Photo: Village of Oak Lawn · CC BY 2.0Moraine Valley Community College is 4.5 miles from Oak Lawn
Northwestern College (273 students on campus) is inside the village, and Moraine Valley Community College (9,764) is 4.5 miles from the center, in Palos Hills. About 6% of Oak Lawn’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois (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 Oak Lawn. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college in Oak Lawn
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Oak Lawn
30 private colleges within 14.9 miles, two public colleges within 12.1 miles, and 10 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 $75–110k, where Oak Lawn’s median household income ($83,911) 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 Oak Lawn: 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: Pacific College of Health and Science (3); Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park (8).
Questions about college in Oak Lawn
Is Oak Lawn a college town?
No. About 6 of every 100 Oak Lawn residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as Illinois (6). The largest campus in the village, Northwestern College, has 273 students on campus.
What colleges are in Oak Lawn?
Northwestern College is inside the village. Moraine Valley Community College is 4.5 miles from the center, in Palos Hills, City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College is 3.3 miles from the center, in Chicago, and Saint Xavier University is 2 miles from the center, in Chicago.
What is the closest community college to Oak Lawn, and what does it cost?
City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College in Chicago, 3.3 miles away. Tuition and fees are $4,590 a year for Illinois residents; the federal net price, $7,886, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Chicago State University cost if we live in Illinois?
Tuition and fees are $12,754 a year in-state and $12,754 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $9,073 (under $30,000 income) to $28,427 (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 Oak Lawn. 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 →