Photo: Stephen Edmonds · CC BY-SA 3.0Kansas City is home to 12 colleges, with about 35,000 students on campus
The University of Missouri-Kansas City (14,526 students on campus) and Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City (10,237) are inside the city. About 6% of Kansas City’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Missouri (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 Kansas City. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college in Kansas City
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Kansas City
16 private colleges within 15 miles, one public college within 6.5 miles, and two community colleges.
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 Kansas City’s median household income ($69,166) 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 Kansas City: 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. *Reported for all the campuses that file together: WellSpring School of Allied Health-Kansas City (4); Concorde Career College-Kansas City (3); Ottawa University-Online (5).
What students study in Kansas City
Share of bachelor’s and associate degrees by field across Kansas City’s 10 colleges, 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 Kansas City
Is Kansas City a college town?
No. About 6 of every 100 Kansas City residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as Missouri (6). The largest campus in the city, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, has 14,526 students on campus.
What colleges are in Kansas City?
The University of Missouri-Kansas City, Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City, Rockhurst University, Kansas City University and 8 more are inside the city.
What is the closest community college to Kansas City, and what does it cost?
Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City in Kansas City, 4.4 miles away. Tuition and fees are $3,630 a year for Missouri residents; the federal net price, $8,398, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does the University of Missouri-Kansas City cost if we live in Missouri?
Tuition and fees are $12,587 a year in-state and $30,227 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $10,576 (under $30,000 income) to $18,877 (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 Kansas City. 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 →