Baldwin's Mill · Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 3.0The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is 7.1 miles from Briar Chapel
No college sits inside Briar Chapel’s boundary, but the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s campus in Chapel Hill, with 30,684 students on campus, is 7.1 miles from the center of town, and Durham Technical Community College is 16.8 miles away in Durham. About 5% of Briar Chapel’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina (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 Briar Chapel. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Briar Chapel
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Briar Chapel
It is public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from Briar Chapel.
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 Over $110k, where Briar Chapel’s median household income ($166,063) 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 Briar Chapel: 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 Briar Chapel
Is Briar Chapel a college town?
No. About 5 of every 100 Briar Chapel residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as North Carolina (6). The nearest campus, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is 7.1 miles away in Chapel Hill.
What colleges are near Briar Chapel?
Within 15 miles: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (7.1 miles, 30,684 students on campus).
What is the closest community college to Briar Chapel, and what does it cost?
Durham Technical Community College in Durham, 16.8 miles away. Tuition and fees are $1,986 a year for North Carolina residents; the federal net price, $1,664, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill cost if we live in North Carolina?
Tuition and fees are $8,994 a year in-state and $41,203 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $2,004 (under $30,000 income) to $24,396 (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 Briar Chapel. 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 →