Azurest South · Photo: AJ Belongia · CC BY-SA 3.0Ettrick is a college town: 41 of every 100 residents are students
No college sits inside Ettrick’s boundary, but Virginia State University’s campus in Petersburg, with 5,107 students on campus, is 1.1 miles from the center of town, and Richard Bland College is 6.5 miles away in South Prince George. Across Virginia, 7 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 Ettrick. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Ettrick
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
What it’s like to live in Ettrick
How much the colleges shape the town, from the Census Bureau’s survey of residents.
41 of every 100 Ettrick residents are in college (VA: 7).
How students change Ettrick’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: 12.8% of Ettrick residents are below the poverty line, 12.3% when college students are left out (that estimate could be off by 9 points either way). 18% 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 (41% here): it would mostly measure student incomes.
CDC’s estimates follow each place’s age mix, and Ettrick’s median age is 24.3 (Virginia 39.0), 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 Ettrick
One private college within 7.7 miles, one public college within 1.1 miles, and two community colleges.
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 Ettrick’s median household income ($58,137) 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 Ettrick: 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 Ettrick
Is Ettrick a college town?
Yes. 41 of every 100 Ettrick residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), against 7 across Virginia. The nearest campus, Virginia State University, is 1.1 miles away in Petersburg.
What colleges are near Ettrick?
Within 15 miles: Virginia State University (1.1 miles, 5,107 students on campus), Richard Bland College (6.5 miles, 2,395), Brightpoint Community College (7 miles, 6,289) and Chester Career College (7.7 miles, 147).
Why is Ettrick’s poverty rate so high?
Students who live off campus count in the Census figures. 12.8% of residents are below the poverty line; leaving college students out, 12.3% are (ACS 2020–24, give or take 9 points).
What is the closest community college to Ettrick, and what does it cost?
Richard Bland College in South Prince George, 6.5 miles away. Tuition and fees are $9,090 a year for Virginia residents; the federal net price, $13,045, 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 Ettrick. 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 →