Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0Colby-Sawyer College is 6.1 miles from Sunapee
No college sits inside Sunapee’s boundary, but Colby-Sawyer College’s campus in New London, with 727 students on campus, is 6.1 miles from the center of town, and River Valley Community College is 12.1 miles away in Claremont. About 4% of Sunapee’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Hampshire (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 Sunapee. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Sunapee
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Sunapee
One private college within 6.1 miles, and River Valley Community College 12.1 miles away. The nearest public four-year college, University of New Hampshire-Franklin Pierce School of Law, is 30.3 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 $75–110k, where Sunapee’s median household income ($101,393) 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.
Questions about college near Sunapee
Is Sunapee a college town?
No. About 4 of every 100 Sunapee residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as New Hampshire (6). The nearest campus, Colby-Sawyer College, is 6.1 miles away in New London.
What colleges are near Sunapee?
Within 15 miles: Colby-Sawyer College (6.1 miles, 727 students on campus) and River Valley Community College (12.1 miles, 484).
What is the closest community college to Sunapee, and what does it cost?
River Valley Community College in Claremont, 12.1 miles away. Tuition and fees are $6,940 a year for New Hampshire residents; the federal net price, $14,804, counts housing and food at full cost.
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 Sunapee. 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 →