BestOnlineCollege.org is an advertising-supported website. Many of the school and program listings that appear on this site are from partners who compensate us, and this compensation may affect how, where, and in what order listings appear (such as featured placements). This compensation does not influence our editorial content, evaluations, or rankings, which are determined independently using publicly available data. We do not review or feature every school or program available in the marketplace. Our goal is to provide accurate, unbiased information so you can make informed decisions. Read our full Advertiser Disclosure.
Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > Georgia > Columbus
Key takeaway: 10 accredited institutions within 100 miles of Columbus offer fully online programs and report both credit for military training and a dedicated point of contact for veterans, servicemembers, and their families (IPEDS IC 2024); 4 report all four services the federal survey tracks. The nearest installation recorded by the Census Bureau is Fort Benning, about 9 miles away, and 8 installations sit within 100 miles (1 Army, 3 Air Force, 1 Marine Corps, 3 National Guard). None of the 10 schools has a campus within 30 miles; the closest is South Georgia Technical College in Americus, GA, about 49 miles away. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is Mercer University. Columbus has a population of about 204,383 and a median household income of $56,622; 29.7 percent of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year estimates).
Schools based in Georgia that report credit for military training and a dedicated military contact, ordered by distance from Columbus city center, with BOC Score on each card. The tags on each card are the school’s own IPEDS answers for the four military services. The distance table further down covers the nearest qualifying schools regardless of state line.
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Columbus. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
| School | Location | Credit for military training | Dedicated military contact | DoD MOU member | Student veteran org | BOC Score | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercer University | Macon, GA | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 63.8 | 75 mi |
| Tuskegee University | Tuskegee, AL | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 56.4 | 49 mi |
| Wesleyan College | Macon, GA | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 54.6 | 72 mi |
| Georgia State University | Atlanta, GA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 54.3 | 90 mi |
| South Georgia Technical College | Americus, GA | Yes | Yes | No | No | 54.3 | 49 mi |
| Southern Crescent Technical College | Griffin, GA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 54.3 | 62 mi |
| Chattahoochee Technical College | Marietta, GA | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 52.1 | 100 mi |
| University of West Georgia | Carrollton, GA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 51.9 | 75 mi |
| Amridge University | Montgomery, AL | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 51.5 | 76 mi |
| Southern Union State Community College | Wadley, AL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 51.3 | 59 mi |
Georgia has 65 military-friendly online colleges by this definition; the Georgia page lists them all.
| Installation (as recorded by the Census Bureau) | Branch (from the name) | Distance from Columbus |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Benning | Army | 9 mi |
| Robins AFB | Air Force | 76 mi |
| National Guard Macon Rti | National Guard | 78 mi |
| Maxwell Air Force Base (Gunter Annex) | Air Force | 80 mi |
| Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany | Marine Corps | 82 mi |
| National Guard Oglethorpe Armory | National Guard | 83 mi |
| Maxwell AFB | Air Force | 87 mi |
| National Guard Atlanta-Confederate Avenue | National Guard | 89 mi |
Median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), shown for the Columbus, GA-AL metro area where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation | Median annual wage | Scope | Cost-of-living adjusted (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information Security Analysts | $102,240 | Columbus, GA-AL metro | $114,490 |
| Logisticians | $80,790 | Columbus, GA-AL metro | $90,470 |
| Emergency Management Directors | $83,200 | GA statewide | $93,169 |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers | $49,990 | Columbus, GA-AL metro | $55,980 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | $112,440 | Columbus, GA-AL metro | $125,913 |
| Project Management Specialists | $98,470 | Columbus, GA-AL metro | $110,269 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators | $85,690 | Columbus, GA-AL metro | $95,957 |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers | $106,740 | Columbus, GA-AL metro | $119,530 |
BLS publishes wages for metro areas and states, not individual cities; rows marked with the metro name are metro medians, the rest are statewide.
None of the 10 schools in the table has a campus within 30 miles of Columbus; the nearest is South Georgia Technical College at 49 miles.
Benefit eligibility is determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and your service’s education office. Nothing on this page guarantees education benefits, credit transfer, admission, or a particular cost. Confirm every detail with the school’s military or veteran services office before you enroll.
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (IC 2024): veteran and military services indicators (VET2 through VET5), distance-education program flag (DISTPGS); BOC Score from College Scorecard and IPEDS outcome data; U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 Military Installations layer (installation names as recorded there); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities; Census ACS 5-year estimates. Directory counts as of the September 2026 refresh.
