Photo: User:Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 2.5Madison Area Technical College is 7 miles from Waunakee
No college sits inside Waunakee’s boundary, but Madison Area Technical College’s campus in Madison, with 10,300 students on campus, is 7 miles from the center of town. About 3% of Waunakee’s 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 Waunakee. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Waunakee
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Waunakee
Two private colleges within 8.5 miles, one public college within 7.5 miles, and Madison Area Technical College 7 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 Over $110k, where Waunakee’s median household income ($125,220) 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 Waunakee: 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: Herzing University-Madison (11).
Questions about college near Waunakee
Is Waunakee a college town?
No. About 3 of every 100 Waunakee residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below Wisconsin (6). The nearest campus, Madison Area Technical College, is 7 miles away in Madison.
What colleges are near Waunakee?
Within 15 miles: Madison Area Technical College (7 miles, 10,300 students on campus), the University of Wisconsin-Madison (7.5 miles, 48,189), Herzing University-Madison (7.9 miles, 353) and Edgewood College (8.5 miles, 1,669).
What is the closest community college to Waunakee, and what does it cost?
Madison Area Technical College in Madison, 7 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 Madison Area Technical College cost if we live in Wisconsin?
Tuition and fees are $4,977 a year in-state and $7,255 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $11,920 (under $30,000 income) to $19,245 (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 Waunakee. 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 →