Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainPort Arthur is home to Lamar State College-Port Arthur
Lamar State College-Port Arthur (3,199 students on campus) is inside the city. About 3% of Port Arthur’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 Port Arthur. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college in Port Arthur
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Port Arthur
All 3 are public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from Port Arthur.
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 $30–48k, where Port Arthur’s median household income ($46,354) 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.
What students study in Port Arthur
Share of bachelor’s and associate degrees by field at Lamar State College-Port Arthur, 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 Port Arthur
Is Port Arthur a college town?
No. About 3 of every 100 Port Arthur residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below Texas (6). The largest campus in the city, Lamar State College-Port Arthur, has 3,199 students on campus.
What colleges are in Port Arthur?
Lamar State College-Port Arthur is inside the city.
What is the closest community college to Port Arthur, and what does it cost?
Lamar State College-Port Arthur in Port Arthur, 2.3 miles away. Tuition and fees are $1,770 a year for Texas residents; the federal net price, $2,846, 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 Port Arthur. 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 →