Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > Pennsylvania > Lancaster
Key takeaway: 10 accredited institutions within 100 miles of Lancaster 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); 8 report all four services the federal survey tracks. The nearest installation recorded by the Census Bureau is Defense Distribution Depot Susquehanna, about 31 miles away, and 8 installations sit within 100 miles (1 Army, 1 Navy, 3 National Guard, 3 Other). None of the 10 schools has a campus within 30 miles; the closest is University of Delaware in Newark, DE, about 38 miles away. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is University of Maryland-College Park. Lancaster has a population of about 57,683 and a median household income of $63,421; 27.1 percent of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year estimates).
Military-friendly online colleges near Lancaster
Schools based in Pennsylvania that report credit for military training and a dedicated military contact, ordered by distance from Lancaster 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.
How We Rank Schools
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:
BOCSCORE
- Graduation rate 30%
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
- Average net price (lower is better) 20%
- Retention rate 15%
- Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Lancaster.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
57%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$55,246
Avg net price
$20,787/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 78%
- Programs offered: 63
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
73%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$62,399
Avg net price
$26,598/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 84%
- Programs offered: 62
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
67%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$62,621
Avg net price
$26,979/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 83%
- Programs offered: 57
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
74%
Graduation rate
62%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$61,012
Avg net price
$18,556/yr
TuitionIn‑state$25,588
Out‑of‑state$25,588
Key stats
- Retention rate: 78%
- Programs offered: 78
Source:Accreditor: Middle States Commission on Higher Education · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
65%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$55,055
Avg net price
$28,138/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 72%
- Programs offered: 50
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
87%
Graduation rate
39%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$52,374
Avg net price
$15,376/yr
TuitionIn‑state$24,400
Out‑of‑state$24,400
Key stats
- Retention rate: 73%
- Programs offered: 26
Source:Accreditor: Middle States Commission on Higher Education · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
77%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$54,064
Avg net price
$26,502/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 87%
- Programs offered: 87
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
73%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$61,258
Avg net price
$23,331/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 84%
- Programs offered: 103
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
18%
Graduation rate
43%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$45,370
Avg net price
$18,953/yr
TuitionIn‑state$19,854
Out‑of‑state$19,854
Key stats
- Retention rate: 64%
- Programs offered: 24
Source:Accreditor: Middle States Commission on Higher Education · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
62%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$75,701
Avg net price
$24,258/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 82%
- Programs offered: 45
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Nearest qualifying schools within 100 miles (any state)
| School |
Location |
Credit for military training |
Dedicated military contact |
DoD MOU member |
Student veteran org |
BOC Score |
Distance |
| University of Maryland-College Park |
College Park, MD |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
89.1 |
80 mi |
| Johns Hopkins University |
Baltimore, MD |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
88.8 |
52 mi |
| University of Delaware |
Newark, DE |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
83.5 |
38 mi |
| University of Management and Technology |
Arlington, VA |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
82.8 |
89 mi |
| George Mason University |
Fairfax, VA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
81.5 |
99 mi |
| Georgetown University |
Washington, DC |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
79.6 |
88 mi |
| Villanova University |
Villanova, PA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
77.6 |
51 mi |
| The College of New Jersey |
Ewing, NJ |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
77.3 |
82 mi |
| Rutgers University-Camden |
Camden, NJ |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
76.8 |
63 mi |
| Towson University |
Towson, MD |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
76.6 |
48 mi |
Pennsylvania has 78 military-friendly online colleges by this definition; the Pennsylvania page lists them all.
Military installations near Lancaster
| Installation (as recorded by the Census Bureau) |
Branch (from the name) |
Distance from Lancaster |
| Defense Distribution Depot Susquehanna |
Other |
31 mi |
| Fort Indiantown Gap Training Site |
Army |
32 mi |
| National Guard Havre de Grace Military Reserve |
National Guard |
37 mi |
| Naval Ship Parts Control Center Mechanicsburg |
Navy |
38 mi |
| National Guard Spring City Readiness Center |
National Guard |
41 mi |
| National Guard Mta Gunpowder Military Reserve |
National Guard |
44 mi |
| New Castle County Airport |
Other |
45 mi |
| Aberdeen Proving Ground |
Other |
45 mi |
Common post-service careers near Lancaster
Median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), shown for the Lancaster, PA metro area where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation |
Median annual wage |
Scope |
Cost-of-living adjusted (US=100) |
| Information Security Analysts |
$96,540 |
Lancaster, PA metro |
$98,210 |
| Logisticians |
$66,660 |
Lancaster, PA metro |
$67,813 |
| Emergency Management Directors |
$81,550 |
PA statewide |
$82,960 |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers |
$86,800 |
Lancaster, PA metro |
$88,301 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers |
$103,680 |
Lancaster, PA metro |
$105,473 |
| Project Management Specialists |
$95,820 |
Lancaster, PA metro |
$97,477 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators |
$83,360 |
Lancaster, PA metro |
$84,802 |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers |
$101,950 |
Lancaster, PA metro |
$103,713 |
BLS publishes wages for metro areas and states, not individual cities; rows marked with the metro name are metro medians, the rest are statewide.
Campuses within 30 miles of Lancaster
None of the 10 schools in the table has a campus within 30 miles of Lancaster; the nearest is University of Delaware at 38 miles.
Nearby cities
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.
