Photo: Leah Rucker · CC BY-SA 3.0Watts College of Nursing is 9.4 miles from Hillsborough
No college sits inside Hillsborough’s boundary, but Watts College of Nursing’s campus in Durham, with 134 students on campus, is 9.4 miles from the center of town, and Durham Technical Community College is 14 miles away in Durham. About 5% of Hillsborough’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 Hillsborough. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Hillsborough
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Hillsborough
Two private colleges within 10.4 miles, two public colleges within 13.2 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 $75–110k, where Hillsborough’s median household income ($98,163) 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 Hillsborough: 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 Hillsborough
Is Hillsborough a college town?
No. About 5 of every 100 Hillsborough residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as North Carolina (6). The nearest campus, Watts College of Nursing, is 9.4 miles away in Durham.
What colleges are near Hillsborough?
Within 15 miles: Watts College of Nursing (9.4 miles, 134 students on campus), Duke University (10.4 miles, 16,196), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (11.8 miles, 30,684), North Carolina Central University (13.2 miles, 6,226), Durham Technical Community College (14 miles, 1,941) and Alamance Community College (14.5 miles, 1,778).
What is the closest community college to Hillsborough, and what does it cost?
Durham Technical Community College in Durham, 14 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 Hillsborough. 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 →