Shirley Shaker Village · Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Fitchburg State University is 9.3 miles from Lancaster
No college sits inside Lancaster’s boundary, but Fitchburg State University’s campus in Fitchburg, with 3,493 students on campus, is 9.3 miles from the center of town, and Quinsigamond Community College is 13.2 miles away in Worcester. About 3% of Lancaster’s residents are enrolled in college, below Massachusetts (8%).
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 Lancaster. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Lancaster
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Lancaster
All 3 are public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from Lancaster.
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 Over $110k, where Lancaster’s median household income ($134,833) 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 Lancaster: 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 Lancaster
Is Lancaster a college town?
No. About 3 of every 100 Lancaster residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below Massachusetts (8). The nearest campus, Fitchburg State University, is 9.3 miles away in Fitchburg.
What colleges are near Lancaster?
Within 15 miles: Fitchburg State University (9.3 miles, 3,493 students on campus), Quinsigamond Community College (13.2 miles, 5,550) and the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (14.9 miles, 1,354).
What is the closest community college to Lancaster, and what does it cost?
Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, 13.2 miles away. Tuition and fees are $6,262 a year for Massachusetts residents; the federal net price, $9,090, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Fitchburg State University cost if we live in Massachusetts?
Tuition and fees are $11,346 a year in-state and $17,426 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $10,204 (under $30,000 income) to $21,123 (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 Lancaster. 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 →