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Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > Minnesota > Rochester
Key takeaway: 10 accredited institutions within 100 miles of Rochester 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); 7 report all four services the federal survey tracks. The nearest installation recorded by the Census Bureau is National Guard Rochester Nga & Oms 2, about 3 miles away, and 4 installations sit within 100 miles (1 Army, 1 Air Force, 2 National Guard). None of the 10 schools has a campus within 30 miles; the closest is Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona, MN, about 39 miles away. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Rochester has a population of about 121,638 and a median household income of $87,767; 50.1 percent of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year estimates).
Schools based in Minnesota that report credit for military training and a dedicated military contact, ordered by distance from Rochester 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 Rochester. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
| School | Location | Credit for military training | Dedicated military contact | DoD MOU member | Student veteran org | BOC Score | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | Minneapolis, MN | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 83.9 | 76 mi |
| University of Wisconsin-La Crosse | La Crosse, WI | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 75.3 | 64 mi |
| University of St Thomas | Saint Paul, MN | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 73.5 | 73 mi |
| Dunwoody College of Technology | Minneapolis, MN | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 73.3 | 77 mi |
| Dakota County Technical College | Rosemount, MN | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 72.2 | 58 mi |
| Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota | Winona, MN | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 71.4 | 39 mi |
| University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | Eau Claire, WI | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 69.6 | 72 mi |
| Bethel University | Saint Paul, MN | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 68.3 | 80 mi |
| Winona State University | Winona, MN | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 66.8 | 41 mi |
| Hamline University | Saint Paul, MN | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 66.4 | 74 mi |
Minnesota has 50 military-friendly online colleges by this definition; the Minnesota page lists them all.
| Installation (as recorded by the Census Bureau) | Branch (from the name) | Distance from Rochester |
|---|---|---|
| National Guard Rochester Nga & Oms 2 | National Guard | 3 mi |
| National Guard Rosemount Armory | National Guard | 60 mi |
| Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport Air Reserve Station | Air Force | 70 mi |
| Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plnt | Army | 82 mi |
Median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), shown for the Rochester, MN metro area where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation | Median annual wage | Scope | Cost-of-living adjusted (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information Security Analysts | $130,710 | MN statewide | $143,954 |
| Logisticians | $80,300 | Rochester, MN metro | $88,436 |
| Emergency Management Directors | $106,880 | MN statewide | $117,709 |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers | $77,230 | Rochester, MN metro | $85,055 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | $131,110 | Rochester, MN metro | $144,394 |
| Project Management Specialists | $106,270 | Rochester, MN metro | $117,037 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators | $107,210 | Rochester, MN metro | $118,073 |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers | $111,700 | Rochester, MN metro | $123,018 |
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 Rochester; the nearest is Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota at 39 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.
