Photo: Idawriter · CC BY-SA 3.0Cape Fear Community College is 6 miles from Leland
No college sits inside Leland’s boundary, but Cape Fear Community College’s campus in Wilmington, with 9,738 students on campus, is 6 miles from the center of town. About 5% of Leland’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 Leland. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Leland
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Leland
One private college within 9.2 miles, one public college within 9.1 miles, and Cape Fear Community College 6 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. Pick your family’s income.
Starts at $75–110k, where Leland’s median household income ($91,977) 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 Leland: 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 Leland
Is Leland a college town?
No. About 5 of every 100 Leland residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below North Carolina (6). The nearest campus, Cape Fear Community College, is 6 miles away in Wilmington.
What colleges are near Leland?
Within 15 miles: Cape Fear Community College (6 miles, 9,738 students on campus), the University of North Carolina Wilmington (9.1 miles, 13,624) and Miller-Motte College-Wilmington (9.2 miles, 118).
What is the closest community college to Leland, and what does it cost?
Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, 6 miles away. Tuition and fees are $2,748 a year for North Carolina residents; the federal net price, $9,610, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does the University of North Carolina Wilmington cost if we live in North Carolina?
Tuition and fees are $7,277 a year in-state and $24,152 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $10,778 (under $30,000 income) to $25,573 (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 Leland. 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 →