Best Community Colleges from Wallet Hub

Tarrant County, Texas  August 21, 2017

Cost is often a major consideration when evaluating college prospects. And with tuition rates continuing to rise every year — not to mention all the other expenses related to attendance — many would-be students are easily priced out of a university education.

Community colleges offer a perfect solution — and a better alternative to forgoing higher education altogether. During the 2016 to 2017 academic year, tuition and fees for full-time, in-state enrollment at a public two-year college averaged $1,760 per semester versus $4,825 at a public four-year institution and $16,740 at a four-year private school. Based on those rates, students who earn their general-education credits at a community college before transferring to an in-state public four-year university would save $12,260 over two years on tuition and fees alone.

Besides their reputation as an affordable, and in some cases free, option for earning a degree or serving as a bridge to university, community colleges are known for a number of attractive qualities. They often provide more flexible schedules, smaller class sizes and comparatively rigorous coursework, including bachelor’s degree programs in nearly half of all U.S. states — again, at a fraction of the university price tag. Such advantages appeal to first-time college entrants but especially to nontraditional students who juggle their studies with other commitments, such as family and work. Many university students today are even transferring to community colleges for the same reasons, a growing trend that reverses the traditional path of “upgrading” from a two-year to a four-year institution.

Individual community colleges, however, vary in performance and affordability. To determine where students can receive the best education at the lowest price, WalletHub’s analysts compared more than 700 community colleges across 14 key indicators of cost and quality. Our data set ranges from the cost of in-state tuition and fees to student-faculty ratio to graduation rate. Read on for our findings, expert insight from a panel of researchers and a full description of our methodology. In addition to this ranking, we also conducted a state-level analysis of the Best & Worst Community College Systems.

Best & Worst Community Colleges