Most Affordable Public Universities in New York
State-run four-year universities, ranked by net price after aid. In-state students usually pay far less than the published out-of-state rate.
40 public universities in New York are listed here, 39 of them reporting a net price. They run from $2,984 a year at CUNY Hunter College to $22,367 at SUNY Maritime College, with a middle of about $15,268.
The cheapest are CUNY Hunter College, CUNY Bernard M Baruch College and CUNY Brooklyn College. A low average is not a low bill for everyone — aid depends on your family's income — but it is where to start.
Public universities in New York, cheapest first · 40
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.
- CUNY Hunter College
- CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
- CUNY Brooklyn College
- CUNY Lehman College
- CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
- CUNY City College
- CUNY Queens College
- CUNY York College
- CUNY New York City College of Technology
- College of Staten Island CUNY
- CUNY Medgar Evers College
- United States Merchant Marine Academy
- Farmingdale State College
- SUNY Old Westbury
- SUNY Buffalo State University
- Empire State University
- SUNY College at Potsdam
- SUNY Polytechnic Institute
- SUNY College of Technology at Alfred
- SUNY College of Technology at Canton
- SUNY at Fredonia
- SUNY Morrisville
- State University of New York at Oswego
- SUNY Brockport
- State University of New York at Plattsburgh
- University at Albany
- SUNY College of Technology at Delhi
- SUNY College at Geneseo
- 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
- Fashion Institute of Technology
- SUNY Oneonta
- University at Buffalo
- Binghamton University
- State University of New York at Cortland
- SUNY Maritime College
- CUNY Graduate School and University Center
Questions families ask
- What is the most affordable public university in New York?
- By average net price — what students actually pay per year after grants and scholarships — it is CUNY Hunter College at about $2,984 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 public universities in New York cost on average?
- Across the 39 public universities in New York that report a figure, the middle of the range is about $15,268 a year after aid, running from $2,984 to $22,367.
- 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 public universities listed here it runs from 8% to 61%, 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