Michigan Paper Company Mill Historic District · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0Kalamazoo College is 11 miles from Plainwell
No college sits inside Plainwell’s boundary, but Kalamazoo College’s campus in Kalamazoo, with 1,196 students on campus, is 11 miles from the center of town, and Kalamazoo Valley Community College is 15.4 miles away in Kalamazoo. About 5% of Plainwell’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan (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 Plainwell. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Plainwell
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Plainwell
Two private colleges within 11.3 miles, and one public college within 11.5 miles.
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 $48–75k, where Plainwell’s median household income ($66,525) 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 Plainwell: 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 Plainwell
Is Plainwell a college town?
No. About 5 of every 100 Plainwell residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as Michigan (6). The nearest campus, Kalamazoo College, is 11 miles away in Kalamazoo.
What colleges are near Plainwell?
Within 15 miles: Kalamazoo College (11 miles, 1,196 students on campus), Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (11.3 miles, 352) and Western Michigan University (11.5 miles, 14,743).
What is the closest community college to Plainwell, and what does it cost?
Kalamazoo Valley Community College in Kalamazoo, 15.4 miles away. Tuition and fees are $4,144 a year for Michigan residents; the federal net price, $2,979, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Western Michigan University cost if we live in Michigan?
Tuition and fees are $15,252 a year in-state and $19,034 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $5,263 (under $30,000 income) to $23,625 (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 Plainwell. 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 →