Rodgers Theatre Building · Photo: Michael Gäbler · CC BY-SA 3.0Poplar Bluff is home to Three Rivers College
Three Rivers College (1,261 students on campus) is inside the city. About 3% of Poplar Bluff’s residents are enrolled in college, below 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 Poplar Bluff. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college in Poplar Bluff
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Poplar Bluff
It is public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from Poplar Bluff.
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 $30–48k, where Poplar Bluff’s median household income ($41,941) 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 in Poplar Bluff
Is Poplar Bluff a college town?
No. About 3 of every 100 Poplar Bluff residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below Missouri (6). The largest campus in the city, Three Rivers College, has 1,261 students on campus.
What colleges are in Poplar Bluff?
Three Rivers College is inside the city.
What is the closest community college to Poplar Bluff, and what does it cost?
Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff, 1.3 miles away. Tuition and fees are $4,950 a year for Missouri residents; the federal net price, $8,496, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Southeast Missouri State University cost if we live in Missouri?
Tuition and fees are $9,903 a year in-state and $9,903 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $12,704 (under $30,000 income) to $21,267 (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 Poplar Bluff. 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 →