The 50 Cheapest US Colleges by Net Price
The lowest real costs after grants - honest budgeting numbers. Ranked from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard - 50 institutions with complete data.
| # | College | Net price/yr | Net price | Salary (10yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mississippi Delta Community College Moorhead, MS - Average net price per year | $36 | $36 | $33,054 |
| 2 | Antelope Valley Community College District Lancaster, CA - Average net price per year | $85 | $85 | $39,944 |
| 3 | College of Alameda Alameda, CA - Average net price per year | $294 | $294 | $47,627 |
| 4 | Henry Ford College Dearborn, MI - Average net price per year | $317 | $317 | $37,939 |
| 5 | Texas A & M International University Laredo, TX - Average net price per year | $336 | $336 | $51,325 |
| 6 | Canada College Redwood City, CA - Average net price per year | $365 | $365 | $57,796 |
| 7 | Coastal Pines Technical College Waycross, GA - Average net price per year | $395 | $395 | $35,445 |
| 8 | Henderson Community College Henderson, KY - Average net price per year | $400 | $400 | $40,136 |
| 9 | Hazard Community and Technical College Hazard, KY - Average net price per year | $407 | $407 | $35,609 |
| 10 | Surry Community College Dobson, NC - Average net price per year | $417 | $417 | $39,923 |
| 11 | College of the Mainland Texas City, TX - Average net price per year | $447 | $447 | $45,131 |
| 12 | CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY - Average net price per year | $541 | $541 | $65,181 |
| 13 | Somerset Community College Somerset, KY - Average net price per year | $543 | $543 | $35,006 |
| 14 | Skyline College San Bruno, CA - Average net price per year | $616 | $616 | $62,578 |
| 15 | Hopkinsville Community College Hopkinsville, KY - Average net price per year | $617 | $617 | $42,315 |
| 16 | CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY - Average net price per year | $657 | $657 | $83,742 |
| 17 | Big Sandy Community and Technical College Prestonsburg, KY - Average net price per year | $678 | $678 | $37,362 |
| 18 | Cleveland Community College Shelby, NC - Average net price per year | $685 | $685 | $37,128 |
| 19 | Yuba College Marysville, CA - Average net price per year | $691 | $691 | $43,464 |
| 20 | Diablo Valley College Pleasant Hill, CA - Average net price per year | $710 | $710 | $56,684 |
| 21 | Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College Cumberland, KY - Average net price per year | $712 | $712 | $34,865 |
| 22 | Merced College Merced, CA - Average net price per year | $714 | $714 | $43,058 |
| 23 | North Florida College Madison, FL - Average net price per year | $719 | $719 | $40,788 |
| 24 | Cypress College Cypress, CA - Average net price per year | $759 | $759 | $50,380 |
| 25 | George C Wallace Community College-Dothan Dothan, AL - Average net price per year | $772 | $772 | $36,888 |
| 26 | Horry-Georgetown Technical College Conway, SC - Average net price per year | $787 | $787 | $40,257 |
| 27 | Elizabethtown Community and Technical College Elizabethtown, KY - Average net price per year | $795 | $795 | $40,644 |
| 28 | West Kentucky Community and Technical College Paducah, KY - Average net price per year | $795 | $795 | $36,627 |
| 29 | Citrus College Glendora, CA - Average net price per year | $850 | $850 | $46,835 |
| 30 | South Texas College McAllen, TX - Average net price per year | $855 | $855 | $39,609 |
| 31 | CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY - Average net price per year | $950 | $950 | $66,519 |
| 32 | Ashland Community and Technical College Ashland, KY - Average net price per year | $1,009 | $1,009 | $36,830 |
| 33 | West Valley College Saratoga, CA - Average net price per year | $1,033 | $1,033 | $55,251 |
| 34 | CUNY Hunter College New York, NY - Average net price per year | $1,051 | $1,051 | $70,502 |
| 35 | St Petersburg College St. Petersburg, FL - Average net price per year | $1,079 | $1,079 | $46,150 |
| 36 | College of the Sequoias Visalia, CA - Average net price per year | $1,096 | $1,096 | $43,147 |
| 37 | CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY - Average net price per year | $1,110 | $1,110 | $65,870 |
| 38 | Central Arizona College Coolidge, AZ - Average net price per year | $1,161 | $1,161 | $45,193 |
| 39 | South Georgia Technical College Americus, GA - Average net price per year | $1,166 | $1,166 | $34,912 |
| 40 | Victor Valley College Victorville, CA - Average net price per year | $1,182 | $1,182 | $39,827 |
| 41 | Long Beach City College Long Beach, CA - Average net price per year | $1,192 | $1,192 | $44,903 |
| 42 | Maysville Community and Technical College Maysville, KY - Average net price per year | $1,193 | $1,193 | $35,741 |
| 43 | Coahoma Community College Clarksdale, MS - Average net price per year | $1,198 | $1,198 | $30,697 |
| 44 | Central Carolina Technical College Sumter, SC - Average net price per year | $1,232 | $1,232 | $37,047 |
| 45 | CUNY Queens College Queens, NY - Average net price per year | $1,272 | $1,272 | $68,324 |
| 46 | Fullerton College Fullerton, CA - Average net price per year | $1,302 | $1,302 | $49,216 |
| 47 | Gateway Community and Technical College Florence, KY - Average net price per year | $1,391 | $1,391 | $41,002 |
| 48 | Davidson-Davie Community College Thomasville, NC - Average net price per year | $1,413 | $1,413 | $40,355 |
| 49 | Oglala Lakota College Kyle, SD - Average net price per year | $1,431 | $1,431 | $24,373 |
| 50 | Owensboro Community and Technical College Owensboro, KY - Average net price per year | $1,435 | $1,435 | $40,120 |
How this ranking works
We rank institutions on a single College Scorecard metric. Only colleges with at least 500 students and complete reported data are included. Averages hide variation by major and family income - treat the table as a shortlist, then verify each school's official numbers.
Next step: run your own numbers
Once you have a shortlist, model the full picture: estimate your admission odds in the Admission Chances tool, simulate the payback in the Degree ROI Simulator, and plan the borrowing in the Loan Payoff Planner. More rankings and all state guides live in the US colleges database.