Photo: Doug Kerr from now in Binghamton, NY · CC BY-SA 2.0Hobart William Smith Colleges is 5.6 miles from Waterloo
No college sits inside Waterloo’s boundary, but Hobart William Smith Colleges’s campus in Geneva, with 1,669 students on campus, is 5.6 miles from the center of town, and Finger Lakes Community College is 17 miles away in Canandaigua. About 7% of Waterloo’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 Waterloo. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Waterloo
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Waterloo
Two private colleges within 7.9 miles. The nearest public four-year college, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, is 39.9 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 $48–75k, where Waterloo’s median household income ($63,226) 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.
Questions about college near Waterloo
Is Waterloo a college town?
No. About 7 of every 100 Waterloo residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as New York (7). The nearest campus, Hobart William Smith Colleges, is 5.6 miles away in Geneva.
What colleges are near Waterloo?
Within 15 miles: Hobart William Smith Colleges (5.6 miles, 1,669 students on campus) and Northeast College of Health Sciences (7.9 miles, 419).
What is the closest community college to Waterloo, and what does it cost?
Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua, 17 miles away. Tuition and fees are $6,234 a year for New York residents; the federal net price, $13,898, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry cost if we live in New York?
Tuition and fees are $9,303 a year in-state and $22,263 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $9,473 (under $30,000 income) to $24,014 (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 Waterloo. 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 →