Geography of College Opportunity

Abstract

When students choose where to attend college, they often stay in close proximity to home and work. Much of the college choice literature, however, does not engage with the importance of geography in shaping educational destinations. Using county and commuting zone data from various federal sources, this study finds that the number of local colleges varies along lines of race and class. Communities with large Hispanic populations and low educational attainment have the fewest alternatives nearby, while White and Asian communities tend to have more. These can result in education deserts, or places where opportunities richly available for some communities are rare (or even nonexistent) in others.