Photo: Scott Catron from Sandy, Utah, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Alta is a college town: 43 of every 100 residents are students
No college sits inside Alta’s boundary, but Joyce University of Nursing and Health Sciences’s campus in Draper, with 1,865 students on campus, is 14.7 miles from the center of town, and Salt Lake Community College is 17.8 miles away in Salt Lake City. Across Utah, 8 of every 100 residents are enrolled in college.
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 Alta. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Alta
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
What it’s like to live in Alta
How much the colleges shape the town, from the Census Bureau’s survey of residents.
43 of every 100 Alta residents are in college (UT: 8).
How students change Alta’s other numbers
Read the town’s other grades with this in mind. How TownRatings handles college towns →
Students who live off campus count in the Census poverty figures: 50.4% of Alta residents are below the poverty line, 15.4% when college students are left out (that estimate could be off by 159 points either way). 95% of the students themselves are below the line. In college towns, the Jobs & income grade uses the rate without students and leaves unemployment out.
The Cost grade leaves out the share of renters paying 30% or more of income on rent wherever students are a quarter of residents or more (43% here): it would mostly measure student incomes.
CDC’s estimates follow each place’s age mix, and Alta’s median age is 30.1 (Utah 32.0), so the adult figures describe a young population.
Crime is counted per resident, and students who live here count as residents. A college with its own police department reports its incidents under that department, not the city.
Colleges within 15 miles of Alta
Two private colleges within 14.7 miles. The nearest public four-year college, University of Utah, is 16.9 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 Under $30k; the Census has no median household income for Alta.
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. *Reported for all the campuses that file together: Fortis College-Salt Lake City (3).
Questions about college near Alta
Is Alta a college town?
Yes. 43 of every 100 Alta residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), against 8 across Utah. The nearest campus, Joyce University of Nursing and Health Sciences, is 14.7 miles away in Draper.
What colleges are near Alta?
Within 15 miles: Joyce University of Nursing and Health Sciences (14.7 miles, 1,865 students on campus) and Fortis College-Salt Lake City (14.7 miles, 371).
Why is Alta’s poverty rate so high?
Students who live off campus count in the Census figures. 50.4% of residents are below the poverty line; leaving college students out, 15.4% are (ACS 2020–24, give or take 159 points).
What is the closest community college to Alta, and what does it cost?
Salt Lake Community College in Salt Lake City, 17.8 miles away. Tuition and fees are $4,426 a year for Utah residents; the federal net price, $9,804, 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 Alta. 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 →