Most Affordable Community Colleges in Massachusetts
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.
17 community colleges in Massachusetts are listed here, 17 of them reporting a net price. They run from $2,624 a year at Middlesex Community College to $17,126 at Quincy College, with a middle of about $7,931.
The cheapest are Middlesex Community College, Bristol Community College and Springfield Technical 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 Massachusetts, cheapest first · 17
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.
- Middlesex Community College
- Bristol Community College
- Springfield Technical Community College
- Northern Essex Community College
- Urban College of Boston
- Massachusetts Bay Community College
- Greenfield Community College
- Bunker Hill Community College
- Mount Wachusett Community College
- Holyoke Community College
- Cape Cod Community College
- Massasoit Community College
- North Shore Community College
- Quinsigamond Community College
- Berkshire Community College
- Roxbury Community College
- Quincy College
← All colleges in Massachusetts
Questions families ask
- What is the most affordable community college in Massachusetts?
- By average net price — what students actually pay per year after grants and scholarships — it is Middlesex Community College at about $2,624 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 Massachusetts cost on average?
- Across the 17 community colleges in Massachusetts that report a figure, the middle of the range is about $7,931 a year after aid, running from $2,624 to $17,126.
- 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 20% to 57%, 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