Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0Villanova University is 4.7 miles from Bridgeport
No college sits inside Bridgeport’s boundary, but Villanova University’s campus in Villanova, with 8,998 students on campus, is 4.7 miles from the center of town, and Harcum College is 5.8 miles away in Bryn Mawr. About 5% of Bridgeport’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania (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 Bridgeport. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Bridgeport
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Bridgeport
32 private colleges within 14.6 miles, four public colleges within 13.5 miles, and seven community colleges.
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 $75–110k, where Bridgeport’s median household income ($82,705) 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 Bridgeport: 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: Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia (2); Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Abington (22); Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Brandywine (22).
Questions about college near Bridgeport
Is Bridgeport a college town?
No. About 5 of every 100 Bridgeport residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as Pennsylvania (6). The nearest campus, Eastern University, is 4 miles away in Saint Davids.
What colleges are near Bridgeport?
39 colleges are within 15 miles. The largest: Temple University (13.1 miles, 27,767 students on campus), the University of Pennsylvania (13.2 miles, 25,644) and Drexel University (13.1 miles, 19,393).
What is the closest community college to Bridgeport, and what does it cost?
Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, 5.8 miles away. Tuition and fees are $32,000 a year for Pennsylvania residents; the federal net price, $24,776, 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 Bridgeport. 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 →