United States Public Colleges Ranked by Lowest In State Tution

Cheapest Public Colleges in the United States by In State Tution

Below is a college cost ranking of the 656 public colleges in the United States with the lowest in state tution. What is the cheapest college in the United States? Athens State University tops the list with a tuition and fee total of $0. Note these costs do not include room and board or living expenses.

Affordable doesn't simply mean finding a school with a low published price. It's important to research the typical financial aid package offered by a school, the average net price actually paid and most importantly the quality of education you receive for your tuition dollar. Sometimes a school which appears cheap based on list price can be a poor relative value if it can't award competitive financial aid or doesn't offer a quality education. The list below is a ranking on published in state tution with no consideration of actual average price paid or academic quality of the school. Please see the CollegeSimply Best Value Colleges in the United States list for a ranking which considers school quality and average net price.

All price data are reprinted from the U.S. Department of Education's 2022-2022 IPEDS Survey and reflect reported costs for the 2021/2022 academic year.

List of United States Public Colleges Ranked by Lowest In State Tution
School Tuition In State
Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL

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$13,403
Kean University

Union, NJ

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$13,426
University of Missouri St Louis

Saint Louis, MO

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$13,440
The University of Tennessee

Knoxville, TN

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$13,484
Oregon State University

Corvallis, OR

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$13,494
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania

Shippensburg, PA

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$13,544
University of Cincinnati Main Campus

Cincinnati, OH

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$13,570
James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

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$13,576
University of Arizona

Tucson, AZ

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$13,626
Ferris State University

Big Rapids, MI

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$13,630
University of Montevallo

Montevallo, AL

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$13,710
Ohio University Main Campus

Athens, OH

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$13,746
University of California Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA

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$13,747
George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

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$13,815
New Jersey City University

Jersey City, NJ

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$13,971
Penn State Shenango

Sharon, PA

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$14,002
University of Michigan Flint

Flint, MI

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$14,014
Bowling Green State University Main Campus

Bowling Green, OH

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$14,081