Photo: JonRidinger · CC BY 3.0Northeast Ohio Medical University is 6.9 miles from Atwater
No college sits inside Atwater’s boundary, but Northeast Ohio Medical University’s campus in Rootstown, with 1,009 students on campus, is 6.9 miles from the center of town, and Stark State College is 18.3 miles away in North Canton. About 5% of Atwater’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Ohio (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 Atwater. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Atwater
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Atwater
One private college within 8.8 miles, and two public colleges within 12.7 miles.
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 $48–75k, where Atwater’s median household income ($56,467) 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 Atwater: 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: Kent State University at Kent (8).
Questions about college near Atwater
Is Atwater a college town?
No. About 5 of every 100 Atwater residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as Ohio (6). The nearest campus, Northeast Ohio Medical University, is 6.9 miles away in Rootstown.
What colleges are near Atwater?
Within 15 miles: Northeast Ohio Medical University (6.9 miles, 1,009 students on campus), the University of Mount Union (8.8 miles, 2,086) and Kent State University at Kent (12.7 miles, 21,683).
What is the closest community college to Atwater, and what does it cost?
Stark State College in North Canton, 18.3 miles away. Tuition and fees are $4,790 a year for Ohio residents; the federal net price, $5,986, 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 Atwater. 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 →