Much research on access to the higher education system overlooks the importance of a base factor: place. An 'education desert' is defined as an area in which residents are separated from the higher education system by geography and structural factors. This study employs a granular approach to locate education deserts within the state of North Carolina, and analyze the condition of higher education access across the state. By delineating the state into Census tracts (n=2184), the analysis draws more specific boundaries around deserts than did previous researchers. The analysis then goes beyond the binary classification of desert or non-desert, and ranks each census tract's access to the higher education system on a five-point scale. The data shows that approximately one-quarter of the state's population lives in an education desert. Various socioeconomic indicators, such as median household income and the rate of disconnected youth, are found to be significantly correlated with a census tract's access to the higher education system. Distance learning seems to be an apt solution; however, residents of higher education deserts have low rates of internet access, making online education impractical. Policy makers should recognize that gaps in access to higher education, and the subsequent benefits from a degree, have roots in geography and in infrastructure.