Photo: General Magnaplate · CC BY 3.0Kean University is 3.5 miles from Linden
No college sits inside Linden’s boundary, but Kean University’s campus in Union, with 11,988 students on campus, is 3.5 miles from the center of town, and UCNJ Union College of Union County, New Jersey is 5.2 miles away in Cranford. About 6% of Linden’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey (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 Linden. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Linden
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Linden
50 private colleges within 15 miles, 10 public colleges within 15 miles, and eight 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 Linden’s median household income ($92,915) 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 Linden: 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: Rutgers University-Newark (3); Bloomfield College of Montclair State (2); Mildred Elley-New York Campus (3); Pacific College of Health and Science (3); Rutgers University-New Brunswick (3); Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus (2).
Questions about college near Linden
Is Linden a college town?
No. About 6 of every 100 Linden residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as New Jersey (6). The nearest campus, St Paul's School of Nursing-Staten Island, is 3.3 miles away in Staten Island.
What colleges are near Linden?
65 colleges are within 15 miles. The largest: New York University (14.4 miles, 53,873 students on campus), Rutgers University-New Brunswick (14.2 miles, 47,422) and CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College (13.4 miles, 14,993).
What is the closest community college to Linden, and what does it cost?
UCNJ Union College of Union County, New Jersey in Cranford, 5.2 miles away. Tuition and fees are $5,280 a year for New Jersey residents; the federal net price, $8,257, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Kean University cost if we live in New Jersey?
Tuition and fees are $14,299 a year in-state and $22,446 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $7,374 (under $30,000 income) to $20,110 (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 Linden. 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 →