The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List: Online Programsto find data that matters to you in your college or grad school search.
Tuition is not the only cost associated with enrolling at a college or university. The list of additional expenses is lengthy, with payments often required for housing, meal plans, textbooks and supplies, transportation and organization fees.
But attending a fully online bachelor’s program, especially as an in-state student at a public school, can help reduce the total price tag.
At the University of North Carolina–Charlotte, for example, the price difference between being an in-state and out-of-state resident beginning in the fall 2021 semester is more than $500 per credit hour for undergraduates — $158.83 versus $718.58, according to the school’s website.
[Read: 10 Affordable Online Colleges for Out-of-State Students.]
Among the 172 ranked schools that reported data to U.S. News in an annual survey, the average in-state cost in 2021-2022 for an online bachelor’s program is $40,491. Those programs require an average of about 122 credits to graduate, with the cost per credit being around $333.
However, nearly a dozen public schools charge less than half that per-credit average. At the 10 most affordable public colleges for in-state distance learning, students pay an average of about $116 per credit. Their average total program cost for 2021-2022 is $13,992.
Half of the least expensive online colleges for in-state students are in Florida, with the remaining five located in Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.
[Read: Financial Aid for Online Programs: What to Expect.]
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center charges the lowest in-state amount per credit for the 2021-2022 academic year at $63, amounting to $7,560 for total program costs.
At any college, the total cost of attendance varies based on the number of credits a student needs to graduate. All of the cheapest schools require at least 120 credits to graduate.
Below is a list of the 10 online bachelor’s programs where in-state students are charged the lowest total program cost for the 2021-2022 school year. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report.
| School (state) | Credits needed to graduate | In-state, per-credit cost | In-state total program cost | U.S. News rank |
| The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center | 120 | $63 | $7,560 | 246 (tie) |
| Western Carolina University (NC) | 120 | $66 | $7,920 | 190 (tie) |
| Daytona State College (FL) | 120 | $92 | $11,040 | 35 (tie) |
| University of Florida | 120 | $112 | $13,440 | 1 |
| Middle Georgia State University | 120 | $113 | $13,560 | 275-361 |
| St. Petersburg College (FL) | 120 | $123 | $14,760 | 80 (tie) |
| Pensacola State College (FL) | 120 | $131 | $15,720 | 47 (tie) |
| Florida International University | 120 | $147 | $17,640 | 59 (tie) |
| University of North Carolina–Charlotte | 120 | $159 | $19,080 | 10 (tie) |
| Texas A&M University–Commerce | 120 | $160 | $19,200 | 44 (tie) |
School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.
U.S. News surveyed more than 380 colleges and universitiesfor our 2022 Best Online Bachelor’s Programs rankings. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News’ data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Online Programs rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data comes from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News’ rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The cost data above is correct as of Jan. 25, 2022.
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10 Least Expensive Online Colleges for In-State Students originally appeared on usnews.com
