Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Shawnee Community College is 13.9 miles from La Center
No college sits inside La Center’s boundary, but Shawnee Community College’s campus in Ullin, with 940 students on campus, is 13.9 miles from the center of town, and West Kentucky Community and Technical College is 17.5 miles away in Paducah. About 1% of La Center’s residents are enrolled in college, below Kentucky (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 La Center. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from La Center
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of La Center
It is public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from La Center.
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 La Center’s median household income ($56,776) 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 La Center
Is La Center a college town?
No. About 1 of every 100 La Center residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below Kentucky (6). The nearest campus, Shawnee Community College, is 13.9 miles away in Ullin.
What colleges are near La Center?
Within 15 miles: Shawnee Community College (13.9 miles, 940 students on campus).
What is the closest community college to La Center, and what does it cost?
West Kentucky Community and Technical College in Paducah, 17.5 miles away. Tuition and fees are $4,728 a year for Kentucky residents; the federal net price, $5,353, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Murray State University cost if we live in Kentucky?
Tuition and fees are $9,900 a year in-state and $19,836 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $6,242 (under $30,000 income) to $15,450 (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 La Center. 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 →