What the map shows
The Colleges map places each college and university in the MajorPays data at the address the U.S. Department of Education lists for it. Each dot is one school as the Department lists it. Where the Department lists a branch campus as its own school, the branch has its own dot. Online-only programs have no place on the map. The color of a dot shows only the kind of school: public, private nonprofit or private for-profit. The map does not rank or score schools.
The filters
- Type. Public, private nonprofit or private for-profit, as reported in the Department of Education’s IPEDS directory.
- Level. Four-year or above (offers a bachelor’s degree or higher), two-year (associate’s degrees or certificates of at least two years) or less than two-year.
- Setting. The federal locale category for the school’s address: city, suburb, town or rural. These are the National Center for Education Statistics locale categories, assigned from Census Bureau urban-area definitions and the location of principal cities.
- Size. Total number of students enrolled, in five bands from under 1,000 to 20,000 or more.
- Only show. Optional: historically Black colleges and universities, tribal colleges, or land-grant institutions, as flagged in the Department of Education’s directory. Checking more than one shows schools with any of them.
- State and name. Pick a state (including territories) or type part of a school’s name. Schools without a size or setting category stay on the map whichever size or setting you choose.
Opening a school
Click or tap a dot to see the school’s name, place and categories, with links to its page and to the Compare page. On a school’s page, “See on the map” opens the map at that school, and “Colleges nearby” lists up to eight other colleges within 50 miles, nearest first. On the Compare page, the Schools tab links to a map of just the schools you chose.
What the map cannot tell you
- Distance on the map is a straight line, not a drive or a commute, and it says nothing about cost, programs or quality.
- A nearby school is not necessarily a better or worse choice. The list is sorted by distance only.
- Campus locations change. Check the school’s own website for the address of the campus where a program is taught.
Reading this without advice
This guide explains how to use a tool. It does not recommend a school. Locations, types and categories come from the Department of Education’s IPEDS directory for 2024-25; see data sources.