Murray's Mill Historic District · Photo: G Keith Hall · CC BY-SA 3.0Mitchell Community College is 11.1 miles from Catawba
No college sits inside Catawba’s boundary, but Mitchell Community College’s campus in Statesville, with 1,989 students on campus, is 11.1 miles from the center of town. About 2% of Catawba’s residents are enrolled in college, below 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 Catawba. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Catawba
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Catawba
Two private colleges within 14.7 miles, and two community colleges. The nearest public four-year college, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, is 33.7 miles away.
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 Catawba’s median household income ($47,250) 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. *Reported for all the campuses that file together: NASCAR Technical Institute (6).
Questions about college near Catawba
Is Catawba a college town?
No. About 2 of every 100 Catawba residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below North Carolina (6). The nearest campus, Mitchell Community College, is 11.1 miles away in Statesville.
What colleges are near Catawba?
Within 15 miles: Mitchell Community College (11.1 miles, 1,989 students on campus), Catawba Valley Community College (12.3 miles, 1,516), NASCAR Technical Institute (14 miles, 1,306) and Lenoir-Rhyne University (14.7 miles, 2,041).
What is the closest community college to Catawba, and what does it cost?
Mitchell Community College in Statesville, 11.1 miles away. Tuition and fees are $2,641 a year for North Carolina residents; the federal net price, $6,481, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does the University of North Carolina at Charlotte cost if we live in North Carolina?
Tuition and fees are $7,239 a year in-state and $22,492 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $10,357 (under $30,000 income) to $21,761 (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 Catawba. 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 →