Cheapest colleges for families earning $75,000–$110,000
Four-year colleges ranked by what aided families earning $75,001 to $110,000 pay after grants, counting only those where at least half of students graduate.
Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition · Source: College Scorecard and IPEDS, latest data · 896 colleges · Last updated November 15, 2026 · Next check November 16, 2026
Ranked first
$4,495
California State University-Los Angeles (California), net price for families earning $75,001–$110,000.
College Scorecard, latest data
Key findings
- Median qualifying college
- $21,547
- Net price for families earning $75,001–$110,000.
- Colleges that qualify
- 896
- The top 50 are listed below.
- States
- 50
- 311 public and 585 private nonprofit colleges.
896 four-year colleges in 50 states meet every criterion on this page.
California State University-Los Angeles (California) ranks first, with a net price of $4,495 for families earning $75,001-$110,000.
The median qualifying college has a net price of $21,547 for families earning $75,001-$110,000.
311 qualifying colleges are public and 585 private nonprofit.
College by college
The ranking
Ranked by net price for families earning $75,001–$110,000, lowest first. Select a column heading to sort.
| California State University-Los AngelesCalifornia · Public | 1 | $4,495 | $2,385 | 55% | $62,555 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chipola CollegeFlorida · Public | 2 | $4,642 | $1,458 | 59% | $42,998 |
| Princeton UniversityNew Jersey · Private nonprofit | 3 | $4,761 | $7,815 | 97% | $133,523 |
| Shepherd UniversityWest Virginia · Public | 4 | $4,894 | $7,940 | 50% | $54,833 |
| South Florida State CollegeFlorida · Public | 5 | $5,035 | $1,502 | 52% | $41,548 |
| California State University-StanislausCalifornia · Public | 6 | $5,260 | $3,565 | 52% | $65,560 |
| Williams CollegeMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | 7 | $5,280 | $15,157 | 95% | $95,954 |
| University of Florida-OnlineFlorida · Public | 8 | $5,718 | $4,336 | 83% | $78,456 |
| CUNY Bernard M Baruch CollegeNew York · Public | 9 | $6,088 | $657 | 70% | $83,742 |
| California State University-San BernardinoCalifornia · Public | 10 | $6,196 | $3,946 | 53% | $61,951 |
| CUNY Hunter CollegeNew York · Public | 11 | $6,567 | $1,051 | 59% | $70,502 |
| Stanford UniversityCalifornia · Private nonprofit | 12 | $6,603 | $12,307 | 92% | $125,340 |
| CUNY Brooklyn CollegeNew York · Public | 13 | $6,786 | $950 | 53% | $66,519 |
| CUNY Queens CollegeNew York · Public | 14 | $6,891 | $1,272 | 53% | $68,324 |
| California State University-FullertonCalifornia · Public | 15 | $6,994 | $5,115 | 68% | $69,015 |
| CUNY City CollegeNew York · Public | 16 | $7,139 | $1,557 | 50% | $69,594 |
| The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyTexas · Public | 17 | $7,274 | $4,858 | 55% | $52,947 |
| CUNY John Jay College of Criminal JusticeNew York · Public | 18 | $7,336 | $1,110 | 54% | $65,870 |
| Virginia Military InstituteVirginia · Public | 19 | $7,336 | $15,585 | 72% | $85,178 |
| The University of West FloridaFlorida · Public | 20 | $7,342 | $9,443 | 60% | $52,902 |
| University of ChicagoIllinois · Private nonprofit | 21 | $7,744 | $16,776 | 95% | $103,872 |
| Yale UniversityConnecticut · Private nonprofit | 22 | $7,828 | $11,340 | 96% | $118,356 |
| Brigham Young University-IdahoIdaho · Private nonprofit | 23 | $7,844 | $6,560 | 52% | $56,190 |
| California State University-FresnoCalifornia · Public | 24 | $7,866 | $5,418 | 58% | $62,756 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology MITMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | 25 | $8,020 | $14,815 | 96% | $152,553 |
| Berea CollegeKentucky · Private nonprofit | 26 | $8,610 | $5,836 | 66% | $48,071 |
| New Mexico State University-Main CampusNew Mexico · Public | 27 | $8,855 | $6,313 | 54% | $43,922 |
| Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew York · Private nonprofit | 28 | $8,881 | $15,370 | 95% | $109,430 |
| Marshall UniversityWest Virginia · Public | 29 | $8,915 | $7,341 | 53% | $49,444 |
| The University of Texas at El PasoTexas · Public | 30 | $9,704 | $6,803 | 51% | $54,599 |
| California State University-Northridge CSUNCalifornia · Public | 31 | $9,780 | $6,346 | 57% | $63,721 |
| Harvard UniversityMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | 32 | $9,995 | $19,148 | 97% | $121,957 |
| Portland State UniversityOregon · Public | 33 | $10,215 | $8,337 | 53% | $62,447 |
| University of FloridaFlorida · Public | 34 | $10,235 | $5,969 | 92% | $78,456 |
| New College of FloridaFlorida · Public | 35 | $10,420 | $8,222 | 62% | $53,164 |
| University of Michigan-DearbornMichigan · Public | 36 | $10,548 | $7,863 | 61% | $66,897 |
| Washington and Lee UniversityVirginia · Private nonprofit | 37 | $10,627 | $25,279 | 96% | $102,966 |
| Murray State University-KentuckyKentucky · Public | 38 | $10,672 | $7,350 | 60% | $48,482 |
| University of Washington-Tacoma CampusWashington · Public | 39 | $10,702 | $11,900 | 60% | $83,105 |
| Northern Kentucky UniversityKentucky · Public | 40 | $10,740 | $8,976 | 54% | $55,024 |
| Colby College-MaineMaine · Private nonprofit | 41 | $10,750 | $19,835 | 87% | $88,776 |
| California State University-Channel IslandsCalifornia · Public | 42 | $10,785 | $8,534 | 55% | $66,328 |
| Saint Xavier UniversityIllinois · Private nonprofit | 43 | $10,942 | $10,171 | 55% | $64,661 |
| University of Illinois at SpringfieldIllinois · Public | 44 | $10,947 | $7,528 | 53% | $64,479 |
| Saint Peter's UniversityNew Jersey · Private nonprofit | 45 | $10,963 | $8,127 | 55% | $63,525 |
| University of Minnesota-MorrisMinnesota · Public | 46 | $11,022 | $10,989 | 58% | $55,010 |
| California State Polytechnic University-PomonaCalifornia · Public | 47 | $11,214 | $9,404 | 68% | $77,464 |
| Vanderbilt UniversityTennessee · Private nonprofit | 48 | $11,284 | $15,497 | 93% | $99,080 |
| University of Washington-Bothell CampusWashington · Public | 49 | $11,354 | $13,802 | 68% | $83,105 |
| Florida State University-Main CampusFlorida · Public | 50 | $11,367 | $8,605 | 86% | $68,225 |
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Use this for your family
These are medians. Your price and payback depend on your income, your state and the college, so run the numbers for the colleges on your list.
Methodology
- Colleges counted
- Every college published on CollegesRef that is public or private nonprofit, in a four-year Carnegie class (doctoral, master's or baccalaureate), in the 50 states or D.C., with at least 500 undergraduates and both figures reported in the College Scorecard.
- Criteria
- This list keeps four-year colleges that graduate at least 50% of students and report a net price of at least $2,000 a year for this income bracket, then ranks them by net price for families earning $75,001–$110,000. Closed colleges are left out.
3 more notes: exclusions, definitions, what it leaves out
- Exclusions
- For-profit colleges, two-year colleges, special-focus institutions, colleges with fewer undergraduates than the minimum, U.S. territories and colleges missing either figure are left out. Earnings figures without a federal reporting year are excluded.
- Definitions
- Median earnings are former students' earnings ten years after entry (College Scorecard MD_EARN_WNE_P10). Average net price is cost of attendance minus average grants for aided first-time, full-time students (NPT4). Median debt is federal loan debt at graduation (GRAD_DEBT_MDN). Graduation rate is the IPEDS rate reported in the Scorecard.
- What it leaves out
- A ranking on federal figures says nothing about teaching, fit or programs. Earnings are before tax and not specific to a major; prices are averages, so your family's price depends on its income and the college's aid.
Read the CollegesRef methodology for how college data is checked, or browse all data stories.
Sources
- Data
- U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports these figures from the IPEDS surveys and federal student aid records; Carnegie classes from IPEDS.
- Edition
- 2026–27, data verified Nov 2026
- Source data
- Latest College Scorecard release
- Last updated
- November 15, 2026
- Next check
- November 16, 2026. The figures are recomputed weekly and change only when the federal data does.
- License
- Federal data is a U.S. government work in the public domain. CollegesRef's tables, charts and CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page.
- Downloads
- CSVMarkdown (for AI tools)
Frequently asked questions
Short answers about how the numbers work.
How is this list ranked?
CollegesRef keeps four-year colleges that graduate at least 50% of students and report a net price of at least $2,000 a year for this income bracket, and ranks them by net price for families earning $75,001–$110,000, lowest first. 896 colleges qualify; the top 50 are shown and the CSV holds the same rows.
Which college ranks first?
California State University-Los Angeles (California, public), with net price for families earning $75,001–$110,000 of $4,495. The median qualifying college reports $21,547.
Where does the data come from?
The U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (latest data), which reports IPEDS cost and graduation figures and federal earnings and debt records. CollegesRef recomputes the list weekly from the latest snapshot.
How to cite
Credit CollegesRef and link to this story; the CSV above carries every figure on this page. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a visible link to this page. Questions go to Data and press.
Related guides and tools
Step-by-step explanations of the figures, written from the same federal data.