Photo: Eric Harrison · CC BY-SA 2.0Community College of Rhode Island is 3.9 miles from Cranston
No college sits inside Cranston’s boundary, but Community College of Rhode Island’s campus in Warwick, with 9,996 students on campus, is 3.9 miles from the center of town. About 6% of Cranston’s residents are enrolled in college, below Rhode Island (8%).
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 Cranston. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Cranston
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Cranston
Nine private colleges within 14.2 miles, one public college within 5.1 miles, and Community College of Rhode Island 3.9 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 $75–110k, where Cranston’s median household income ($90,206) 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 Cranston: 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: Johnson & Wales University-Providence (3); Roger Williams University (2).
Questions about college near Cranston
Is Cranston a college town?
No. About 6 of every 100 Cranston residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below Rhode Island (8). The nearest campus, Community College of Rhode Island, is 3.9 miles away in Warwick.
What colleges are near Cranston?
11 colleges are within 15 miles. The largest: Brown University (5.7 miles, 11,009 students on campus), Community College of Rhode Island (3.9 miles, 9,996) and Rhode Island College (5.1 miles, 5,586).
What is the closest community college to Cranston, and what does it cost?
Community College of Rhode Island in Warwick, 3.9 miles away. Tuition and fees are $5,550 a year for Rhode Island residents; the federal net price, $6,513, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Rhode Island College cost if we live in Rhode Island?
Tuition and fees are $11,300 a year in-state and $27,299 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $6,378 (under $30,000 income) to $15,681 (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 Cranston. 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 →