Cheapest Colleges in Georgia

If you’re searching for an affordable college education, you might want to consider attending college in Georgia. When looking at in-state tuition at public four-year schools, the Peach State came in as the 11th cheapest state, according to 2021 data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

In 2023, the Georgia Board of Regents voted not to raise tuition for almost all public colleges and universities in the state of Georgia. As the cost of college tuition has more than tripled since the 1960s, even a year’s pause on tuition hikes can spell big relief for student budgets.

Here’s a close look at the three cheapest colleges in Georgia based on the most recent NCES net price data. All schools are four-year nonprofit institutions.

We’ve created a complete list of the 10 most affordable four-year nonprofit universities in Georgia. You can use the table below to compare data on student population, average net cost, acceptance rate, and number of applicants.

The following school data comes from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Schools with fewer than 500 undergraduates were not included in this list.

The cost of college in Georgia ranges from as little as $3,000 per year on average for in-state students at public two-year schools to over $30,000 per year for tuition at private four-year schools.

You may be able to make college more affordable by applying for scholarships, grants, and other forms of financial aid.

Another reason Georgia is a great choice for college-goers looking to cut costs is its below-average cost of living. Georgia ranks in the bottom third of all states for its general cost of living, according to 2023 data from the Council for Community and Economic Research, and its housing is particularly affordable compared to national levels.

Georgia metro areas like Savannah and Augusta also fall below many other similarly sized metro areas in the Southeast region and nationally.

This low cost of living extends to college tuition, too. As of 2021, the average annual tuition and fees for in-state students at a public four-year college was just $7,525 in Georgia compared to $9,375 nationally.

You qualify for in-state tuition in Georgia if your parent or legal guardian has been a Georgia resident for the past 12 months.

If you’re an independent student (not claimed as a dependent on your parents’ tax return), then you qualify for in-state tuition if you lived in Georgia for at least 12 months preceding the start of the school year and you lived in or moved to Georgia for reasons other than attending college.

Tuition is not generally free in Georgia; however, some students may be eligible for Georgia programs such as the HOPE Grant and the State of Georgia Post-Secondary Tuition Waiver that pay for some or all of a student’s tuition at select colleges in the state.

Compared to other states, it is not expensive to go to college in Georgia. As of 2021, tuition and fees at Georgia colleges cost less than in 39 other states.

Tuition at Georgia schools can run as little as $3,000 a year for in-state students at two-year public schools, and tuition at four-year schools costs about $2,000 less than the national average in 2021, according to NCES data.

Reviewed by R.J. Weiss on 8/15/2023