Access
Community College Access & Affordability by State
Community colleges are 1,250 of the 3,798 U.S. institutions in CampusPin's dataset (32.9%) and the most affordable on-ramp to higher education, with median published public two-year tuition of $4,288 in-state, but availability ranges from 3.3% to 61.8% of a state's institutions.
By CampusPin Research · Published June 15, 2026
Executive summary
Community colleges, public and private two-year institutions, are the most affordable entry point to U.S. higher education. Across the 3,798 colleges in CampusPin's dataset, 1,250 (32.9%) are community colleges. This report measures how community-college availability and published cost vary across 50 states and Washington, D.C., 51 jurisdictions, joining institution counts with median published tuition from CampusPin's snapshots extracted on 2026-06-14.
Nationally, the median published in-state tuition at a PUBLIC community college is $4,288 (809 institutions reporting), less than half the $8,994 median at public universities and a fraction of the $23,664 median at private universities. That gap is the core of the community-college value proposition: a low-cost first two years, often with transfer pathways to a four-year degree.
Availability is uneven. 50 of 51 jurisdictions have at least one community college in CampusPin's coverage; the largest systems by count are California (165), Texas (92), New York (68). As a share of a state's institutions, community colleges range from about 3.3% (Connecticut) to 61.8% (New Mexico). These are published prices before financial aid; net price is typically lower.
Key findings
- 1Community colleges are 1,250 of 3,798 institutions nationally (32.9%). They are the most affordable sector by a wide margin: median published public two-year in-state tuition is $4,288, versus $8,994 at public universities and $23,664 at private universities.
- 2Availability varies widely by state. The largest community-college systems by count are California (165), Texas (92), New York (68). As a share of a state's institutions, community colleges range from 3.3% in Connecticut to 61.8% in New Mexico.
- 3Among the 41 states meeting the minimum sample size, median published in-state public community-college tuition ranges from $1,288 (California) to $7,587 (South Dakota). Lower tuition is not a measure of quality.
- 4One jurisdiction has no community college in CampusPin's current coverage (Delaware). This reflects coverage and classification, not necessarily the absence of any two-year option, verify directly with the state system.
- Public community college4,288
- Public university (in-state)8,994
- Private university23,664
Community-college availability and published affordability across 50 states and Washington, D.C., 51 jurisdictions: the number of community colleges (two-year institutions), total institutions, community-college share of all institutions, and median published in-state tuition at public community colleges (USD). Public community-college tuition cells below 3 reporting institutions are blank. Snapshots extracted 2026-06-14; underlying source years may vary.
| State code | State | Community colleges (n) | All institutions (n) | Community-college share (%) | Public community college median in-state (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AK | Alaska | 2 | 9 | 22.2 | |
| AL | Alabama | 25 | 58 | 43.1 | 5040 |
| AR | Arkansas | 25 | 53 | 47.2 | 3516 |
| AZ | Arizona | 34 | 67 | 50.7 | 2358 |
| CA | California | 165 | 420 | 39.3 | 1288 |
| CO | Colorado | 20 | 58 | 34.5 | 4420 |
| CT | Connecticut | 1 | 30 | 3.3 | |
| DC | District of Columbia | 2 | 18 | 11.1 | |
| DE | Delaware | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| FL | Florida | 46 | 163 | 28.2 | |
| GA | Georgia | 39 | 106 | 36.8 | 3172 |
| HI | Hawaii | 7 | 17 | 41.2 | 3209 |
| IA | Iowa | 17 | 54 | 31.5 | 5678 |
| ID | Idaho | 4 | 16 | 25 | 3390 |
| IL | Illinois | 59 | 150 | 39.3 | 4385 |
| IN | Indiana | 9 | 68 | 13.2 | |
| KS | Kansas | 27 | 60 | 45 | 4046 |
| KY | Kentucky | 20 | 58 | 34.5 | 4656 |
| LA | Louisiana | 24 | 57 | 42.1 | 4220 |
| MA | Massachusetts | 18 | 105 | 17.1 | 5688 |
| MD | Maryland | 18 | 52 | 34.6 | 4104 |
| ME | Maine | 8 | 29 | 27.6 | 3864 |
| MI | Michigan | 26 | 85 | 30.6 | 4566 |
| MN | Minnesota | 29 | 79 | 36.7 | 6178 |
| MO | Missouri | 20 | 91 | 22 | 4342 |
| MS | Mississippi | 16 | 34 | 47.1 | 3865 |
| MT | Montana | 10 | 24 | 41.7 | 3975 |
| NC | North Carolina | 64 | 134 | 47.8 | 2545 |
| ND | North Dakota | 5 | 20 | 25 | 5347 |
| NE | Nebraska | 11 | 33 | 33.3 | 3600 |
| NH | New Hampshire | 8 | 24 | 33.3 | 7090 |
| NJ | New Jersey | 27 | 85 | 31.8 | 5082 |
| NM | New Mexico | 21 | 34 | 61.8 | 2004 |
| NV | Nevada | 5 | 19 | 26.3 | |
| NY | New York | 68 | 290 | 23.4 | 6077 |
| OH | Ohio | 41 | 156 | 26.3 | 5136 |
| OK | Oklahoma | 20 | 51 | 39.2 | 5032 |
| OR | Oregon | 19 | 48 | 39.6 | 5544 |
| PA | Pennsylvania | 62 | 204 | 30.4 | 6270 |
| RI | Rhode Island | 1 | 14 | 7.1 | |
| SC | South Carolina | 23 | 63 | 36.5 | 5046 |
| SD | South Dakota | 4 | 20 | 20 | 7587 |
| TN | Tennessee | 26 | 79 | 32.9 | 4540 |
| TX | Texas | 92 | 234 | 39.3 | 2933 |
| UT | Utah | 2 | 23 | 8.7 | |
| VA | Virginia | 35 | 102 | 34.3 | 4938 |
| VT | Vermont | 1 | 13 | 7.7 | |
| WA | Washington | 10 | 73 | 13.7 | 4746 |
| WI | Wisconsin | 16 | 65 | 24.6 | 4724 |
| WV | West Virginia | 14 | 38 | 36.8 | 4818 |
| WY | Wyoming | 4 | 9 | 44.4 | 4410 |
Methodology
Sources: two read-only snapshots of CampusPin's public production API, https://api.campuspin.com/api/v1/institutions, extracted 2026-06-14. Availability (community-college and total institution counts) comes from the institution-distribution snapshot; affordability (median public community-college in-state tuition) comes from the tuition-by-state snapshot. CampusPin's roster is itself compiled from federal sources (IPEDS / NCES and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard) plus institutional websites.
"Community college" counts institutions CampusPin classifies as TYPE two-year. The affordability figure is for PUBLIC community colleges specifically (the affordable on-ramp); CampusPin's snapshots do not cross-tabulate control and type per state, so the count may include a small number of private two-year colleges while the tuition median is public-only. Both are labeled accordingly throughout.
Community-college share of a state = community colleges / all institutions in that state, in CampusPin's coverage. Counts are exact integers; a count of 0 is a real value (no two-year institution in coverage), never treated as missing.
Tuition metric: the MEDIAN published in-state tuition among PUBLIC community colleges in a state, published only when at least 3 such institutions report tuition; smaller cells are left blank rather than report a misleading median. A tuition value of 0 is a known upstream missing sentinel and is excluded, never counted as $0.
Both committed snapshots carry SHA-256 checksums (dataset version 1.0.0); scripts/build-institution-distribution.mjs --validate and scripts/build-tuition-by-state.mjs --validate re-derive every figure to confirm reproducibility. No records were unresolved.
Limitations
- Published (sticker) tuition only, NOT net price. After grants and scholarships most students pay less; see each school’s profile for net price by family income.
- Tuition excludes fees, housing, books, and living costs; it is not the full cost of attendance.
- Reflects institutions in CampusPin's coverage, not the full federal IPEDS universe; a count of 0 community colleges in a state means none in coverage, not necessarily none in existence.
- Community-college COUNTS are by institution type (two-year) and may include a small number of private two-year colleges; the TUITION median is for public community colleges only, because the snapshots do not cross-tabulate control and type per state.
- Community-college share depends on how many other institutions a state has; a high share can reflect few universities rather than many community colleges.
- Medians and shares are descriptive, not a ranking; lower tuition or a higher share does not imply higher quality, value, or access in practice (which also depends on location, capacity, and transfer agreements).
- Underlying source years may vary by institution; figures are a point-in-time snapshot, not a single official reporting year.
For journalists
Community colleges make up 1,250 of the 3,798 U.S. colleges in CampusPin's dataset (32.9%) and are the most affordable on-ramp, with median published in-state tuition of $4,288 at public two-year colleges, versus $8,994 at public universities. Availability ranges from 3.3% of institutions in Connecticut to 61.8% in New Mexico. Figures are reproducible from checksum-verified snapshots extracted 2026-06-14 and cover 50 states and Washington, D.C., 51 jurisdictions. These are published prices before aid.
Cite as CampusPin Research and link to this report or its CSV. The dataset is free to use with attribution; the methodology and a downloadable CSV are on this page. Counts are by institution type (two-year); the tuition figure is for public community colleges. Figures are published tuition, not net price.
Sources, methodology & citation
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.
CampusPin institution dataset (public API)
CampusPin's curated roster of U.S. institutions, classified by state, control, and type, with published tuition. Itself compiled from the federal sources below.
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.
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. (2026). Community College Access & Affordability by State. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/research/community-college-access-by-state