Cost comparison
Affordable colleges in Alabama
CampusPin lists 58 colleges in Alabama. The 40 below are ordered by lowest published in-state tuition, with a median of $5,205 and a median average net price of $9,300 among those reporting it. Tuition, total cost, and net price are three different numbers — the table keeps them separate.
Alabama college costs by the numbers
- Lowest published in-state tuition
- Gadsden State Community College ($4,272)
- Median in-state tuition (40 reporting)
- $5,205
- Median net price after aid (38 reporting)
- $9,300
- Highest graduation rate
- Amridge University (100%)
- Most selective
- University of West Alabama (43% acceptance)
- Largest by enrollment
- The University of Alabama (40,846 students)
Alabama colleges by published in-state tuition
Lowest published in-state tuition first. Every figure is as reported by the institution to federal data collections; blank cells are unreported values, not zeros.
| College | In-state tuition | Out-of-state tuition | Avg. net price | Graduation rate | Acceptance rate | Public/private | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gadsden State Community College | $4,272 | $7,368 | $3,515 | 38% | Open admission | Public | Gadsden, AL |
| Huntsville Bible College | $4,730 | $4,730 | $11,562 | Not reported | Open admission | Private | Huntsville, AL |
| Bevill State Community College | $4,734 | $8,346 | $5,937 | 38% | Open admission | Public | Jasper, AL |
| George C Wallace State Community College-Selma | $4,740 | $8,610 | $970 | 41% | Open admission | Public | Selma, AL |
| Selma University | $4,800 | $4,800 | Not reported | 6% | Open admission | Private | Selma, AL |
| George C Wallace Community College-Dothan | $4,980 | $8,850 | $2,697 | 35% | Open admission | Public | Dothan, AL |
| Coastal Alabama Community College | $5,040 | $8,910 | $9,514 | 31% | Open admission | Public | Bay Minette, AL |
| Lawson State Community College | $5,040 | $8,910 | $6,275 | 27% | Open admission | Public | Birmingham, AL |
| Northeast Alabama Community College | $5,040 | $8,910 | $1,612 | 56% | Open admission | Public | Rainsville, AL |
| Southern Union State Community College | $5,040 | $8,910 | $6,142 | 36% | Open admission | Public | Wadley, AL |
| Chattahoochee Valley Community College | $5,100 | $8,970 | $4,244 | 36% | Open admission | Public | Phenix City, AL |
| Enterprise State Community College | $5,100 | $8,970 | $8,187 | 42% | Open admission | Public | Enterprise, AL |
| Jefferson State Community College | $5,100 | $8,970 | $9,086 | 26% | Open admission | Public | Birmingham, AL |
| Central Alabama Community College | $5,110 | $8,980 | $15,996 | 33% | Open admission | Public | Alexander City, AL |
| John C Calhoun State Community College | $5,120 | $8,990 | $7,660 | 41% | Open admission | Public | Tanner, AL |
| Shelton State Community College | $5,127 | $8,997 | $14,557 | 30% | Open admission | Public | Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Northwest Shoals Community College | $5,131 | $9,001 | $2,838 | 39% | Open admission | Public | Muscle Shoals, AL |
| H Councill Trenholm State Community College | $5,190 | $9,060 | $5,568 | 16% | Open admission | Public | Montgomery, AL |
| J. F. Drake State Community and Technical College | $5,190 | $9,060 | $6,005 | 14% | Open admission | Public | Huntsville, AL |
| Lurleen B Wallace Community College | $5,190 | $9,060 | $2,792 | 41% | Open admission | Public | Andalusia, AL |
| George C Wallace State Community College-Hanceville | $5,220 | $9,090 | $13,170 | 51% | Open admission | Public | Hanceville, AL |
| Snead State Community College | $5,278 | $9,664 | $6,369 | 49% | Open admission | Public | Boaz, AL |
| Bishop State Community College | $5,340 | $9,210 | $5,397 | 36% | Open admission | Public | Mobile, AL |
| Reid State Technical College | $5,454 | $9,324 | $131 | 59% | Open admission | Public | Evergreen, AL |
| Columbia Southern University | $6,760 | $6,760 | $14,580 | 33% | Open admission | Private | Orange Beach, AL |
| Amridge University | $7,590 | $7,590 | Not reported | 100% | Open admission | Private | Montgomery, AL |
| University of Alabama at Birmingham | $9,098 | $22,562 | $18,749 | 64% | 88% | Public | Birmingham, AL |
| Marion Military Institute | $9,538 | $15,538 | $8,627 | 36% | 97% | Public | Marion, AL |
| Auburn University at Montgomery | $9,700 | $20,668 | $13,224 | 33% | 92% | Public | Montgomery, AL |
| Alabama A & M University | $10,024 | $18,634 | $17,621 | 24% | 58% | Public | Normal, AL |
| University of South Alabama | $10,116 | $19,092 | $17,648 | 53% | 71% | Public | Mobile, AL |
| Troy University | $10,176 | $20,352 | $16,527 | 50% | 96% | Public | Troy, AL |
| University of West Alabama | $10,990 | $20,090 | $12,684 | 35% | 43% | Public | Livingston, AL |
| Alabama State University | $11,248 | $19,576 | $13,889 | 30% | 98% | Public | Montgomery, AL |
| Heritage Christian University | $11,982 | $11,982 | $15,426 | 67% | 90% | Private | Florence, AL |
| University of North Alabama | $12,120 | $22,320 | $12,170 | 55% | 87% | Public | Florence, AL |
| Stillman College | $12,126 | $12,126 | $15,258 | 25% | 62% | Private | Tuscaloosa, AL |
| University of Alabama in Huntsville | $12,132 | $26,408 | $18,796 | 64% | 69% | Public | Huntsville, AL |
| The University of Alabama | $12,180 | $34,172 | $22,420 | 73% | 77% | Public | Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Auburn University | $12,890 | $34,922 | $24,323 | 82% | 46% | Public | Auburn, AL |
“Open admission” means the college reports an open-admission policy to the federal IPEDS survey (2024-25), or reported admitting every applicant. Programs such as nursing can still have their own entry requirements, so confirm with the college.
What the Alabama cost data shows
- Gadsden State Community College has the lowest published in-state tuition on this page at $4,272 per year. Published tuition is the sticker price and excludes housing, food, books, and fees.
- Median published in-state tuition is $5,190 across the public colleges here and $7,175 across the private ones — a $1,985 difference at sticker price. Private colleges often discount heavily, so compare net price before ruling one out.
- Median average net price is $9,300 across the 38 colleges here that report it. Net price includes housing and other costs, so it can exceed tuition alone.
- 38 of the 40 colleges listed report an average net price, and 39 report a graduation rate. Blank cells mean the institution has not reported that figure to the federal collections — not that the value is zero.
How this list was built
This page lists colleges CampusPin holds for Alabama, sorted by published in-state tuition, lowest first. That sort is the only ranking applied — there is no CampusPin score, no editorial ordering, and no “#1 cheapest” claim.
Published tuition is the sticker price for instruction. Total cost of attendance adds housing, food, books, and fees. Average net price is what students actually paid on average after grant and scholarship aid, reported to federal collections for a prior entering class. Net price is an average across a whole cohort and varies substantially by family income, so treat it as a comparison tool between colleges rather than a prediction of your own bill.
Figures come from the institution’s federal reporting (58 of 58 Alabama institutions report in-state tuition). Always confirm current costs with the college’s financial aid office before making a decision.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest college in Alabama?
- Of the 40 Alabama colleges on this page, Gadsden State Community College in Gadsden reports the lowest published in-state tuition at $4,272 per year. That is the sticker price before aid and before housing and food; the college's net price after grants may rank differently.
- Is tuition the same as the total cost of college?
- No. Published tuition covers instruction only. Total cost of attendance adds housing, food, books, transportation, and fees. Net price is what students actually paid on average after grant and scholarship aid was applied, and across the 38 Alabama colleges reporting it here the median is $9,300. Compare all three before deciding a college is or isn't affordable.
- Are public colleges cheaper than private colleges in Alabama?
- At sticker price, yes on this page: median published in-state tuition is $5,190 at the public colleges listed and $7,175 at the private ones. Private colleges typically discount more heavily through institutional grants, so the gap in net price is usually much smaller than the gap in tuition.
- Will I personally pay these amounts at a Alabama college?
- Almost certainly not exactly. Net price varies widely by family income, and the figures here are averages across a previous entering class reported to federal collections. Use them to compare colleges against each other, then run the numbers for your own situation with the net price estimator and confirm with each financial aid office.
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Data sources & methodology
Cost, aid, and outcome figures for Alabama colleges are compiled from federal datasets and each institution's own reporting.
Sources used across this page
Not every source informs every figure. Each data point draws on the source appropriate to it see the relevant section and the data dictionary for field-level provenance.
IPEDS / NCES College Navigator
Federal enrollment, admissions, tuition, retention, and program data. Released annually with a 1–2 year lag.
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard
Net price by income band, post-graduation earnings, and federal aid context.
Institutional websites
Each school's official admissions, registrar, and financial-aid pages are the authoritative source for current details.
Where a value is unavailable it is shown as unavailable, never as 0, free, or a negative judgment. Always confirm final details with the institution before applying.
Suggested citation
CampusPin. Affordable Colleges in Alabama. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/affordable-colleges/alabama