Photo: Elkman · CC BY-SA 3.0Brainerd is home to Central Lakes College-Brainerd
Central Lakes College-Brainerd (4,127 students on campus) is inside the city. About 4% of Brainerd’s residents are enrolled in college, below Minnesota (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 Brainerd. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college in Brainerd
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Brainerd
It is public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from Brainerd.
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 Brainerd’s median household income ($56,111) 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.
What students study in Brainerd
Share of bachelor’s and associate degrees by field at Central Lakes College-Brainerd, weighted by undergraduates; then the biggest programs.
Biggest programs
College Scorecard: degree shares (PCIP; each college’s six largest fields are kept, the rest count as everything else) and the field-of-study file, median earnings 4 years after graduating.
Questions about college in Brainerd
Is Brainerd a college town?
No. About 4 of every 100 Brainerd residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below Minnesota (6). The largest campus in the city, Central Lakes College-Brainerd, has 4,127 students on campus.
What colleges are in Brainerd?
Central Lakes College-Brainerd is inside the city.
What is the closest community college to Brainerd, and what does it cost?
Central Lakes College-Brainerd in Brainerd, 1.1 miles away. Tuition and fees are $6,249 a year for Minnesota residents; the federal net price, $13,869, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Saint Cloud State University cost if we live in Minnesota?
Tuition and fees are $10,245 a year in-state and $10,245 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $8,909 (under $30,000 income) to $18,989 (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 Brainerd. 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 →