Photo: SpokaneWilly · CC BY-SA 4.0Whitworth University is 3.6 miles from Mead
No college sits inside Mead’s boundary, but Whitworth University’s campus in Spokane, with 2,263 students on campus, is 3.6 miles from the center of town, and Spokane Community College is 7.3 miles away in Spokane. About 2% of Mead’s residents are enrolled in college, below 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 Mead. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Mead
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Mead
Four private colleges within 8.2 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 $75–110k, where Mead’s median household income ($77,045) 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 Mead: 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: Whitworth University (2); Carrington College-Spokane (2).
Questions about college near Mead
Is Mead a college town?
No. About 2 of every 100 Mead residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below Washington (6). The nearest campus, Whitworth University-Adult Degree Programs, is 3.5 miles away in Spokane.
What colleges are near Mead?
Within 15 miles: Whitworth University-Adult Degree Programs (3.5 miles, 100 students on campus), Whitworth University (3.6 miles, 2,263), Spokane Community College (7.3 miles, 4,435), Carrington College-Spokane (8.1 miles, 197), Gonzaga University (8.2 miles, 6,715) and Spokane Falls Community College (8.8 miles, 2,417).
What is the closest community college to Mead, and what does it cost?
Spokane Community College in Spokane, 7.3 miles away. Tuition and fees are $5,461 a year for Washington residents; the federal net price, $5,473, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Spokane Community College cost if we live in Washington?
Tuition and fees are $5,461 a year in-state and $6,612 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $4,012 (under $30,000 income) to $12,950 (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 Mead. 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 →