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Net price by income · cited to federal data

The Cheapest Colleges by Net Price

Ranked by what students at each family-income level actually paidafter grant aid — not the sticker price, and not a blended average that hides who paid what. Every figure is the college’s own report to the U.S. Department of Education, largest schools only (500+ undergrads), so this is a list of colleges an applicant would actually encounter.

Lowest net price for families earning $0–30k

  1. 1San Diego Miramar CollegeSan Diego, CA · Public · 11,271 undergrads−$6,023
  2. 2Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA · Private nonprofit · 4,535 undergrads−$4,129
  3. 3Trident Technical CollegeCharleston, SC · Public · 10,512 undergrads−$4,034
  4. 4San Diego Mesa CollegeSan Diego, CA · Public · 16,098 undergrads−$3,351
  5. 5Skyline CollegeSan Bruno, CA · Public · 7,620 undergrads−$3,190
  6. 6San Diego City CollegeSan Diego, CA · Public · 10,441 undergrads−$2,781
  7. 7St Petersburg CollegeSt. Petersburg, FL · Public · 18,950 undergrads−$2,566
  8. 8Williams CollegeWilliamstown, MA · Private nonprofit · 2,076 undergrads−$2,421
  9. 9Madera Community CollegeMadera, CA · Public · 4,808 undergrads−$2,313
  10. 10Brown UniversityProvidence, RI · Private nonprofit · 7,226 undergrads−$2,158
  11. 11Atlanta Technical CollegeAtlanta, GA · Public · 3,875 undergrads−$1,666
  12. 12University of ChicagoChicago, IL · Private nonprofit · 7,569 undergrads−$1,428
  13. 13Canada CollegeRedwood City, CA · Public · 5,175 undergrads−$1,372
  14. 14West Valley CollegeSaratoga, CA · Public · 6,416 undergrads−$1,351
  15. 15Wilkes Community CollegeWilkesboro, NC · Public · 1,355 undergrads−$1,018

Lowest net price for families earning $30–48k

  1. 1Trident Technical CollegeCharleston, SC · Public · 10,512 undergrads−$4,533
  2. 2Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA · Private nonprofit · 4,535 undergrads−$2,483
  3. 3Fort Scott Community CollegeFort Scott, KS · Public · 693 undergrads−$1,896
  4. 4San Diego Miramar CollegeSan Diego, CA · Public · 11,271 undergrads−$1,433
  5. 5Skyline CollegeSan Bruno, CA · Public · 7,620 undergrads−$1,349
  6. 6Atlanta Technical CollegeAtlanta, GA · Public · 3,875 undergrads−$1,015
  7. 7Williams CollegeWilliamstown, MA · Private nonprofit · 2,076 undergrads−$919
  8. 8St Petersburg CollegeSt. Petersburg, FL · Public · 18,950 undergrads−$787
  9. 9San Diego Mesa CollegeSan Diego, CA · Public · 16,098 undergrads−$696
  10. 10Oglala Lakota CollegeKyle, SD · Public · 1,097 undergrads−$686
  11. 11Canada CollegeRedwood City, CA · Public · 5,175 undergrads−$379
  12. 12Dartmouth CollegeHanover, NH · Private nonprofit · 4,541 undergrads−$377
  13. 13Stanford UniversityStanford, CA · Private nonprofit · 7,554 undergrads−$350
  14. 14College of the SequoiasVisalia, CA · Public · 11,562 undergrads−$348
  15. 15Coastal Pines Technical CollegeWaycross, GA · Public · 1,648 undergrads−$340

Lowest net price for families earning $48–75k

  1. 1Trident Technical CollegeCharleston, SC · Public · 10,512 undergrads−$2,209
  2. 2Texas A&M University-Central TexasKilleen, TX · Public · 1,750 undergrads−$1,325
  3. 3Purdue University GlobalWest Lafayette, IN · Public · 30,828 undergrads−$219
  4. 4Williams CollegeWilliamstown, MA · Private nonprofit · 2,076 undergrads−$123
  5. 5Oxnard CollegeOxnard, CA · Public · 6,240 undergrads$44
  6. 6Fort Scott Community CollegeFort Scott, KS · Public · 693 undergrads$210
  7. 7Carl Sandburg CollegeGalesburg, IL · Public · 1,051 undergrads$262
  8. 8Coahoma Community CollegeClarksdale, MS · Public · 1,144 undergrads$400
  9. 9Rockingham Community CollegeWentworth, NC · Public · 1,065 undergrads$628
  10. 10University of ChicagoChicago, IL · Private nonprofit · 7,569 undergrads$770
  11. 11Central Carolina Community CollegeSanford, NC · Public · 3,237 undergrads$1,048
  12. 12Cleveland Community CollegeShelby, NC · Public · 1,097 undergrads$1,103
  13. 13Stanford UniversityStanford, CA · Private nonprofit · 7,554 undergrads$1,323
  14. 14Rice UniversityHouston, TX · Private nonprofit · 4,776 undergrads$1,348
  15. 15Skyline CollegeSan Bruno, CA · Public · 7,620 undergrads$1,379

Lowest net price for families earning $75–110k

  1. 1Purdue University GlobalWest Lafayette, IN · Public · 30,828 undergrads−$1,196
  2. 2Fort Scott Community CollegeFort Scott, KS · Public · 693 undergrads$31
  3. 3Trident Technical CollegeCharleston, SC · Public · 10,512 undergrads$335
  4. 4Oxnard CollegeOxnard, CA · Public · 6,240 undergrads$695
  5. 5Wilkes Community CollegeWilkesboro, NC · Public · 1,355 undergrads$982
  6. 6Oconee Fall Line Technical CollegeSandersville, GA · Public · 1,708 undergrads$1,448
  7. 7Ozarka CollegeMelbourne, AR · Public · 575 undergrads$1,795
  8. 8George C Wallace Community College-DothanDothan, AL · Public · 3,017 undergrads$2,042
  9. 9Central Carolina Community CollegeSanford, NC · Public · 3,237 undergrads$2,349
  10. 10Talmudical Seminary of BobovBrooklyn, NY · Private nonprofit · 602 undergrads$2,650
  11. 11Lurleen B Wallace Community CollegeAndalusia, AL · Public · 1,097 undergrads$3,078
  12. 12Florence-Darlington Technical CollegeFlorence, SC · Public · 3,055 undergrads$3,089
  13. 13Chipola CollegeMarianna, FL · Public · 1,312 undergrads$3,333
  14. 14Coahoma Community CollegeClarksdale, MS · Public · 1,144 undergrads$3,411
  15. 15Johnston Community CollegeSmithfield, NC · Public · 3,453 undergrads$3,447

Lowest net price for families earning $110k+

  1. 1Canada CollegeRedwood City, CA · Public · 5,175 undergrads−$3,153
  2. 2Skyline CollegeSan Bruno, CA · Public · 7,620 undergrads−$1,447
  3. 3Walters State Community CollegeMorristown, TN · Public · 3,591 undergrads$132
  4. 4San Diego Miramar CollegeSan Diego, CA · Public · 11,271 undergrads$537
  5. 5Bishop State Community CollegeMobile, AL · Public · 2,437 undergrads$970
  6. 6Rockingham Community CollegeWentworth, NC · Public · 1,065 undergrads$1,514
  7. 7Fort Scott Community CollegeFort Scott, KS · Public · 693 undergrads$1,699
  8. 8Bevill State Community CollegeJasper, AL · Public · 2,177 undergrads$2,084
  9. 9Northeast State Community CollegeBlountville, TN · Public · 4,404 undergrads$2,112
  10. 10Trident Technical CollegeCharleston, SC · Public · 10,512 undergrads$2,562
  11. 11San Diego Mesa CollegeSan Diego, CA · Public · 16,098 undergrads$3,323
  12. 12Victor Valley CollegeVictorville, CA · Public · 4,210 undergrads$3,511
  13. 13East Mississippi Community CollegeScooba, MS · Public · 2,838 undergrads$3,672
  14. 14Florence-Darlington Technical CollegeFlorence, SC · Public · 3,055 undergrads$4,064
  15. 15Gadsden State Community CollegeGadsden, AL · Public · 3,548 undergrads$4,162

Where the lowest-income band pays the most

The flip side of the $0–30k list above: these colleges reported the highest net price for students from families earning $0–30k — often because grant aid falls well short of a high published cost of attendance for that band. See how to check whether a college’s cost of attendance holds up before treating any total as final.

  1. 1Southwest Institute of Healing ArtsTempe, AZ · Private for-profit · 534 undergrads$58,513
  2. 2School of Visual ArtsNew York, NY · Private for-profit · 3,244 undergrads$51,786
  3. 3Ringling College of Art and DesignSarasota, FL · Private nonprofit · 1,662 undergrads$50,332
  4. 4Galen Health Institutes-SarasotaSarasota, FL · Private for-profit · 574 undergrads$49,043
  5. 5Galen Health Institutes-GainesvilleGainesville, FL · Private for-profit · 668 undergrads$48,361
  6. 6The New SchoolNew York, NY · Private nonprofit · 6,563 undergrads$48,206
  7. 7Carrington College-RenoReno, NV · Private for-profit · 551 undergrads$46,880
  8. 8West Coast University-OntarioOntario, CA · Private for-profit · 2,671 undergrads$45,505
  9. 9Carrington College-MesaMesa, AZ · Private for-profit · 528 undergrads$45,475
  10. 10Glendale Career CollegeGlendale, CA · Private for-profit · 896 undergrads$44,563
  11. 11Career Care InstituteLancaster, CA · Private for-profit · 620 undergrads$44,317
  12. 12Howard UniversityWashington, DC · Private nonprofit · 10,108 undergrads$44,234
  13. 13Pratt Institute-MainBrooklyn, NY · Private nonprofit · 3,910 undergrads$43,939
  14. 14New York Film AcademyBurbank, CA · Private for-profit · 849 undergrads$43,826
  15. 15School of the Art Institute of ChicagoChicago, IL · Private nonprofit · 2,805 undergrads$43,080

Where these figures come from, and what they don’t mean

Every net price on this page is reported by the college itself to the U.S. Department of Education and published in the College Scorecard: the average cost of attendance minus the average grant and scholarship aid received by students in that income band, in the school’s most recent reporting year — before loans, which must be repaid and aren’t counted as aid.

Some figures are negative. At a number of community colleges and need-blind private colleges, grant aid for the lowest income band exceeds the reported cost of attendance — the federal data reports this as a negative net price rather than floor it at zero, and so do we. It reflects real state and institutional grant programs (and, at some schools, stipends), not a data error.

Scope & limitations

  • 500+ undergrads only. Smaller colleges are excluded from this ranking — not because their data is wrong, but because net price at a very small school is more exposed to a handful of unusual financial-aid cases. Every school in the federal data still has its own page; use the search below to look one up.
  • Averages, not your price.Each figure is a historical average across aided students in that income band at that school, not a personalized estimate. Use a college’s official net price calculator for that.
  • ~2-year lag. Federal cost data is historical by design — these figures are from the 2023 reporting year, not a live quote for the coming academic year.

Informational only — income-band averages from federal data, not an offer of aid or a substitute for any college’s official net price calculator or professional advice.

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, 2023 reporting year. Last reviewed: September 2026