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 Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or grad school search.
Budget-conscious college applicants often apply to public schools near home so they can qualify for lower tuition.
However, the cost of an in-state college education can vary enormously depending on your state of residence and which school you choose to attend, U.S. News data show.
In-state tuition and fees at public schools for the 2017-2018 academic year ranged from about $3,400 to around $20,000, according to data submitted by 392 ranked schools that reported both tuition and fees in an annual survey. Thirty-two schools that provided tuition data but declined to supply required fees have been excluded from this analysis.
[Learn strategies for students too rich for financial aid but too poor for college.]
Savannah State University in Georgia charged the lowest tuition and fees: $3,367. In contrast, Virginia’s College of William & Mary was the most expensive public school, with in-state tuition and fees at $20,287.
At the 10 ranked public schools that charged the lowest tuition and fees to in-state students, the average cost was $4,854.40. That is significantly lower than the overall average among state schools that provided their tuition and fees data: $9,500.23.
[Discover 10 tools for chipping away at the cost of college.]
Five of the 10 cheapest state schools are Regional Colleges, which focus primarily on teaching undergraduates but grant fewer than half of their degrees in the liberal arts. Four are Regional Universities, which offer a full range of undergraduate programs and some master’s programs but few doctoral programs, and one is a National University, which offers a wide range of undergraduate majors, plus a variety of master’s and doctoral programs.
Federal service academies, which offer a free college education in exchange for a service commitment after graduation, were not evaluated as part of this report.
Below is a list of the 10 public schools that had the lowest in-state tuition and fees in the 2017-2018 school year. The figures listed here are the prices paid by in-state, out-of-district students, whose homes are in the same state but not the same district as the school. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report.
| School name (state) | In-state tuition and fees (2017-2018) | U.S. News rank and category |
| Savannah State University (GA) | $3,367 | 114-142, Regional Universities (South) |
| Gordon State College (GA) | $4,164 | 60-79, Regional Colleges (South) |
| Bismarck State College (ND) | $4,591 | 62-80, Regional Colleges (Midwest) |
| College of Coastal Georgia | $4,648 | 55 (tie), Regional Colleges (South) |
| Fort Hays State University (KS) | $5,009 | 126-165, Regional Universities (Midwest) |
| University of Wyoming | $5,217 | 181 (tie), National Universities |
| Harris-Stowe State University (MO) | $5,220 | 62-80, Regional Colleges (Midwest) |
| Armstrong State University (GA) | $5,360 | 114-142, Regional Universities (South) |
| Elizabeth City State University (NC) | $5,466 | 87 (tie), Regional Universities (South) |
| University of Montana–Western | $5,502 | 8, Regional Colleges (West) |
Don’t see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find tuition and fees data, complete rankings and much more. Sign up for the U.S. News Extra Help: College Admissions free email newsletter to receive expert advice twice a month.
U.S. News surveyed more than 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2017 survey of undergraduate programs. 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 Colleges 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 come 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 tuition and fees data above are correct as of Jan. 2, 2018.
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10 Public Schools With Bargain Prices for In-State Students originally appeared on usnews.com
