Cost comparison
Affordable colleges in Texas
CampusPin lists 234 colleges in Texas. The 40 below are ordered by lowest published in-state tuition, with a median of $2,728 and a median average net price of $5,768 among those reporting it. Tuition, total cost, and net price are three different numbers — the table keeps them separate.
Texas college costs by the numbers
- Lowest published in-state tuition
- Lamar State College-Port Arthur ($1,770)
- Median in-state tuition (40 reporting)
- $2,728
- Median net price after aid (40 reporting)
- $5,768
- Highest graduation rate
- Brazosport College (56%)
- Most selective
- Lamar State College-Port Arthur (100% acceptance)
- Largest by enrollment
- Lone Star College System (73,077 students)
Texas 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamar State College-Port Arthur | $1,770 | $8,070 | $4,887 | 45% | Open admission | Public | Port Arthur, TX |
| Tarrant County College District | $1,863 | $8,370 | $4,337 | 34% | Open admission | Public | Fort Worth, TX |
| Alvin Community College | $1,906 | $4,402 | $4,233 | 24% | Open admission | Public | Alvin, TX |
| Collin County Community College District | $2,014 | $6,064 | $8,969 | 20% | Open admission | Public | McKinney, TX |
| Houston Community College | $2,040 | $5,460 | $5,737 | 17% | Open admission | Public | Houston, TX |
| Amarillo College | $2,136 | $4,704 | $4,600 | 32% | Open admission | Public | Amarillo, TX |
| Kilgore College | $2,160 | $5,256 | $5,364 | 39% | Open admission | Public | Kilgore, TX |
| College of the Mainland | $2,310 | $4,140 | $1,342 | 31% | Open admission | Public | Texas City, TX |
| Panola College | $2,352 | $5,232 | $5,216 | 43% | Open admission | Public | Carthage, TX |
| Brazosport College | $2,388 | $4,711 | $3,022 | 56% | Open admission | Public | Lake Jackson, TX |
| Tyler Junior College | $2,400 | $4,512 | $10,206 | 27% | Open admission | Public | Tyler, TX |
| Texarkana College | $2,476 | $5,332 | $8,812 | 47% | Open admission | Public | Texarkana, TX |
| San Jacinto Community College | $2,490 | $6,690 | $7,540 | 30% | Open admission | Public | Pasadena, TX |
| Lee College | $2,520 | $5,190 | $6,879 | 53% | Open admission | Public | Baytown, TX |
| Austin Community College District | $2,550 | $10,590 | $6,390 | 20% | Open admission | Public | Austin, TX |
| Trinity Valley Community College | $2,640 | $5,970 | $4,092 | 27% | Open admission | Public | Athens, TX |
| Southwest Texas Junior College | $2,646 | $6,294 | $7,372 | 31% | Open admission | Public | Uvalde, TX |
| Odessa College | $2,688 | $4,926 | $6,368 | 37% | Open admission | Public | Odessa, TX |
| Paris Junior College | $2,700 | $5,700 | $7,690 | 38% | Open admission | Public | Paris, TX |
| Galveston College | $2,726 | $6,176 | $8,412 | 33% | Open admission | Public | Galveston, TX |
| Dallas College | $2,730 | $6,900 | $3,214 | 32% | Open admission | Public | Dallas, TX |
| South Plains College | $2,731 | $5,155 | $6,791 | 29% | Open admission | Public | Levelland, TX |
| Howard College | $2,766 | $6,716 | $6,147 | 35% | Open admission | Public | Big Spring, TX |
| Ranger College | $2,766 | $9,066 | $6,182 | 19% | Open admission | Public | Ranger, TX |
| Southwest College for the Deaf | $2,766 | $14,746 | $5,355 | 40% | Open admission | Public | Big Spring, TX |
| Lamar Institute of Technology | $2,844 | $12,924 | $8,167 | 31% | Open admission | Public | Beaumont, TX |
| Coastal Bend College | $2,916 | $5,226 | $4,237 | 25% | Open admission | Public | Beeville, TX |
| Victoria College | $2,976 | $5,328 | $3,043 | 29% | Open admission | Public | Victoria, TX |
| Northeast Texas Community College | $2,980 | $5,620 | $6,706 | 56% | Open admission | Public | Mount Pleasant, TX |
| Temple College | $3,000 | $7,224 | $6,934 | 32% | Open admission | Public | Temple, TX |
| Navarro College | $3,008 | $6,578 | $14,820 | 23% | Open admission | Public | Corsicana, TX |
| Grayson College | $3,052 | $6,352 | $5,880 | 40% | Open admission | Public | Denison, TX |
| Texas Southmost College | $3,148 | $4,948 | $5,458 | 30% | Open admission | Public | Brownsville, TX |
| Midland College | $3,180 | $6,180 | $4,512 | 23% | Open admission | Public | Midland, TX |
| Wharton County Junior College | $3,192 | $5,904 | $4,666 | 27% | Open admission | Public | Wharton, TX |
| Laredo College | $3,300 | $5,748 | $5,798 | 30% | Open admission | Public | Laredo, TX |
| Western Texas College | $3,300 | $6,150 | $3,562 | 53% | Open admission | Public | Snyder, TX |
| Lone Star College System | $3,330 | $9,390 | $11,252 | 21% | Open admission | Public | The Woodlands, TX |
| Northeast Lakeview College | $3,412 | $9,952 | $5,029 | 32% | Open admission | Public | Universal City, TX |
| Northwest Vista College | $3,412 | $9,952 | $4,525 | 32% | Open admission | Public | San Antonio, TX |
“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 Texas cost data shows
- Lamar State College-Port Arthur has the lowest published in-state tuition on this page at $1,770 per year. Published tuition is the sticker price and excludes housing, food, books, and fees.
- Median average net price is $5,768 across the 40 colleges here that report it. Net price includes housing and other costs, so it can exceed tuition alone.
How this list was built
This page lists colleges CampusPin holds for Texas, 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 (234 of 234 Texas 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 Texas?
- Of the 40 Texas colleges on this page, Lamar State College-Port Arthur in Port Arthur reports the lowest published in-state tuition at $1,770 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 40 Texas colleges reporting it here the median is $5,768. Compare all three before deciding a college is or isn't affordable.
- Will I personally pay these amounts at a Texas 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 Texas 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 Texas. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/affordable-colleges/texas