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Welcome back, students
Milwaukee’s a “college town.” I’ve said this for years, and once again as school begins this week you can feel a new energy all around the area. Greater Milwaukee is blessed to be home to many institutions of higher learning, and for a region our size, we have a high number of colleges per capita.
And, fast fact from Marquette — geographically, more students in its new 2026 class hail from our neighbor to the south, with nearly 41% coming from Illinois. A third of the new class this year is from Wisconsin.
A snapshot of schools in the greater Milwaukee area:
Marquette University
University of Wisconsin — Milwaukee
Alverno
Cardinal Stritch
Concordia
MATC
MSOE
MIAD
Mount Mary
Carroll
Wisconsin Lutheran
Bryant and Stratton
Herzing
Gateway
And others in the area like Parkside and Carthage.
The list is impressive, and the learning, community building, and sheer annual added population all help the area grow.