Fort Johnson/Powder Magazine · Photo: Conrad Wise Chapman · Public domainCollege of Charleston is 4 miles from James Island
No college sits inside James Island’s boundary, but College of Charleston’s campus in Charleston, with 10,861 students on campus, is 4 miles from the center of town, and Trident Technical College is 14.1 miles away in Charleston. About 2% of James Island’s residents are enrolled in college, below South Carolina (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 James Island. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from James Island
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of James Island
Three private colleges within 12.2 miles, three public colleges within 4.6 miles, and Trident Technical College 14.1 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 James Island’s median household income ($104,217) 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 James Island: 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 James Island
Is James Island a college town?
No. About 2 of every 100 James Island residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below South Carolina (6). The nearest campus, Medical University of South Carolina, is 3.9 miles away in Charleston.
What colleges are near James Island?
7 colleges are within 15 miles. The largest: College of Charleston (4 miles, 10,861 students on campus), Trident Technical College (14.1 miles, 7,680) and Citadel Military College of South Carolina (4.6 miles, 2,976).
What is the closest community college to James Island, and what does it cost?
Trident Technical College in Charleston, 14.1 miles away. Tuition and fees are $4,546 a year for South Carolina residents; the federal net price, $1,406, 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 James Island. 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 →