Photo: Leaflet · CC BY-SA 3.0Wayland Baptist University is 10.7 miles from Hale Center
No college sits inside Hale Center’s boundary, but Wayland Baptist University’s campus in Plainview, with 1,688 students on campus, is 10.7 miles from the center of town, and South Plains College is 45.1 miles away in Levelland. About 2% of Hale Center’s residents are enrolled in college, below 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 Hale Center. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Hale Center
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Hale Center
One private college within 10.7 miles. The nearest public four-year college, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, is 33 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 and the nearest public four-year college. Pick your family’s income.
Starts at $48–75k, where Hale Center’s median household income ($57,083) 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: 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 Hale Center
Is Hale Center a college town?
No. About 2 of every 100 Hale Center residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below Texas (6). The nearest campus, Wayland Baptist University, is 10.7 miles away in Plainview.
What colleges are near Hale Center?
Within 15 miles: Wayland Baptist University (10.7 miles, 1,688 students on campus).
What is the closest community college to Hale Center, and what does it cost?
South Plains College in Levelland, 45.1 miles away. Tuition and fees are $2,731 a year for Texas residents; the federal net price, $6,791, 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 Hale Center. 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 →