Photo: WmCheez · CC BY-SA 4.0El Paso is home to seven colleges, with about 46,000 students on campus
The University of Texas at El Paso (22,096 students on campus) and El Paso Community College (19,273) are inside the city. About 8% of El Paso’s residents are enrolled in college, above Texas (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 El Paso. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college in El Paso
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of El Paso
Four private colleges within 13.6 miles, two public colleges within 6.9 miles, and El Paso Community College 6.2 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 $48–75k, where El Paso’s median household income ($59,745) 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 El Paso: 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: Western Technical College (2); Pima Medical Institute-El Paso (13); Western Technical College (2).
What students study in El Paso
Share of bachelor’s and associate degrees by field across El Paso’s 7 colleges, weighted by undergraduates; then the biggest programs.
Biggest programs
College Scorecard: degree shares (PCIP; each college’s six largest fields are kept, the rest count as everything else) and the field-of-study file, median earnings 4 years after graduating.
Questions about college in El Paso
Is El Paso a college town?
No. About 8 of every 100 El Paso residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), above Texas (6). The largest campus in the city, The University of Texas at El Paso, has 22,096 students on campus.
What colleges are in El Paso?
The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso Community College, Southwest University at El Paso, Western Technical College and 3 more are inside the city.
What is the closest community college to El Paso, and what does it cost?
El Paso Community College in El Paso, 6.2 miles away. Tuition and fees are $4,080 a year for Texas residents; the federal net price, $3,206, 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 El Paso. 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 →