Zarephath is a college town: 100 of every 100 residents are students
No college sits inside Zarephath’s boundary, but Rutgers University-New Brunswick’s campus in New Brunswick, with 47,422 students on campus, is 7.1 miles from the center of town, and Raritan Valley Community College is 8 miles away in Branchburg. Across New Jersey, 6 of every 100 residents are enrolled in college.
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 Zarephath. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Zarephath
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
What it’s like to live in Zarephath
How much the colleges shape the town, from the Census Bureau’s survey of residents.
100 of every 100 Zarephath residents are in college (NJ: 6).
How students change Zarephath’s other numbers
Read the town’s other grades with this in mind. How TownRatings handles college towns →
The Cost grade leaves out the share of renters paying 30% or more of income on rent wherever students are a quarter of residents or more (100% here): it would mostly measure student incomes.
Crime is counted per resident, and students who live here count as residents. A college with its own police department reports its incidents under that department, not the city.
Colleges within 15 miles of Zarephath
Four private colleges within 13.9 miles, one public college within 7.1 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 Under $30k; the Census has no median household income for Zarephath.
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 Zarephath: 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-New Brunswick (3); Chamberlain University-New Jersey (15).
Questions about college near Zarephath
Is Zarephath a college town?
Yes. 100 of every 100 Zarephath residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), against 6 across New Jersey. The nearest campus, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, is 7.1 miles away in New Brunswick.
What colleges are near Zarephath?
7 colleges are within 15 miles. The largest: Rutgers University-New Brunswick (7.1 miles, 47,422 students on campus), Middlesex College (11 miles, 9,857) and Princeton University (13.6 miles, 8,922).
What is the closest community college to Zarephath, and what does it cost?
Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg, 8 miles away. Tuition and fees are $5,664 a year for New Jersey residents; the federal net price, $6,778, 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 Zarephath. 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 →