Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 3.0Muskegon Community College is 12.2 miles from Spring Lake
No college sits inside Spring Lake’s boundary, but Muskegon Community College’s campus in Muskegon, with 2,536 students on campus, is 12.2 miles from the center of town. About 5% of Spring Lake’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 Spring Lake. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Spring Lake
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Spring Lake
It is public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from Spring Lake.
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 $75–110k, where Spring Lake’s median household income ($88,365) 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 Spring Lake
Is Spring Lake a college town?
No. About 5 of every 100 Spring Lake residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as Michigan (6). The nearest campus, Muskegon Community College, is 12.2 miles away in Muskegon.
What colleges are near Spring Lake?
Within 15 miles: Muskegon Community College (12.2 miles, 2,536 students on campus).
What is the closest community college to Spring Lake, and what does it cost?
Muskegon Community College in Muskegon, 12.2 miles away. Tuition and fees are $7,250 a year for Michigan residents; the federal net price, $4,005, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Grand Valley State University cost if we live in Michigan?
Tuition and fees are $15,140 a year in-state and $21,548 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $12,272 (under $30,000 income) to $22,534 (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 Spring Lake. 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 →