Cheap Colleges in New York for Out-of-State Students
Out-of-state students pay between $895 and $32,741 a year in tuition and fees at the 74 public colleges and universities we rank in New York, a gap of $31,846 between the cheapest and the most expensive. This list ranks the non-resident price, not the in-state price.
The median public college charges nonresidents $13,930, $1,145 (9%) above the national median of $12,786 for public colleges. Residents pay a median of $7,336, so the typical out-of-state premium is only $6,594 here, a ratio of 1.9 to 1.
United States Merchant Marine Academy ranks first at $895, ahead of Herkimer County Community College ($5,776) and Genesee Community College ($6,500).
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- All public colleges and universities, 4-year and 2-year (community colleges and state colleges included)
- Ranked by out-of-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 New York
- At least 500 undergraduate students enrolled (fall 2024)
- A reported out-of-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; New York has 74
- Data period
- Out-of-state tuition and fees: academic year 2024-25. Shown for public colleges only, because private colleges charge everyone the same price.
- In-state tuition and fees: full-time undergraduate sticker price, academic year 2024-25. Some community colleges report the in-district rate.
- 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 the top 50 of 74 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | United States Merchant Marine Academy Kings Point, NY Public · 4-year | $895 | $895 | $6,174 | 81% | 962 |
| 2 | Herkimer County Community College Herkimer, NY Public · 2-year | $5,776 | $5,776 | $13,419 | 31% | 1,168 |
| 3 | Genesee Community College Batavia, NY Public · 2-year | $6,500 | $5,900 | $8,334 | 30% | 1,973 |
| 4 | Fulton-Montgomery Community College Johnstown, NY Public · 2-year | $6,798 | $6,198 | $6,696 | 37% | 1,001 |
| 5 | Jamestown Community College Jamestown, NY Public · 2-year | $6,840 | $6,840 | $9,850 | 37% | 1,739 |
| 6 | Rockland Community College Suffern, NY Public · 2-year | $6,862 | $6,862 | $11,282 | 29% | 3,834 |
| 7 | CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College New York, NY Public · 2-year | $8,050 | $5,170 | $4,976 | 25% | 18,623 |
| 8 | CUNY Stella and Charles Guttman Community College New York, NY Public · 2-year | $8,074 | $5,194 | $5,833 | 24% | 978 |
| 9 | CUNY Bronx Community College Bronx, NY Public · 2-year | $8,086 | $5,206 | $4,462 | 17% | 5,964 |
| 10 | CUNY Queensborough Community College Bayside, NY Public · 2-year | $8,090 | $5,210 | $4,458 | 23% | 8,940 |
| 11 | CUNY LaGuardia Community College Long Island City, NY Public · 2-year | $8,098 | $5,218 | $6,120 | 25% | 11,254 |
| 12 | CUNY Kingsborough Community College Brooklyn, NY Public · 2-year | $8,132 | $5,252 | $5,606 | 25% | 7,670 |
| 13 | CUNY Hostos Community College Bronx, NY Public · 2-year | $8,134 | $5,254 | $5,297 | 17% | 4,900 |
| 14 | Finger Lakes Community College Canandaigua, NY Public · 2-year | $8,418 | $6,234 | $13,898 | 29% | 2,980 |
| 15 | Mohawk Valley Community College Utica, NY Public · 2-year | $8,851 | $6,218 | $8,987 | 36% | 2,950 |
| 16 | Schenectady County Community College Schenectady, NY Public · 2-year | $8,974 | $6,190 | $8,947 | 31% | 1,507 |
| 17 | North Country Community College Saranac Lake, NY Public · 2-year | $9,370 | $6,682 | $11,868 | 27% | 819 |
| 18 | SUNY Adirondack Queensbury, NY Public · 2-year | $9,616 | $6,844 | $10,389 | 33% | 1,844 |
| 19 | SUNY Corning Community College Corning, NY Public · 2-year | $10,326 | $6,534 | $7,373 | 33% | 1,138 |
| 20 | Dutchess Community College Poughkeepsie, NY Public · 2-year | $10,670 | $5,670 | $10,065 | 29% | 3,824 |
| 21 | Monroe Community College Rochester, NY Public · 2-year | $11,056 | $6,006 | $6,353 | 25% | 7,623 |
| 22 | Erie Community College Buffalo, NY Public · 2-year | $11,300 | $6,100 | $7,765 | 28% | 6,099 |
| 23 | Onondaga Community College Syracuse, NY Public · 2-year | $11,392 | $6,102 | $8,562 | 26% | 4,456 |
| 24 | Columbia-Greene Community College Hudson, NY Public · 2-year | $11,448 | $6,048 | $6,559 | 40% | 876 |
| 25 | Jefferson Community College Watertown, NY Public · 2-year | $11,700 | $6,264 | $11,923 | 27% | 1,499 |
| 26 | Hudson Valley Community College Troy, NY Public · 2-year | $11,852 | $6,796 | $8,501 | 34% | 6,499 |
| 27 | Niagara County Community College Sanborn, NY Public · 2-year | $12,030 | $6,894 | $6,876 | 31% | 3,084 |
| 28 | Nassau Community College Garden City, NY Public · 2-year | $12,130 | $6,330 | $7,095 | 23% | 10,630 |
| 29 | Sullivan County Community College Loch Sheldrake, NY Public · 2-year | $12,132 | $6,468 | $8,482 | 28% | 836 |
| 30 | Ulster County Community College Stone Ridge, NY Public · 2-year | $12,146 | $6,666 | $5,035 | 32% | 1,341 |
| 31 | Orange County Community College Middletown, NY Public · 2-year | $12,334 | $6,526 | $6,794 | 24% | 3,989 |
| 32 | Cayuga County Community College Auburn, NY Public · 2-year | $12,336 | $7,056 | $8,662 | 32% | 1,187 |
| 33 | Suffolk County Community College Selden, NY Public · 2-year | $12,460 | $6,630 | $5,258 | 27% | 14,218 |
| 34 | SUNY Westchester Community College Valhalla, NY Public · 2-year | $12,486 | $5,948 | $9,373 | 24% | 8,078 |
| 35 | SUNY College of Technology at Delhi Delhi, NY Public · 4-year | $12,762 | $8,772 | $17,225 | 47% | 2,843 |
| 36 | Tompkins Cortland Community College Dryden, NY Public · 2-year | $12,855 | $6,970 | $12,723 | 26% | 1,469 |
| 37 | SUNY College of Technology at Canton Canton, NY Public · 4-year | $13,572 | $8,742 | $15,268 | 41% | 2,741 |
| 38 | SUNY Broome Community College Binghamton, NY Public · 2-year | $14,288 | $8,624 | $8,940 | 23% | 3,055 |
| 39 | CUNY New York City College of Technology Brooklyn, NY Public · 4-year | $15,282 | $7,332 | $5,127 | 20% | 13,580 |
| 40 | CUNY City College New York, NY Public · 4-year | $15,290 | $7,340 | $3,776 | 56% | 12,505 |
| 41 | CUNY Medgar Evers College Brooklyn, NY Public · 4-year | $15,302 | $7,352 | $5,718 | 21% | 3,233 |
| 42 | CUNY York College Jamaica, NY Public · 4-year | $15,308 | $7,358 | $4,456 | 31% | 4,345 |
| 43 | CUNY Hunter College New York, NY Public · 4-year | $15,332 | $7,382 | $2,984 | 59% | 16,289 |
| 44 | CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY Public · 4-year | $15,360 | $7,410 | $3,148 | 50% | 10,696 |
| 45 | CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY Public · 4-year | $15,402 | $7,452 | $3,103 | 55% | 10,543 |
| 46 | CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY Public · 4-year | $15,414 | $7,464 | $3,033 | 72% | 16,154 |
| 47 | CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY Public · 4-year | $15,420 | $7,470 | $3,203 | 56% | 11,590 |
| 48 | College of Staten Island CUNY Staten Island, NY Public · 4-year | $15,440 | $7,490 | $5,579 | 33% | 9,657 |
| 49 | CUNY Queens College Queens, NY Public · 4-year | $15,488 | $7,538 | $4,195 | 56% | 12,550 |
| 50 | SUNY Brockport Brockport, NY Public · 4-year | $15,822 | $8,752 | $16,353 | 56% | 5,784 |
How to compare these colleges
The ranked column is the out-of-state price. The in-state price is shown for comparison, and net price is the average for students who receive aid, measured mostly for in-state students at public colleges, so it is not a good guide to what a nonresident will pay. Many states cut the non-resident rate through regional exchange programs, reciprocity agreements or merit awards, and residency can change after a year of living in the state, so check each college's non-resident aid page before ruling a school out.
Guides worth reading first
More lists for New York
Cheapest colleges in New York
112 schools
Community colleges in New York
39 schools
Best value colleges in New York
97 schools
Highest graduate earnings in New York
124 schools
Most affordable private colleges in New York
78 schools
Same list in nearby states
Cheap colleges in Pennsylvania for out-of-state students
30 schools
Cheap colleges in Massachusetts for out-of-state students
29 schools
Cheap colleges in New Jersey for out-of-state students
28 schools
All 219 colleges in New York See the national version of this ranking