Photo: Roman Eugeniusz · CC BY-SA 3.0Western Technical College is 4.5 miles from Socorro
No college sits inside Socorro’s boundary, but Western Technical College’s campus in El Paso, with 1,148 students on campus, is 4.5 miles from the center of town, and El Paso Community College is 11.6 miles away in El Paso. About 9% of Socorro’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 Socorro. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Socorro
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Socorro
Three private colleges within 13.7 miles, one public college within 13.8 miles, and El Paso Community College 11.6 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 Socorro’s median household income ($54,744) 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 Socorro: 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).
Questions about college near Socorro
Is Socorro a college town?
No. About 9 of every 100 Socorro residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), above Texas (6). The nearest campus, Western Technical College, is 4.5 miles away in El Paso.
What colleges are near Socorro?
Within 15 miles: Western Technical College (4.5 miles, 1,148 students on campus), El Paso Community College (11.6 miles, 19,273), Pima Medical Institute-El Paso (11.9 miles, 667), Southwest University at El Paso (13.7 miles, 1,722) and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center-El Paso (13.8 miles, 901).
What is the closest community college to Socorro, and what does it cost?
El Paso Community College in El Paso, 11.6 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 Socorro. 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 →