Affordable Colleges in New York
All 192 colleges in New York, ordered by average net price — what students actually pay per year after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price on the brochure.
The most affordable is Talmudical Seminary of Bobov at about $2,840 a year; the costliest here is The New School at $58,741. A typical New York school on this list lands near $18,701.
Cheapest first, that means Talmudical Seminary of Bobov, CUNY Hunter College and CUNY Bernard M Baruch College. A low average is not a low bill for everyone — aid depends on your family's income — but it is the right place to start looking.
Narrow it down
- Most Affordable Community Colleges in New York46 community colleges · from $4,458/yr
- Most Affordable Public Universities in New York40 public universities · from $2,984/yr
- Affordable Private Colleges in New York98 private colleges · from $2,840/yr
Every college in New York, cheapest first · 192
Ranked by average net price per year after grants and scholarships — the figure beside each name, with the share of students on federal Pell grants where the school reports it. Schools that report no net price are listed last.
- Talmudical Seminary of Bobov
- CUNY Hunter College
- CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
- CUNY Brooklyn College
- CUNY Lehman College
- CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
- CUNY City College
- Kehilath Yakov Rabbinical Seminary
- Uta Mesivta of Kiryas Joel
- CUNY Queens College
- CUNY York College
- CUNY Queensborough Community College
- CUNY Bronx Community College
- Be'er Yaakov Talmudic Seminary
- Rabbinical Seminary of America
- Mesivta Torah Vodaath Rabbinical Seminary
- CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College
- Ulster County Community College
- CUNY New York City College of Technology
- Suffolk County Community College
- CUNY Hostos Community College
- College of Staten Island CUNY
- CUNY Kingsborough Community College
- Yeshiva Gedolah Imrei Yosef D'spinka
- CUNY Medgar Evers College
- CUNY LaGuardia Community College
- United States Merchant Marine Academy
- Monroe Community College
- Columbia-Greene Community College
- United Talmudical Seminary
- Fulton-Montgomery Community College
- Orange County Community College
- Niagara County Community College
- Nassau Community College
- SUNY Corning Community College
- Erie Community College
- Genesee Community College
- Sullivan County Community College
- Hudson Valley Community College
- Onondaga Community College
- Cayuga County Community College
- Yeshivath Zichron Moshe
- SUNY Broome Community College
- Schenectady County Community College
- Mohawk Valley Community College
- Clinton Community College
- Rabbinical College Bobover Yeshiva Bnei Zion
- SUNY Westchester Community College
- Jamestown Community College
- Dutchess Community College
- SUNY Adirondack
- Talmudical Seminary Oholei Torah
- Farmingdale State College
- Yeshiva of Nitra Rabbinical College
- Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid
- Rockland Community College
- SUNY Old Westbury
- SUNY Buffalo State University
- Bryant & Stratton College-Greece
- Empire State University
- North Country Community College
- Jefferson Community College
- Bryant & Stratton College-Albany
- Tompkins Cortland Community College
- Maria College of Albany
- The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
- Beth Medrash Meor Yitzchok
- Herkimer County Community College
- Villa Maria College
- SUNY College at Potsdam
- Finger Lakes Community College
- Mercy University
- Bryant & Stratton College-Buffalo
- SUNY Polytechnic Institute
- Monroe University
- SUNY College of Technology at Alfred
- Ohel Margulia Seminary
- Bryant & Stratton College-Online
- Bryant & Stratton College-Syracuse North
- Boricua College
- SUNY College of Technology at Canton
- SUNY at Fredonia
- SUNY Morrisville
- State University of New York at Oswego
- The College of Westchester
- SUNY Brockport
- Trocaire College
- State University of New York at Plattsburgh
- University at Albany
- SUNY College of Technology at Delhi
- Niagara University
- Canisius University
- St. Francis College
- SUNY College at Geneseo
- Daemen University
- SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill
- Stony Brook University
- State University of New York at New Paltz
- SUNY at Purchase College
- SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
- St. Joseph's University-New York
- Fashion Institute of Technology
- Utica University
- SUNY Oneonta
- Plaza College
- St. Thomas Aquinas College
- D'Youville University
- Houghton University
- Manhattanville University
- University at Buffalo
- Central Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitz
- Columbia University in the City of New York
- Binghamton University
- University of Mount Saint Vincent
- Le Moyne College
- State University of New York at Cortland
- SUNY Maritime College
- Elmira College
- New York Institute of Technology
- Associated Beth Rivkah Schools
- Hilbert College
- American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Service
- Russell Sage College
- Five Towns College
- Roberts Wesleyan University
- Seminar L'moros Bais Yaakov
- Mildred Elley School-Albany Campus
- Keuka College
- Molloy University
- Mildred Elley-New York Campus
- Mount Saint Mary College
- Alfred University
- St Paul's School of Nursing-Queens
- Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science
- St Bonaventure University
- Manhattan University
- Wagner College
- St Lawrence University
- Cornell University
- Colgate University
- Barnard College
- Metropolitan College of New York
- St. John Fisher University
- Hamilton College
- Iona University
- University of Rochester
- Nazareth University
- Touro University
- Swedish Institute a College of Health Sciences
- Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
- St. John's University-New York
- Clarkson University
- Adelphi University
- Pace University
- Hartwick College
- Hobart William Smith Colleges
- Simon's Rock at Bard College
- Skidmore College
- Long Island University
- Siena University
- Ithaca College
- Berkeley College-New York
- Hofstra University
- Union College
- Bard College
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- Mandl School-The College of Allied Health
- St Paul's School of Nursing-Staten Island
- Culinary Institute of America
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Marymount Manhattan College
- New York University
- LIM College
- Syracuse University
- Vassar College
- Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology
- American Musical and Dramatic Academy
- Sarah Lawrence College
- Marist University
- Dominican University New York
- The Juilliard School
- Fordham University
- New York School of Interior Design
- Helene Fuld College of Nursing
- Yeshiva University
- Manhattan School of Music
- Pratt Institute-Main
- Pacific College of Health and Science
- School of Visual Arts
- The New School
- CUNY Graduate School and University Center
- St. Joseph's College of Nursing
Questions families ask
- What is the most affordable college in New York?
- By average net price — what students actually pay per year after grants and scholarships — it is Talmudical Seminary of Bobov at about $2,840 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 does college in New York cost on average?
- Across the 190 colleges in New York that report a figure, the middle of the range is about $18,701 a year after aid, running from $2,840 to $58,741.
- Are community colleges cheaper in New York?
- On this data, yes. The typical two-year college in New York has a net price around $8,947 a year, against about $20,991 at the typical four-year school — a difference of roughly $12,044 a year. Credits often transfer, so two years at a community college can cut the cost of a four-year degree substantially.
- 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 colleges listed here it runs from 8% to 97%, with a middle of about 36%. 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.
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