Northwest Indian College is 8.3 miles from Custer
No college sits inside Custer’s boundary, but Northwest Indian College’s campus in Bellingham, with 404 students on campus, is 8.3 miles from the center of town, and Whatcom Community College is 10.5 miles away in Bellingham. About 8% of Custer’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Washington (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 Custer. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Custer
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Custer
All 4 are public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from Custer.
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 $75–110k, where Custer’s median household income ($93,598) 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 Custer: 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 Custer
Is Custer a college town?
No. About 8 of every 100 Custer residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as Washington (6). The nearest campus, Northwest Indian College, is 8.3 miles away in Bellingham.
What colleges are near Custer?
Within 15 miles: Northwest Indian College (8.3 miles, 404 students on campus), Whatcom Community College (10.5 miles, 2,256), Bellingham Technical College (11.6 miles, 1,454) and Western Washington University (13.9 miles, 14,432).
What is the closest community college to Custer, and what does it cost?
Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, 10.5 miles away. Tuition and fees are $5,115 a year for Washington residents; the federal net price, $11,795, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Northwest Indian College cost if we live in Washington?
Tuition and fees are $4,365 a year in-state and $4,365 from out of state.
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 Custer. 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 →