Vassar College is a college town: 90 of every 100 residents are students
No college sits inside Vassar College’s boundary, but Marist University’s campus in Poughkeepsie, with 5,951 students on campus, is 3.2 miles from the center of town, and Dutchess Community College is 2.6 miles away in Poughkeepsie. Across New York, 7 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 Vassar College. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Vassar College
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
What it’s like to live in Vassar College
How much the colleges shape the town, from the Census Bureau’s survey of residents.
90 of every 100 Vassar College residents are in college (NY: 7).
How students change Vassar College’s other numbers
Read the town’s other grades with this in mind. How TownRatings handles college towns →
Students who live off campus count in the Census poverty figures: 32.4% of Vassar College residents are below the poverty line, 1.7% when college students are left out (that estimate could be off by 94 points either way). 83% of the students themselves are below the line. In college towns, the Jobs & income grade uses the rate without students and leaves unemployment out.
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 (90% here): it would mostly measure student incomes.
CDC’s estimates follow each place’s age mix, and Vassar College’s median age is 20.7 (New York 39.8), so the adult figures describe a young population.
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 Vassar College
Four private colleges within 13.5 miles, one public college within 10.5 miles, and Dutchess Community College 2.6 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. Pick your family’s income.
Starts at Over $110k, where Vassar College’s median household income ($121,469) 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 Vassar 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 Vassar College
Is Vassar College a college town?
Yes. 90 of every 100 Vassar College residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), against 7 across New York. The nearest campus, Vassar College, is 0.1 miles away in Poughkeepsie.
What colleges are near Vassar College?
Within 15 miles: Vassar College (0.1 miles, 2,456 students on campus), Dutchess Community College (2.6 miles, 5,448), Marist University (3.2 miles, 5,951), Culinary Institute of America (4.6 miles, 3,015), State University of New York at New Paltz (10.5 miles, 7,050) and Mount Saint Mary College (13.5 miles, 2,190).
Why is Vassar College’s poverty rate so high?
Students who live off campus count in the Census figures. 32.4% of residents are below the poverty line; leaving college students out, 1.7% are (ACS 2020–24, give or take 94 points).
What is the closest community college to Vassar College, and what does it cost?
Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, 2.6 miles away. Tuition and fees are $5,670 a year for New York residents; the federal net price, $10,065, 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 Vassar College. 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 →