By Jaclyn DeJohn, CFP® for SmartAsset
Associate degrees offer students flexibility to achieve different educational and vocational goals. They usually take half the time of a bachelor’s degree and could help you meet the academic requirements for many entry positions into a career. Community colleges that offer associate’s degrees are often a more affordable option for students. However, education can still be a hefty cost at any level, so it’s important to choose a school and degree program that will help you attain the knowledge and skills needed to advance your career.
With this in mind, SmartAsset compared 616 two-year schools that offer associate degrees – and have at least 500 full-time enrollees – based on their retention rates, student-to-faculty ratio, and tuition and fees to determine the best community colleges in the U.S.
Associate degrees offer students flexibility to achieve different educational and vocational goals. They usually take half the time of a bachelor’s degree and could help you meet the academic requirements for many entry positions into a career. Community colleges that offer associate’s degrees are often a more affordable option for students. However, education can still be a hefty cost at any level, so it’s important to choose a school and degree program that will help you attain the knowledge and skills needed to advance your career.
With this in mind, SmartAsset compared 616 two-year schools that offer associate degrees – and have at least 500 full-time enrollees – based on their retention rates, student-to-faculty ratio, and tuition and fees to determine the best community colleges in the U.S.
Key Findings
- 65% of the top 20 community colleges are in North Carolina. North Carolina schools tend to have the best balance of retention, personal attention and affordability. Randolph Community College, based in Asheboro, was the number one community college in the state (second place overall), with Durham Technical Community College (third) and Wayne Community College (fourth).
- The best community college in the U.S. is located in Wisconsin. Gateway Technical College in Kenosha, WI, claimed the top spot out of 616 schools included in this study. It has a full-time retention rate of 81%, a student-faculty ratio of eight, and $4,766 in tuition and fees for in-state students.
- California has the most affordable community colleges. Despite its reputation for high costs in other categories, California schools occupy all of the top 50 least expensive schools. Each school of those 50 charges full-time, in-state students less than $1,500 annually for tuition and fees. Barstow Community College in Barstow, CA has the lowest tuition and fees at $1,104, but only holds the record by a few dollars.
- These southern schools have the highest retention rates. City College in Gainesville, FL reported a 100% retention rate for first-year students moving into their second year during the 2022-2023 school year. Emory University-Oxford College in Oxford, GA had a 95% retention rate, and the State Technical College of Missouri had the third-highest retention rate studywide.
- There is a faculty member for every four students at this community college. Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, PA has the lowest student-faculty ratio studywide. The median student-faculty ratio across 616 community colleges was 17, while the maximum was 39.
SmartAsset’s Top 50 Community Colleges in the Nation
| Rank | School | Location | Retention Rate | Student to Faculty Ratio | Tuition and Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gateway Technical College | Kenosha, WI | 81% | 8 | $4,766.00 |
| 2 | Randolph Community College | Asheboro, NC | 76% | 9 | $2,416.00 |
| 3 | Durham Technical Community College | Durham, NC | 66% | 6 | $2,229.00 |
| 4 | Wayne Community College | Goldsboro, NC | 80% | 12 | $2,524.00 |
| 5 | Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas | Helena, AR | 76% | 10 | $3,500.00 |
| 6 | Edgecombe Community College | Tarboro, NC | 74% | 10 | $2,640.00 |
| 7 | Wilkes Community College | Wilkesboro, NC | 66% | 7 | $2,572.00 |
| 8 | North Central Kansas Technical College | Beloit, KS | 83% | 10 | $8,492.00 |
| 9 | Carteret Community College | Morehead City, NC | 71% | 10 | $2,610.00 |
| 10 | Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College | Minden, LA | 78% | 12 | $4,109.00 |
| 11 | James Sprunt Community College | Kenansville, NC | 75% | 12 | $2,570.00 |
| 12 | Southeastern Community College | Whiteville, NC | 67% | 9 | $2,600.00 |
| 13 | Sandhills Community College | Pinehurst, NC | 74% | 12 | $2,764.00 |
| 14 | Lee College | Baytown, TX | 78% | 13 | $3,882.00 |
| 15 | Arkansas State University Mid-South | West Memphis, AR | 72% | 11 | $3,346.00 |
| 15 | McDowell Technical Community College | Marion, NC | 59% | 7 | $1,958.00 |
| 17 | Isothermal Community College | Spindale, NC | 69% | 11 | $2,030.00 |
| 18 | Beaufort County Community College | Washington, NC | 67% | 10 | $2,518.00 |
| 19 | Mid-Plains Community College | North Platte, NE | 71% | 11 | $3,480.00 |
| 20 | Wilson Community College | Wilson, NC | 62% | 8 | $2,920.00 |
| 21 | Gaston College | Dallas, NC | 75% | 13 | $3,186.00 |
| 22 | Catawba Valley Community College | Hickory, NC | 63% | 9 | $2,367.00 |
| 23 | Stanly Community College | Albemarle, NC | 66% | 10 | $2,794.00 |
| 23 | Mitchell Technical College | Mitchell, SD | 81% | 13 | $7,524.00 |
| 25 | Central Carolina Community College | Sanford, NC | 70% | 12 | $2,554.00 |
| 26 | Kauai Community College | Lihue, HI | 68% | 11 | $3,252.00 |
| 27 | Western Piedmont Community College | Morganton, NC | 67% | 11 | $2,641.00 |
| 28 | Lake Michigan College | Benton Harbor, MI | 79% | 13 | $7,148.00 |
| 29 | Tri-County Community College | Murphy, NC | 63% | 10 | $2,363.00 |
| 30 | Paradise Valley Community College | Phoenix, AZ | 65% | 11 | $2,070.00 |
| 31 | Sampson Community College | Clinton, NC | 59% | 8 | $3,163.00 |
| 32 | City College-Gainesville | Gainesville, FL | 100% | 15 | $18,240.00 |
| 33 | Brunswick Community College | Bolivia, NC | 67% | 12 | $2,532.00 |
| 34 | Richmond Community College | Hamlet, NC | 67% | 12 | $2,536.00 |
| 35 | Forsyth Technical Community College | Winston-Salem, NC | 63% | 11 | $2,152.00 |
| 36 | Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute | Hudson, NC | 71% | 14 | $2,537.00 |
| 37 | Cabrillo College | Aptos, CA | 74% | 16 | $1,262.00 |
| 38 | Southeast Community College Area | Lincoln, NE | 64% | 11 | $3,276.00 |
| 39 | Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology | Lancaster, PA | 85% | 16 | $8,450.00 |
| 40 | University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana | Hope, AR | 67% | 12 | $3,580.00 |
| 41 | Casper College | Casper, WY | 72% | 14 | $3,528.00 |
| 42 | Kellogg Community College | Battle Creek, MI | 62% | 8 | $7,013.00 |
| 43 | Bladen Community College | Dublin, NC | 57% | 9 | $2,254.00 |
| 44 | Coastal Carolina Community College | Jacksonville, NC | 70% | 14 | $2,462.00 |
| 45 | State Technical College of Missouri | Linn, MO | 88% | 18 | $7,440.00 |
| 46 | Haywood Community College | Clyde, NC | 52% | 7 | $2,580.00 |
| 47 | Western Dakota Technical College | Rapid City, SD | 66% | 9 | $8,333.00 |
| 48 | Blue Ridge Community College | Flat Rock, NC | 69% | 14 | $2,648.00 |
| 49 | Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas | De Queen, AR | 79% | 17 | $4,100.00 |
| 50 | Greenfield Community College | Greenfield, MA | 66% | 11 | $5,642.00 |
For more information, including SmartAsset’s complete rankings of all 615 community colleges, click here.
The preceding article originally appeared on August 28, 2024 at SmartAsset’s website and is made available here for educational purposes only. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 106A-117 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Photo above: Randolph Community College Continuing Education & Industrial Center
