Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Edgewood College is 12 miles from Cross Plains
No college sits inside Cross Plains’ boundary, but Edgewood College’s campus in Madison, with 1,669 students on campus, is 12 miles from the center of town, and Madison Area Technical College is 16.1 miles away in Madison. About 2% of Cross Plains’ residents are enrolled in college, below Wisconsin (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 Cross Plains. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Cross Plains
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Cross Plains
One private college within 12 miles, and one public college within 12.6 miles.
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 Cross Plains’ median household income ($105,145) 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 Cross Plains: 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 Cross Plains
Is Cross Plains a college town?
No. About 2 of every 100 Cross Plains residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below Wisconsin (6). The nearest campus, Edgewood College, is 12 miles away in Madison.
What colleges are near Cross Plains?
Within 15 miles: Edgewood College (12 miles, 1,669 students on campus) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (12.6 miles, 48,189).
What is the closest community college to Cross Plains, and what does it cost?
Madison Area Technical College in Madison, 16.1 miles away. Tuition and fees are $4,977 a year for Wisconsin residents; the federal net price, $14,238, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does the University of Wisconsin-Madison cost if we live in Wisconsin?
Tuition and fees are $11,603 a year in-state and $42,103 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $4,200 (under $30,000 income) to $27,292 (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 Cross Plains. 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 →