Photo: U.S. Navy photo · Public domainOld Dominion University is 3.5 miles from Portsmouth
No college sits inside Portsmouth’s boundary, but Old Dominion University’s campus in Norfolk, with 14,191 students on campus, is 3.5 miles from the center of town, and Tidewater Community College is 4 miles away in Norfolk. About 6% of Portsmouth’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 Portsmouth. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Portsmouth
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Portsmouth
12 private colleges within 13.3 miles, three public colleges within 5.7 miles, and four 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 Portsmouth’s median household income ($60,491) 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 Portsmouth: 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: Old Dominion University (2); Centura College-Norfolk (4); Fortis College-Norfolk (3); Bryant & Stratton College-Virginia Beach (8); South University-Virginia Beach (10).
Questions about college near Portsmouth
Is Portsmouth a college town?
No. About 6 of every 100 Portsmouth residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below Virginia (7). The nearest campus, Eastern Virginia Medical School, is 3.3 miles away in Norfolk.
What colleges are near Portsmouth?
17 colleges are within 15 miles. The largest: Old Dominion University (3.5 miles, 14,191 students on campus), Tidewater Community College (4 miles, 10,715) and ECPI University (10.3 miles, 8,018).
What is the closest community college to Portsmouth, and what does it cost?
Tidewater Community College in Norfolk, 4 miles away. Tuition and fees are $5,588 a year for Virginia residents; the federal net price, $11,762, 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 Portsmouth. 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 →