Affordable Private Colleges in Texas
Private nonprofit four-year colleges, ranked by net price after aid. Their sticker prices are the highest and their discounts are the deepest, so the published tuition tells you very little.
44 private colleges in Texas are listed here, 44 of them reporting a net price. They run from $672 a year at College of Biblical Studies-Houston to $41,104 at Baylor University, with a middle of about $22,778.
The cheapest are College of Biblical Studies-Houston, Wiley University and Jarvis Christian University. A low average is not a low bill for everyone — aid depends on your family's income — but it is where to start.
Private colleges in Texas, cheapest first · 44
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.
- College of Biblical Studies-Houston
- Wiley University
- Jarvis Christian University
- Texas College
- Hallmark University
- Paul Quinn College
- Rice University
- The King's University
- Our Lady of the Lake University
- North American University
- University of St Thomas
- Hardin-Simmons University
- McMurry University
- Huston-Tillotson University
- Wayland Baptist University
- Houston Christian University
- Austin College
- St. Mary's University
- Schreiner University
- Nelson University
- University of Dallas
- University of the Incarnate Word
- Southwestern Adventist University
- Dallas Christian College
- Concordia University Texas
- Trinity University
- Howard Payne University
- Abilene Christian University-Undergraduate Online
- East Texas Baptist University
- Texas Wesleyan University
- Lubbock Christian University
- Texas Lutheran University
- Arlington Baptist University
- Saint Edward's University
- University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
- Abilene Christian University
- LeTourneau University
- Dallas Baptist University
- Parker University
- Southwestern University
- Remington College-Dallas Campus
- Texas Christian University
- Southern Methodist University
- Baylor University
Questions families ask
- What is the most affordable private college in Texas?
- By average net price — what students actually pay per year after grants and scholarships — it is College of Biblical Studies-Houston at about $672 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 private colleges in Texas cost on average?
- Across the 44 private colleges in Texas that report a figure, the middle of the range is about $22,778 a year after aid, running from $672 to $41,104.
- 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 private colleges listed here it runs from 12% to 84%, with a middle of about 42%. 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