Bayo Road · Photo: Clyde Charles Brown · CC BY-SA 4.0Los Alamos is home to University of New Mexico-Los Alamos Campus
The University of New Mexico-Los Alamos Campus (226 students on campus) is inside the town. About 5% of Los Alamos’ residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Mexico (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 Los Alamos. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college in Los Alamos
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Los Alamos
Both are public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from Los Alamos.
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 Over $110k, where Los Alamos’ median household income ($141,018) 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 Los Alamos: 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: University of New Mexico-Los Alamos Campus (5).
What students study in Los Alamos
Share of bachelor’s and associate degrees by field at University of New Mexico-Los Alamos Campus, weighted by undergraduates; then the biggest programs.
Biggest programs
College Scorecard: degree shares (PCIP; each college’s six largest fields are kept, the rest count as everything else) and the field-of-study file, median earnings 4 years after graduating.
Questions about college in Los Alamos
Is Los Alamos a college town?
No. About 5 of every 100 Los Alamos residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as New Mexico (6). The largest campus in the town, the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos Campus, has 226 students on campus.
What colleges are in Los Alamos?
The University of New Mexico-Los Alamos Campus is inside the town.
What is the closest community college to Los Alamos, and what does it cost?
University of New Mexico-Los Alamos Campus in Los Alamos, 1.7 miles away. Tuition and fees are $2,214 a year for New Mexico residents; the federal net price, $13,470, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Northern New Mexico College cost if we live in New Mexico?
Tuition and fees are $6,400 a year in-state and $14,328 from out of state.
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 Los Alamos. 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 →