Messiah College is a college town: 100 of every 100 residents are students
No college sits inside Messiah College’s boundary, but Messiah University’s campus in Mechanicsburg, with 2,684 students on campus, is 0.3 miles from the center of town, and Harrisburg Area Community College is 10.9 miles away in Harrisburg. Across Pennsylvania, 6 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 Messiah College. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Messiah College
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
What it’s like to live in Messiah College
How much the colleges shape the town, from the Census Bureau’s survey of residents.
100 of every 100 Messiah College residents are in college (PA: 6).
How students change Messiah 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: 0.0% of Messiah College residents are below the poverty line, 0.0% when college students are left out (that estimate could be off by 240 points either way). 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 (100% here): it would mostly measure student incomes.
CDC’s estimates follow each place’s age mix, and Messiah College’s median age is 20.4 (Pennsylvania 40.9), 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 Messiah College
Four private colleges within 11.8 miles, one public college within 13.2 miles, and Harrisburg Area Community College 10.9 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. Pick your family’s income.
Starts at Under $30k; the Census has no median household income for Messiah College.
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 Messiah 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. *Reported for all the campuses that file together: Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg (22).
Questions about college near Messiah College
Is Messiah College a college town?
Yes. 100 of every 100 Messiah College residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), against 6 across Pennsylvania. The nearest campus, Messiah University, is 0.3 miles away in Mechanicsburg.
What colleges are near Messiah College?
Within 15 miles: Messiah University (0.3 miles, 2,684 students on campus), Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (9 miles, 3,306), Central Penn College (10.5 miles, 386), Harrisburg Area Community College (10.9 miles, 6,841), Dickinson College (11.8 miles, 2,204) and Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg (13.2 miles, 4,591).
What is the closest community college to Messiah College, and what does it cost?
Harrisburg Area Community College in Harrisburg, 10.9 miles away. Tuition and fees are $6,975 a year for Pennsylvania residents; the federal net price, $14,471, 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 Messiah 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 →