The 12 Most Cost-Effective College Towns In The US

College-minded students have a lot to consider when choosing their future school, from tuition and student life opportunities to degree programs and potential careers. Those who are more money-conscious may be looking for the most economical way to get a degree. And if they live in one of these 12 most cost-effective college towns and achieve success there after graduation, they may find it.

The researchers at BestPlaces.net used the following metrics to determine the rankings for the best cities for college-minded students. Since some students opt for a 4-year school and some opt for a 2-year school, we performed two separate rankings. However, we used the same metrics for each type of school, each with the same weighting.

4-Year Colleges 

• Average annual in-state tuition
• Number of local, accredited, private non-profit or public schools
• Future wages – average annual earnings of grads from local schools 10 years after graduation (adjusted by cost of living)
• Ratio of future annual wages to annual tuition paid

2-Year Colleges 

• Average annual in-state tuition
• Number of local, accredited, private non-profit or public schools
• Future wages – average annual earnings of grads from local schools 10 years after graduation (adjusted by cost of living)
• Ratio of future annual wages to annual tuition paid

This study reveals the best U.S. cities for a cost-effective college experience. And beyond just the cost of attending college, we also look at the actual wages of college graduates after they enter the workforce. This allows us to identify the metro areas where getting a college degree will make the biggest net positive financial impact on someone's life.

We recognized that living costs (particularly home prices and rents) vary greatly between areas of the United States. A $50,000 annual salary is not likely to cover living expenses in New York but could enable a comfortable lifestyle in, say, Cleveland. To "level the playing field" regarding wages and expenses, we adjusted the future wages of each college's graduates by the BestPlaces cost of living index. Expensive places found the wages reduced and inexpensive places had the wages increased to reflect the actual effect of the metro's living expenses.

1. Houston, Texas

• Number of local 4-year schools: 18
• Average annual in-state tuition: $16,421

The largest city in Texas ranks in the top 10% of the country for the number of 4-year schools within its metro area. The Greater Houston area has some of the top institutions in the country, including Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine and University of Houston. According to VisitHouston.com, it’s also home to one of only two “comprehensive Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in the world.” 

2. Las Vegas, Nevada 

• Number of local 4-year schools: 4
• Average annual in-state tuition: $6,977 

Nevada college students earning their bachelor’s degree in Las Vegas pay an average tuition that’s lower than 95% of 4-year schools across the country. One example of cost-effective schools in the area is the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where students graduate with less debt than students in 47 other states and more than three-fourths of the student population receive scholarships and some kind of financial aid, according to the institution. 

3. Cincinnati, Ohio

• Number of local 4-year schools: 15
• Average annual in-state tuition: $16,202

With 15 different schools in its metro area, Cincinnati has more 4-year colleges than 85% of the country. No matter which 4-year school they choose, Ohio residents can apply for several of the almost 100 scholarships offered in the state. With that number, Ohio ranks in the top 1% for the number of scholarship opportunities it provides.

4. Omaha, Nebraska

• Number of local 4-year schools: 7
• Average annual in-state tuition: $18,044

Graduates of 4-year schools in the Omaha metro area can expect average annual earnings that rank in the top 10% of the country and equate to about $62,246 once adjusted for cost of living. And students interested in studying healthcare may find the schools in Omaha especially inviting. Of the seven local 4-year schools, three focus on medical, nursing and health sciences.

5. El Paso, Texas

• Number of local 4-year schools: 2
• Average annual in-state tuition: $9,161 

The average annual tuition of students who attend one of the 4-year schools in El Paso is under $10,000. And 10 years after graduation, those students make average yearly earnings of about $75,518 (adjusted by El Paso’s lower cost of living). With relatively low tuition costs and higher wages for graduates, El Paso ranks in the top 5% of the country for its ratio of income to college costs. That means, those who go to school in El Paso and find job opportunities there after graduation may see better financial benefits with their bachelor’s degree and find it more cost-effective. 

6. Vallejo, California

• Number of local 4-year schools: 2
• Average annual in-state tuition: $7,116

The Vallejo-Fairfield metro area ranks in the top 5% of the country for its in-state tuition for 4-year colleges, which is about $7,116 on average. And students who need some financial assistance may get some help from California, which ranks in the top 1% for number of scholarships offered by a state. Among those scholarships, there are more than 30 that may award qualified or chosen California residents at least $10,000 to go toward schooling.

1. Phoenix, Arizona 

• Number of local 2-year schools: 5
• Average annual in-state tuition: $2,070

Phoenix ranks in the top 15% of the country for the average annual tuition students pay to attend a 2-year school. The city hosts five of the 10 community colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District, the largest of its kind in the country. Of those five colleges, Phoenix has the district’s largest community college, Mesa Community College, and the newest, Estrella Mountain Community College. The city is also home to one of the oldest community colleges in the country, Phoenix College.

2. Greensboro, North Carolina 

• Number of local 2-year schools: 3
• Average annual in-state tuition: $2,219

Greensboro’s 2-year schools have tuition costs that are lower than 85% of the country. Along with paying less to attend school, residents of the city – both on campus and off – will also pay less for the necessities. Greensboro’s average cost of living is about 13% lower than the national average.

3. Killeen, Texas

• Number of local 2-year schools: 2
• Average annual in-state tuition: $2,562

Between the two Killeen schools offering 2-year degree programs and certifications, students can choose from more than 100 different programs and areas of study, including liberal arts, early childhood education, criminal justice and registered nursing. And with average annual earnings of $42,355 (adjusted for Killeen’s low cost of living), local graduates will have a better ratio of annual earnings to what they paid in tuition than almost 90% of the country for 2-year schools.  

4. Fresno, California

• Number of local 2-year schools: 4
• Average annual in-state tuition: $1,323

Fresno is the only city in our top seven to be in a state that offers a tuition-free community college program to residents. The California Promise program provides tuition-free waivers to full-time students in a 2-year or 4-year program – even if they receive additional funding from grants or other sources. 

5. Houston, Texas

• Number of local 2-year schools: 11
• Average annual in-state tuition: $4,316

As it did with 4-year schools, Houston ranks in the top 10% of the country for the number of local 2-year schools, with double – sometimes even triple – that of other cities on our list. This includes the Houston Community College System, a five-regional-college system that’s one of the largest on the Texas Gulf Coast.

6. Cleveland, Ohio

• Number of local 2-year schools: 3
• Average annual in-state tuition: $3,468

Cleveland’s low cost of living can be helpful while attending one of its 2-year colleges, but it’s even more beneficial once graduates settle in after earning their degree or certificate. Those who attended one of the city’s 2-year colleges can expect to make an average of about $34,313 per year. However, when you adjust that number for the Midwest city’s cost of living – which is almost 15% below the national average – it comes out to something more like $40,656 per year.

The places analyzed in our study are the 150 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. These 150 metro areas are home to nearly three-fourths (74%) of all U.S. residents. Metropolitan areas are particularly useful for our rankings because they include each area's major cities and the surrounding counties, including the suburbs.

Each data category is normalized and transformed to a common range of 0-100 points for scoring and comparison. Weights are applied to each metric which reflects its importance in the study. The weighted scores for each metric are summed to create the overall Best Places for Solar score for each place. The final scores are sorted to produce the final rankings.

Additional resources were used in our research, which included looking at state grants and scholarships. These additional sources include:

• Number of scholarships by state: CareerOneStop, US Department of Labor, 2021
• State grants and scholarships: The College Post’s "19 States In The US That Offer Free Community College Programs"