Most Affordable Community Colleges in Arkansas
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.
24 community colleges in Arkansas are listed here, 24 of them reporting a net price. They run from $4,385 a year at Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas to $25,454 at Baptist Health College Little Rock, with a middle of about $8,444.
The cheapest are Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas, Ozarka College and University of Arkansas Community College Rich Mountain. 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 Arkansas, cheapest first · 24
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.
- Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas
- Ozarka College
- University of Arkansas Community College Rich Mountain
- Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas
- Black River Technical College
- Arkansas Northeastern College
- Arkansas State University Mid-South
- NorthWest Arkansas Community College
- University of Arkansas-East Arkansas Community College
- South Arkansas College
- University of Arkansas Community College-Batesville
- Arkansas State University Three Rivers
- Arkansas State University-Newport
- University of Arkansas Community College-Morrilton
- Arkansas State University-Mountain Home
- Southern Arkansas University Tech
- University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana
- North Arkansas College
- Arkansas State University-Beebe
- National Park College
- Shorter College
- University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College
- Southeast Arkansas College
- Baptist Health College Little Rock
Questions families ask
- What is the most affordable community college in Arkansas?
- By average net price — what students actually pay per year after grants and scholarships — it is Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas at about $4,385 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 Arkansas cost on average?
- Across the 24 community colleges in Arkansas that report a figure, the middle of the range is about $8,444 a year after aid, running from $4,385 to $25,454.
- 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 14% to 79%, with a middle of about 40%. 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