2023’s Best & Worst Community Colleges

from WalletHub, Aug 15, 2023

Cost is often a major consideration when choosing a college. And with tuition rates continuing to rise every year — not to mention all the other expenses related to attendance — many would-be students are unable to afford a university education. That’s even more of a concern this year as lots of people deal with financial struggles caused by high inflation.

Community colleges offer students the ability to get higher education without having as much financial strain. During the 2022 to 2023 academic year, tuition and fees for full-time, in-state enrollment at a public two-year college averaged $3,860 per year versus $10,950 at a public four-year institution and $39,400 at a four-year private school. Students who earn their general-education credits at a community college before transferring to an in-state public four-year university can potentially save a lot of money.

Other than serving as an affordable, and in some cases free, option for education, community colleges have a number of attractive qualities. They often provide more flexible schedules, smaller class sizes and rigorous coursework. Some even go beyond two-year programs to offer four-year bachelor’s degrees. These qualities appeal especially to students who need to balance their studies with other commitments, such as family and work.

Individual community colleges, however, vary in quality and affordability. To determine where students can receive the best education at the lowest price, WalletHub compared more than 650 community colleges across 19 key indicators of cost and quality. Our data set ranges from the cost of in-state tuition and fees to student-faculty ratio to graduation rate. In addition to this ranking, we also conducted a state-level analysis of the Best & Worst Community College Systems.

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