Photo: Bsbik · CC BY-SA 4.0The University of Kansas is 11 miles from Perry
No college sits inside Perry’s boundary, but the University of Kansas’s campus in Lawrence, with 25,546 students on campus, is 11 miles from the center of town, and Kansas City Kansas Community College is 34.4 miles away in Kansas City. About 1% of Perry’s residents are enrolled in college, below Kansas (7%).
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 Perry. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Perry
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Perry
Both are public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from Perry.
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 Perry’s median household income ($82,375) 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 Perry: 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 Perry
Is Perry a college town?
No. About 1 of every 100 Perry residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below Kansas (7). The nearest campus, the University of Kansas, is 11 miles away in Lawrence.
What colleges are near Perry?
Within 15 miles: the University of Kansas (11 miles, 25,546 students on campus) and Haskell Indian Nations University (12.5 miles, 843).
What is the closest community college to Perry, and what does it cost?
Kansas City Kansas Community College in Kansas City, 34.4 miles away. Tuition and fees are $3,210 a year for Kansas residents; the federal net price, $16,744, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does the University of Kansas cost if we live in Kansas?
Tuition and fees are $12,102 a year in-state and $30,432 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $12,544 (under $30,000 income) to $22,544 (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 Perry. 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 →