to $18,706 (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 Garwin. 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 →