View the full Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings 2017 results
Studying at college in the United States can be notoriously expensive, particularly for “out-of-state” students, which often includes international students.
But not all colleges are created equal when it comes to value for money. More than 150 top-ranked US colleges appearing in the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings offer yearly tuition for less than $30,000.
In fact, the cheapest college to appear in the top 500 of the ranking – Brigham Young University-Hawaii – charges just $4,940 annually for both in-state and out-of-state students.
Out of the 100 cheapest universities in the top 500 of the ranking, three-quarters are public universities, where fees for out-of-state students can be more than double those for in-state students.
However, even though private colleges mostly charge the same tuition for all students, the rate is often still significantly higher than the out-of-state fees at public universities.
New York is overwhelmingly the best represented state in the 100 cheapest but highly ranked colleges, largely because of the excellent public university system covered by Syracuse University.
In total, 14 New York colleges feature in the list. Illinois is the next best destination for a range of cheap but high-quality tuition; four public universities and two private universities in the state charge less than $27,000 a year and are also ranked in the top half of the WSJ/THE College Rankings.
The top affordable colleges are spread across the whole of the US, with two-thirds of the top 100 located in the South and the Midwest.
In addition to tuition fees, international students have to consider living costs as part of the expenses they will incur. For room and board on campus, costs vary widely in different institutions, starting at about $6,000 for the year at some private colleges such as Cedarville University in Ohio, and reaching more than $15,000 at public universities in New York City.
Resources: top universities worldwide
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– Best universities in South America
Cheapest top colleges in the United States 2017
Includes only US colleges in the top 500 of the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings 2017
Rank |
Institution |
State |
School type |
In-state tuition |
Out-of-state tuition |
Campus room/board |
375 |
Hawaii |
Private not-for-profit |
4,940 |
4,940 |
5,746 |
|
104 |
Utah |
Private not-for-profit |
5,000 |
5,000 |
7,330 |
|
492 |
Washington D.C. |
Public |
5,251 |
11,233 |
No data |
|
384 |
Wyoming |
Public |
3,968 |
12,152 |
9,755 |
|
305 |
CUNY City College |
New York |
Public |
6,389 |
13,199 |
14,458 |
350 |
New York |
Public |
6,429 |
13,239 |
7,828 |
|
414 |
New York |
Public |
6,507 |
13,317 |
13,350 |
|
360 |
New York |
Public |
6,536 |
13,346 |
12,158 |
|
290 |
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College |
New York |
Public |
6,561 |
13,371 |
15,568 |
476 |
South Dakota |
Public |
10,040 |
13,560 |
6,370 |
|
453 |
North Carolina |
Public |
5,583 |
15,113 |
8,621 |
|
478 |
Illinois |
Public |
11,471 |
15,558 |
9,450 |
|
492 |
Michigan |
Public |
10,556 |
16,414 |
9,208 |
|
405 |
New York |
Public |
7,398 |
17,048 |
15,120 |
|
243 |
University of Alabama at Birmingham |
Alabama |
Public |
7,510 |
17,062 |
10,809 |
423 |
New York |
Public |
7,418 |
17,068 |
10,896 |
|
396 |
University of South Florida |
Florida |
Public |
6,410 |
17,324 |
9,400 |
453 |
California |
Public |
6,452 |
17,612 |
11,688 |
|
445 |
Florida |
Public |
5,785 |
17,725 |
9,356 |
|
383 |
California |
Public |
6,866 |
18,026 |
14,745 |
|
467 |
California |
Public |
7,002 |
18,162 |
11,208 |
|
487 |
Mississippi |
Public |
7,140 |
18,478 |
8,954 |
|
496 |
New Jersey |
Public |
12,568 |
19,089 |
11,164 |
|
325 |
Mississippi |
Public |
7,096 |
19,144 |
9,908 |
|
487 |
University of North Carolina at Charlotte |
North Carolina |
Public |
6,277 |
19,448 |
9,820 |
492 |
Ohio University |
Ohio |
Public |
10,602 |
19,566 |
10,478 |
265 |
Alabama |
Private not-for-profit |
19,570 |
19,570 |
9,104 |
|
388 |
Texas |
Public |
8,605 |
19,693 |
9,278 |
|
229 |
New York |
Public |
8,302 |
19,942 |
11,986 |
|
480 |
Tennessee |
Private not-for-profit |
19,970 |
19,970 |
9,700 |
|
411 |
Oklahoma |
Public |
7,442 |
20,027 |
8,710 |
|
221 |
California |
Public |
8,918 |
20,078 |
11,448 |
|
405 |
Illinois |
Public |
12,802 |
20,231 |
9,814 |
|
353 |
West Virginia |
Public |
6,960 |
20,242 |
9,582 |
|
398 |
New Jersey |
Public |
11,540 |
20,254 |
14,010 |
|
190 |
New York |
Public |
8,620 |
20,260 |
13,028 |
|
427 |
Arkansas |
Public |
8,210 |
20,300 |
9,454 |
|
299 |
Oklahoma |
Public |
7,695 |
20,469 |
9,126 |
|
321 |
New Jersey |
Public |
12,616 |
20,570 |
11,406 |
|
315 |
Iowa |
Public |
7,731 |
20,617 |
7,830 |
|
336 |
Nevada |
Public |
6,707 |
20,617 |
10,196 |
|
483 |
University of New Mexico |
New Mexico |
Public |
6,846 |
20,664 |
8,580 |
110 |
University of Minnesota Twin Cities |
Minnesota |
Public |
13,560 |
20,810 |
8,920 |
436 |
North Carolina |
Public |
6,143 |
21,340 |
8,833 |
|
277 |
Xavier University of Louisiana |
Louisiana |
Private not-for-profit |
21,552 |
21,552 |
8,500 |
226 |
Florida |
Public |
6,507 |
21,673 |
10,208 |
|
166 |
Virginia |
Private not-for-profit |
21,760 |
21,760 |
9,692 |
|
134 |
New York |
Public |
8,430 |
21,850 |
11,648 |
|
469 |
Nebraska |
Public |
8,070 |
21,990 |
9,962 |
|
130 |
New York |
Public |
8,871 |
22,291 |
12,400 |
|
467 |
Massachusetts |
Public |
7,250 |
22,304 |
11,120 |
|
445 |
Florida |
Public |
6,368 |
22,467 |
9,300 |
|
372 |
Missouri |
Public |
9,476 |
22,535 |
9,815 |
|
375 |
Kansas |
Public |
9,034 |
22,624 |
8,060 |
|
414 |
University of Maryland, Baltimore County |
Maryland |
Public |
10,384 |
22,682 |
10,920 |
499 |
Oklahoma |
Private not-for-profit |
22,690 |
22,690 |
7,600 |
|
347 |
New York |
Private not-for-profit |
22,830 |
22,830 |
No data |
|
248 |
Colorado |
Public |
8,500 |
22,852 |
10,940 |
|
380 |
Kentucky |
Public |
10,616 |
22,888 |
10,506 |
|
473 |
Michigan |
Public |
10,952 |
23,150 |
No data |
|
143 |
North Carolina State University at Raleigh |
North Carolina |
Public |
8,296 |
23,551 |
10,030 |
402 |
Arkansas |
Private not-for-profit |
23,588 |
23,588 |
8,468 |
|
298 |
Kansas |
Public |
9,707 |
23,847 |
9,138 |
|
87 |
Washington D.C. |
Private not-for-profit |
23,970 |
23,970 |
13,646 |
|
315 |
Illinois |
Public |
11,917 |
24,215 |
9,694 |
|
153 |
Kentucky |
Private not-for-profit |
24,270 |
24,270 |
6,322 |
|
360 |
Kentucky |
Public |
10,432 |
24,320 |
7,710 |
|
325 |
University of Missouri-Columbia |
Missouri |
Public |
9,433 |
24,460 |
9,386 |
131 |
Arizona State University |
Arizona |
Public |
10,127 |
24,503 |
10,010 |
417 |
Virginia |
Public |
9,662 |
24,522 |
9,196 |
|
398 |
Alabama |
Public |
9,826 |
24,950 |
12,716 |
|
311 |
Utah |
Public |
7,835 |
25,057 |
8,528 |
|
180 |
Pennsylvania |
Public |
15,096 |
25,122 |
10,738 |
|
441 |
North Carolina |
Private not-for-profit |
25,356 |
25,356 |
11,764 |
|
180 |
Missouri |
Public |
9,537 |
25,404 |
9,396 |
|
453 |
Indiana |
Private not-for-profit |
25,414 |
25,414 |
9,010 |
|
106 |
Georgia |
Private not-for-profit |
25,496 |
25,496 |
11,945 |
|
256 |
Washington |
Public |
12,428 |
25,510 |
11,276 |
|
464 |
Illinois |
Private not-for-profit |
25,515 |
25,515 |
9,390 |
|
238 |
New Jersey |
Public |
15,024 |
25,637 |
11,677 |
|
423 |
Washington |
Private not-for-profit |
25,866 |
25,866 |
6,465 |
|
487 |
Missouri |
Private not-for-profit |
25,884 |
25,884 |
10,773 |
|
353 |
Colorado |
Public |
9,897 |
26,077 |
10,488 |
|
331 |
Georgia |
Private not-for-profit |
26,090 |
26,090 |
13,322 |
|
461 |
New York |
Private not-for-profit |
26,106 |
26,106 |
11,790 |
|
288 |
Texas |
Private not-for-profit |
26,186 |
26,186 |
8,894 |
|
315 |
Michigan |
Private not-for-profit |
26,262 |
26,262 |
8,302 |
|
315 |
Oregon |
Public |
9,122 |
26,294 |
10,929 |
|
334 |
University of Cincinnati-Uptown |
Ohio |
Public |
11,010 |
26,334 |
10,496 |
372 |
Ohio |
Private not-for-profit |
26,420 |
26,420 |
6,150 |
|
441 |
Louisiana |
Public |
8,750 |
26,467 |
10,804 |
|
71 |
Ohio State University |
Ohio |
Public |
10,037 |
26,537 |
11,820 |
80 |
Texas |
Public |
9,685 |
26,583 |
9,522 |
|
344 |
Michigan |
Public |
12,350 |
26,592 |
9,430 |
|
67 |
University of Wisconsin-Madison |
Wisconsin |
Public |
10,410 |
26,660 |
8,546 |
194 |
New York |
Private not-for-profit |
26,850 |
26,850 |
13,590 |
|
117 |
Illinois |
Public |
14,614 |
26,864 |
10,871 |
|
353 |
Texas |
Public |
10,864 |
26,894 |
9,542 |
|
433 |
Illinois |
Private not-for-profit |
26,900 |
26,900 |
12,532 |
|
394 |
Doane College-Crete |
Nebraska |
Private not-for-profit |
27,180 |
27,180 |
8,030 |
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