Cheapest Colleges in Nebraska
Sticker prices at the 16 four-year colleges we rank in Nebraska run from $8,216 to $48,856 a year in tuition and fees, a gap of $40,640 between the cheapest school and the most expensive one.
The 6 public colleges here charge a median of $8,658 a year, $1,282 (13%) below the national public median of $9,940. The 10 private nonprofit colleges on the list charge a median of $39,205, under the $39,582 national private median. Sticker price alone rarely settles the cheapest private option, so check the net price column.
Wayne State College ranks first at $8,216, ahead of Chadron State College ($8,290) and Peru State College ($8,640).
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- 4-year colleges whose main award is the bachelor's degree (public, private nonprofit and for-profit)
- Ranked by in-state tuition & fees, lowest first. Ties are broken by larger undergraduate enrollment, then by name.
- Main campuses only, with at least 60% of core data fields reported
- Main campus located in Nebraska
- At least 500 undergraduate students enrolled (fall 2024)
- A reported in-state tuition & fees value (schools without one are not ranked)
- Schools that report no tuition or a $0 price are not ranked
- This page is published only when at least 15 schools qualify; Nebraska has 16
- Data period
- In-state tuition and fees: full-time undergraduate sticker price, academic year 2024-25. Some community colleges report the in-district rate.
- Out-of-state tuition and fees: academic year 2024-25. Shown for public colleges only, because private colleges charge everyone the same price.
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- Graduation rate: first-time, full-time students who started in fall 2018 (4-year) or fall 2021 (2-year), finishing within 150% of normal time.
- Enrollment: undergraduate students, fall 2024.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing all 16 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Wayne State College Wayne, NE Public · 4-year | $8,216 | $8,216 | $15,360 | 54% | 3,010 |
| 2 | Chadron State College Chadron, NE Public · 4-year | $8,290 | $8,290 | $12,549 | 44% | 1,540 |
| 3 | Peru State College Peru, NE Public · 4-year | $8,640 | $8,640 | $11,632 | 38% | 1,092 |
| 4 | University of Nebraska at Kearney Kearney, NE Public · 4-year | $8,676 | $15,284 | $16,242 | 59% | 4,088 |
| 5 | University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha, NE Public · 4-year | $8,718 | $23,206 | $13,441 | 47% | 11,488 |
| 6 | Bellevue University Bellevue, NE Private nonprofit · 4-year | $9,903 | — | $17,550 | 39% | 10,220 |
| 7 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE Public · 4-year | $10,434 | $28,584 | $17,747 | 66% | 19,178 |
| 8 | Clarkson College Omaha, NE Private nonprofit · 4-year | $16,104 | — | $19,241 | 67% | 622 |
| 9 | Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health Omaha, NE Private nonprofit · 4-year | $17,885 | — | $21,863 | 63% | 781 |
| 10 | Bryan College of Health Sciences Lincoln, NE Private nonprofit · 4-year | $20,640 | — | $26,919 | 73% | 553 |
| 11 | Hastings College Hastings, NE Private nonprofit · 4-year | $37,770 | — | $24,452 | 51% | 891 |
| 12 | Concordia University-Nebraska Seward, NE Private nonprofit · 4-year | $40,640 | — | $23,965 | 64% | 1,283 |
| 13 | Midland University Fremont, NE Private nonprofit · 4-year | $42,050 | — | $26,267 | 43% | 1,159 |
| 14 | Nebraska Wesleyan University Lincoln, NE Private nonprofit · 4-year | $43,572 | — | $18,327 | 67% | 1,453 |
| 15 | Doane University Crete, NE Private nonprofit · 4-year | $43,985 | — | $26,364 | 56% | 978 |
| 16 | Creighton University Omaha, NE Private nonprofit · 4-year | $48,856 | — | $31,568 | 82% | 4,348 |
How to compare these colleges
Start with the net price column rather than the sticker price. Net price is the average a student who receives aid pays after grants and scholarships, so a school that ranks lower here can still be the cheaper choice for your family. The out-of-state column applies only if you are not a legal resident of Nebraska, and only public colleges charge a separate rate.
Guides worth reading first
More lists for Nebraska
Same list in nearby states
Cheapest colleges in Missouri
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Cheapest colleges in Iowa
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Cheapest colleges in Kansas
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All 27 colleges in Nebraska See the national version of this ranking