Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0Mountain Empire Community College is 4.5 miles from Appalachia
No college sits inside Appalachia’s boundary, but Mountain Empire Community College’s campus in Big Stone Gap, with 1,406 students on campus, is 4.5 miles from the center of town. About 1% of Appalachia’s residents are enrolled in college, below Virginia (7%).
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 Appalachia. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Appalachia
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Appalachia
All 3 are public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from Appalachia.
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 $30–48k, where Appalachia’s median household income ($43,068) 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 Appalachia: 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 Appalachia
Is Appalachia a college town?
No. About 1 of every 100 Appalachia residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below Virginia (7). The nearest campus, Mountain Empire Community College, is 4.5 miles away in Big Stone Gap.
What colleges are near Appalachia?
Within 15 miles: Mountain Empire Community College (4.5 miles, 1,406 students on campus), Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College (11.8 miles, 2,178) and the University of Virginia's College at Wise (13.6 miles, 1,262).
What is the closest community college to Appalachia, and what does it cost?
Mountain Empire Community College in Big Stone Gap, 4.5 miles away. Tuition and fees are $5,007 a year for Virginia residents; the federal net price, $8,852, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does the University of Virginia's College at Wise cost if we live in Virginia?
Tuition and fees are $11,780 a year in-state and $28,010 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $8,891 (under $30,000 income) to $16,176 (over $110,000), housing and food included.
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 Appalachia. 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 →