Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0South Puget Sound Community College is 2.4 miles from Tumwater
No college sits inside Tumwater’s boundary, but South Puget Sound Community College’s campus in Olympia, with 2,236 students on campus, is 2.4 miles from the center of town. About 6% of Tumwater’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 Tumwater. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Tumwater
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Tumwater
One private college within 5.9 miles, one public college within 6.5 miles, and South Puget Sound Community College 2.4 miles away.
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 Tumwater’s median household income ($95,212) 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 Tumwater: 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 Tumwater
Is Tumwater a college town?
No. About 6 of every 100 Tumwater residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as Washington (6). The nearest campus, South Puget Sound Community College, is 2.4 miles away in Olympia.
What colleges are near Tumwater?
Within 15 miles: South Puget Sound Community College (2.4 miles, 2,236 students on campus), Saint Martin's University (5.9 miles, 1,405) and The Evergreen State College (6.5 miles, 1,960).
What is the closest community college to Tumwater, and what does it cost?
South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, 2.4 miles away. Tuition and fees are $5,252 a year for Washington residents; the federal net price, $9,132, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does South Puget Sound Community College cost if we live in Washington?
Tuition and fees are $5,252 a year in-state and $5,813 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $7,757 (under $30,000 income) to $16,766 (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 Tumwater. 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 →