Most Affordable Community Colleges in Alabama
Two-year colleges, ranked by what students actually pay after aid. These are usually the cheapest route to the first two years of a degree, and credits often transfer to a four-year school.
25 community colleges in Alabama are listed here, 25 of them reporting a net price. They run from $1,170 a year at George C Wallace Community College-Dothan to $26,120 at Remington College-Mobile Campus, with a middle of about $6,275.
The cheapest are George C Wallace Community College-Dothan, Reid State Technical College and Northeast Alabama Community College. A low average is not a low bill for everyone — aid depends on your family's income — but it is where to start.
Community colleges in Alabama, cheapest first · 25
Average net price per year after grants and scholarships, with the share of students on federal Pell grants where reported. Schools publishing no net price are listed last.
- George C Wallace Community College-Dothan
- Reid State Technical College
- Northeast Alabama Community College
- Lurleen B Wallace Community College
- Northwest Shoals Community College
- Snead State Community College
- Gadsden State Community College
- Chattahoochee Valley Community College
- Bishop State Community College
- Bevill State Community College
- J. F. Drake State Community and Technical College
- Southern Union State Community College
- Lawson State Community College
- John C Calhoun State Community College
- H Councill Trenholm State Community College
- Marion Military Institute
- Jefferson State Community College
- George C Wallace State Community College-Selma
- Enterprise State Community College
- George C Wallace State Community College-Hanceville
- Coastal Alabama Community College
- Shelton State Community College
- Central Alabama Community College
- Fortis Institute-Birmingham
- Remington College-Mobile Campus
Questions families ask
- What is the most affordable community college in Alabama?
- By average net price — what students actually pay per year after grants and scholarships — it is George C Wallace Community College-Dothan at about $1,170 a year. That is an average across all students there; your own cost depends on your family's income, so check the school's net price calculator.
- What is the difference between sticker price and net price?
- Sticker price is the published tuition before any aid. Net price is what students actually pay after grants and scholarships are subtracted — not loans, which you pay back. Net price is usually far lower, and at expensive private colleges the gap can be tens of thousands a year, which is why every figure on this page is net price rather than tuition.
- How much do community colleges in Alabama cost on average?
- Across the 25 community colleges in Alabama that report a figure, the middle of the range is about $6,275 a year after aid, running from $1,170 to $26,120.
- What does the Pell grant percentage mean?
- It is the share of undergraduates at that school receiving a federal Pell grant — need-based aid that does not have to be repaid. A higher share usually means the school enrols more students from lower-income families. Across the community colleges listed here it runs from 27% to 81%, with a middle of about 38%. It is the only aid figure the Department of Education publishes per school, so it is the only one shown.
Which of these actually fits you?
A list is a starting point, not an answer. Two minutes of questions gives you a shortlist ranked on cost, academics, size and location — with the reaches labelled honestly.
Find your match — free