Dr. Elizabeth Meza
Students pursuing bachelor's degrees at community colleges pay substantially less than their counterparts at four-year universities, but the affordability of these programs depends heavily on where students live, according to a new study from the University of Washington.
The research, which analyzed Community College Baccalaureate (CCB) programs across 15 states, found that CCB students pay an average annual net price of $8,195 compared to $14,190 at public universities, a difference of nearly $6,000 per year. Average tuition and fees for CCB programs were $5,417 annually versus $10,022 at public four-year institutions.
"CCB degrees represent a promising policy lever for addressing the college affordability crisis," said Dr. Elizabeth Meza, the study's author and a senior research scientist at the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Policy & Governance.
The findings come as college affordability remains a critical barrier to higher education access, with recent surveys showing 56% of U.S. adults cite cost as a major reason for not attending college.
The study revealed striking differences in costs across states. Texas offered the lowest CCB tuition at just $2,957 annually, while Michigan had the highest at $10,630—a difference of more than $7,600 per year.
In California, Florida, and Texas—three states that together confer 84% of all CCB degrees—annual tuition remained under $3,500. These three states, along with Washington, accounted for over 11,000 of the 15,297 CCB graduates nationwide in 2021-22.
