Most Affordable Private Colleges in New York
Private nonprofit colleges rarely cost what their price tags say. Among the 78 we rank in New York, the average net price runs from $2,840 to $58,741 a year, a range of $55,901.
The median net price is $28,671, $4,811 (20%) above the national median of $23,860 for private nonprofit colleges. Median tuition and fees are $42,950, but the median net price, which also counts room, board and books after grants, is $28,671, so aid more than covers the housing and living costs added on top of tuition.
Talmudical Seminary of Bobov ranks first at $2,840, ahead of Uta Mesivta of Kiryas Joel ($4,156) and Be'er Yaakov Talmudic Seminary ($4,543).
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- Private nonprofit 4-year colleges whose main award is the bachelor's degree
- Ranked by net price, 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 New York
- At least 500 undergraduate students enrolled (fall 2024)
- A reported net price value (schools without one are not ranked)
- This page is published only when at least 15 schools qualify; New York has 78
- Data period
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- Tuition and fees: full-time undergraduate sticker price, academic year 2024-25 (the same for in-state and out-of-state students).
- Net price by income: students with family income of $0 to $30,000, 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.
- Earnings: median earnings four years after completing, measured in 2022 and 2023 for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 cohorts, in 2024 dollars.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing the top 50 of 78 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Talmudical Seminary of Bobov Brooklyn, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $2,840 | $13,200 | $1,852 | 41% | $20,372 |
| 2 | Uta Mesivta of Kiryas Joel Monroe, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $4,156 | $16,000 | $3,915 | 74% | $27,957 |
| 3 | Be'er Yaakov Talmudic Seminary Spring Valley, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $4,543 | $12,300 | $4,122 | 56% | $19,100 |
| 4 | United Talmudical Seminary Brooklyn, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $6,640 | $15,000 | $6,446 | 58% | $18,950 |
| 5 | Yeshivath Viznitz Monsey, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $8,929 | $12,000 | $7,589 | 69% | $19,601 |
| 6 | Maria College of Albany Albany, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $13,082 | $18,740 | $10,733 | 34% | $69,643 |
| 7 | The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art New York, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $13,269 | $46,820 | $3,749 | 81% | $75,729 |
| 8 | Villa Maria College Buffalo, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $13,494 | $28,670 | $13,049 | 31% | $41,151 |
| 9 | Mercy University Dobbs Ferry, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $14,072 | $22,880 | $11,974 | 47% | $62,616 |
| 10 | Bryant & Stratton College-Buffalo Buffalo, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $14,135 | $18,910 | $14,155 | 24% | $43,374 |
| 11 | Trocaire College Buffalo, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $16,636 | $20,640 | $14,951 | 24% | $69,860 |
| 12 | Niagara University Niagara University, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $17,248 | $39,345 | $9,564 | 72% | $67,652 |
| 13 | Canisius University Buffalo, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $17,940 | $34,500 | $12,781 | 69% | $59,476 |
| 14 | St. Francis College Brooklyn, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $18,129 | $28,775 | $15,700 | 54% | $58,523 |
| 15 | Daemen University Amherst, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $18,693 | $35,218 | $10,773 | 59% | $70,310 |
| 16 | St. Joseph's University-New York Brooklyn, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $19,035 | $36,550 | $16,876 | 67% | $64,336 |
| 17 | Utica University Utica, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $19,108 | $26,930 | $13,290 | 56% | $77,491 |
| 18 | St. Thomas Aquinas College Sparkill, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $19,994 | $39,450 | $11,746 | 58% | $60,309 |
| 19 | D'Youville University Buffalo, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $20,433 | $34,940 | $16,259 | 62% | $84,182 |
| 20 | Houghton University Houghton, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $20,519 | $18,430 | $19,147 | 65% | $41,835 |
| 21 | Manhattanville University Purchase, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $20,991 | $44,604 | $13,548 | 56% | $68,011 |
| 22 | Central Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitz Brooklyn, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $21,437 | $8,400 | $20,648 | 4% | $24,036 |
| 23 | Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $21,590 | $71,845 | $4,570 | 96% | $115,519 |
| 24 | University of Mount Saint Vincent Bronx, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $21,696 | $44,540 | $19,203 | 57% | $83,648 |
| 25 | Le Moyne College Syracuse, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $22,277 | $40,330 | $14,535 | 72% | $66,403 |
| 26 | Elmira College Elmira, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $22,386 | $38,976 | $17,392 | 64% | $64,723 |
| 27 | New York Institute of Technology Old Westbury, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $22,443 | $46,560 | $17,084 | 58% | $81,370 |
| 28 | Hilbert College Hamburg, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $22,723 | $33,740 | $20,903 | 52% | $53,063 |
| 29 | Russell Sage College Troy, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $22,917 | $38,164 | $6,662 | 59% | $66,409 |
| 30 | Roberts Wesleyan University Rochester, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $23,130 | $38,826 | $22,922 | 65% | $64,802 |
| 31 | Keuka College Keuka Park, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $24,338 | $39,332 | $19,368 | 53% | $58,373 |
| 32 | Molloy University Rockville Centre, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $24,347 | $39,790 | $17,548 | 71% | $96,058 |
| 33 | Mount Saint Mary College Newburgh, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $25,522 | $43,450 | $18,747 | 66% | $77,894 |
| 34 | Alfred University Alfred, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $25,620 | $41,500 | $16,512 | 56% | $58,242 |
| 35 | Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science Paul Smiths, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $26,683 | $33,009 | $16,732 | 52% | $48,703 |
| 36 | St Bonaventure University Saint Bonaventure, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $27,074 | $41,735 | $15,651 | 68% | $62,639 |
| 37 | Manhattan University Riverdale, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $27,256 | $53,400 | $27,281 | 65% | $88,328 |
| 38 | Wagner College Staten Island, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $28,241 | $53,200 | $20,993 | 67% | $85,313 |
| 39 | St Lawrence University Canton, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $28,651 | $65,900 | $13,420 | 79% | $66,273 |
| 40 | Cornell University Ithaca, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $28,690 | $69,314 | $1,776 | 95% | $113,372 |
| 41 | Colgate University Hamilton, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $28,786 | $70,306 | $6,086 | 91% | $77,917 |
| 42 | Barnard College New York, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $28,800 | $69,888 | $11,600 | 93% | $72,527 |
| 43 | St. John Fisher University Rochester, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $28,945 | $41,190 | $16,054 | 74% | $70,456 |
| 44 | Hamilton College Clinton, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $28,985 | $68,960 | $8,028 | 91% | $79,130 |
| 45 | Iona University New Rochelle, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $29,188 | $47,260 | $25,785 | 57% | $69,776 |
| 46 | University of Rochester Rochester, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $29,278 | $67,080 | $9,678 | 85% | $87,197 |
| 47 | Nazareth University Rochester, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $29,357 | $42,450 | $22,796 | 73% | $57,472 |
| 48 | Touro University New York, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $29,627 | $22,450 | $26,605 | 68% | $73,235 |
| 49 | St. John's University-New York Queens, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $29,999 | $53,020 | $27,787 | 67% | $77,868 |
| 50 | Clarkson University Potsdam, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $30,305 | $59,398 | $21,335 | 74% | $91,312 |
How to compare these colleges
Do not rule out a private college because of its sticker price. Private colleges often discount heavily, and the net price shown here is what students who receive aid pay on average, including housing and books. Your own offer depends on your family income and the school's aid policy, so run each college's net price calculator and compare actual award letters.
Guides worth reading first
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Same list in nearby states
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All 219 colleges in New York See the national version of this ranking