Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0Chester is home to Yeshiva of Nitra Rabbinical College
Yeshiva of Nitra Rabbinical College (270 students on campus) is inside the town. About 5% of Chester’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York (7%).
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 Chester. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college in Chester
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Chester
Two private colleges within 6 miles, and Orange County Community College 10.8 miles away. The nearest public four-year college, United States Military Academy, is 17.1 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 Over $110k, where Chester’s median household income ($139,778) 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.
What students study in Chester
Share of bachelor’s and associate degrees by field at Yeshiva of Nitra Rabbinical College, weighted by undergraduates; then the 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 Chester
Is Chester a college town?
No. About 5 of every 100 Chester residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as New York (7). The largest campus in the town, Yeshiva of Nitra Rabbinical College, has 270 students on campus.
What colleges are in Chester?
Yeshiva of Nitra Rabbinical College is inside the town. Orange County Community College is 10.8 miles away in Middletown.
What is the closest community college to Chester, and what does it cost?
Orange County Community College in Middletown, 10.8 miles away. Tuition and fees are $6,526 a year for New York residents; the federal net price, $6,794, 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 Chester. 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 →