The University of Wisconsin-River Falls is 8.6 miles from Lake St. Croix Beach
No college sits inside Lake St. Croix Beach’s boundary, but the University of Wisconsin-River Falls’s campus in River Falls, with 4,682 students on campus, is 8.6 miles from the center of town, and Century College is 13.3 miles away in White Bear Lake. About 3% of Lake St. Croix Beach’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 Lake St. Croix Beach. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Lake St. Croix Beach
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Lake St. Croix Beach
Both are public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from Lake St. Croix Beach.
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 Lake St. Croix Beach’s median household income ($102,159) 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 Lake St. Croix Beach
Is Lake St. Croix Beach a college town?
No. About 3 of every 100 Lake St. Croix Beach residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below Minnesota (6). The nearest campus, the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, is 8.6 miles away in River Falls.
What colleges are near Lake St. Croix Beach?
Within 15 miles: the University of Wisconsin-River Falls (8.6 miles, 4,682 students on campus) and Century College (13.3 miles, 5,483).
What is the closest community college to Lake St. Croix Beach, and what does it cost?
Century College in White Bear Lake, 13.3 miles away. Tuition and fees are $6,214 a year for Minnesota residents; the federal net price, $10,906, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Metropolitan State University cost if we live in Minnesota?
Tuition and fees are $9,840 a year in-state and $9,840 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $15,238 (under $30,000 income) to $21,905 (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 Lake St. Croix Beach. 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 →