Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas is 11.7 miles from Austin
No college sits inside Austin’s boundary, but Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas’s campus in Helena, with 1,242 students on campus, is 11.7 miles from the center of town, and Northwest Mississippi Community College is 27.2 miles away in Senatobia. About —% of Austin’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Mississippi (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 Austin. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Austin
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Austin
It is public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from Austin.
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 Under $30k; the Census has no median household income for Austin.
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 Austin
Is Austin a college town?
No. About — of every 100 Austin residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as Mississippi (6). The nearest campus, Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas, is 11.7 miles away in Helena.
What colleges are near Austin?
Within 15 miles: Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas (11.7 miles, 1,242 students on campus).
What is the closest community college to Austin, and what does it cost?
Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia, 27.2 miles away. Tuition and fees are $3,740 a year for Mississippi residents; the federal net price, $7,911, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does the University of Mississippi cost if we live in Mississippi?
Tuition and fees are $9,772 a year in-state and $28,600 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $8,945 (under $30,000 income) to $21,313 (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 Austin. 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 →