Cheapest Colleges in Ohio
Sticker prices at the 56 four-year colleges we rank in Ohio run from $8,058 to $71,520 a year in tuition and fees, a gap of $63,462 between the cheapest school and the most expensive one.
The 13 public colleges here charge a median of $13,135 a year, $3,195 (32%) above the national public median of $9,940. The 43 private nonprofit colleges on the list charge a median of $37,160, under the $39,582 national private median. Sticker price alone rarely settles the cheapest private option, so check the net price column.
Central State University ranks first at $8,058, ahead of Franklin University ($9,577) and Shawnee State University ($10,626).
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 Ohio
- 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; Ohio has 56
- 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 the top 50 of 56 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Central State University Wilberforce, OH Public · 4-year | $8,058 | $10,058 | $13,096 | 24% | 2,620 |
| 2 | Franklin University Columbus, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $9,577 | — | $25,243 | 21% | 5,562 |
| 3 | Shawnee State University Portsmouth, OH Public · 4-year | $10,626 | $17,358 | $14,381 | 45% | 2,247 |
| 4 | Youngstown State University Youngstown, OH Public · 4-year | $11,113 | $11,473 | $12,767 | 52% | 7,961 |
| 5 | Wright State University-Main Campus Dayton, OH Public · 4-year | $11,522 | $21,222 | $15,415 | 44% | 6,762 |
| 6 | University of Toledo Toledo, OH Public · 4-year | $12,744 | $22,104 | $17,249 | 56% | 9,770 |
| 7 | Cleveland State University Cleveland, OH Public · 4-year | $12,988 | $18,510 | $14,764 | 50% | 8,969 |
| 8 | University of Akron Main Campus Akron, OH Public · 4-year | $13,135 | $20,815 | $13,946 | 50% | 9,052 |
| 9 | Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH Public · 4-year | $13,232 | $23,082 | $20,787 | 65% | 19,320 |
| 10 | Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH Public · 4-year | $13,244 | $40,022 | $17,339 | 88% | 45,638 |
| 11 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH Public · 4-year | $13,976 | $29,310 | $25,648 | 73% | 29,882 |
| 12 | Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH Public · 4-year | $14,158 | $24,838 | $21,637 | 66% | 19,633 |
| 13 | Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH Public · 4-year | $14,460 | $22,448 | $24,022 | 63% | 12,812 |
| 14 | Kettering College Kettering, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $16,320 | — | $21,650 | 65% | 549 |
| 15 | Wilberforce University Wilberforce, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $16,448 | — | $5,567 | 13% | 822 |
| 16 | The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences Cincinnati, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $16,836 | — | $18,378 | 58% | 713 |
| 17 | Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH Public · 4-year | $18,161 | $41,221 | $28,384 | 81% | 16,656 |
| 18 | Mercy College of Ohio Toledo, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $19,470 | — | $17,989 | 49% | 939 |
| 19 | Mount Carmel College of Nursing Columbus, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $22,080 | — | $10,420 | 64% | 532 |
| 20 | Ohio Christian University Circleville, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $24,600 | — | $20,607 | 35% | 862 |
| 21 | Hiram College Hiram, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $27,600 | — | $21,058 | 57% | 777 |
| 22 | Lourdes University Sylvania, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $29,500 | — | $23,206 | 35% | 543 |
| 23 | Ashland University Ashland, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $31,210 | — | $21,988 | 61% | 2,199 |
| 24 | Wilmington College Wilmington, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $32,082 | — | $24,153 | 51% | 1,006 |
| 25 | Muskingum University New Concord, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $32,665 | — | $19,532 | 55% | 1,376 |
| 26 | Heidelberg University Tiffin, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $33,650 | — | $20,556 | 51% | 915 |
| 27 | Franciscan University of Steubenville Steubenville, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $34,100 | — | $23,589 | 76% | 2,901 |
| 28 | Tiffin University Tiffin, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $34,790 | — | $26,500 | 41% | 2,051 |
| 29 | Otterbein University Westerville, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $35,548 | — | $19,237 | 68% | 2,157 |
| 30 | Ohio Dominican University Columbus, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $35,720 | — | $20,079 | 44% | 760 |
| 31 | Walsh University North Canton, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $35,745 | — | $20,493 | 60% | 1,390 |
| 32 | University of Mount Union Alliance, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $36,600 | — | $23,280 | 62% | 1,995 |
| 33 | Cedarville University Cedarville, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $37,150 | — | $24,468 | 73% | 4,024 |
| 34 | Mount Vernon Nazarene University Mount Vernon, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $37,158 | — | $22,421 | 66% | 1,358 |
| 35 | Malone University Canton, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $37,160 | — | $20,948 | 48% | 798 |
| 36 | Bluffton University Bluffton, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $37,362 | — | $19,943 | 51% | 582 |
| 37 | Lake Erie College Painesville, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $37,634 | — | $20,961 | 40% | 852 |
| 38 | Mount St. Joseph University Cincinnati, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $38,150 | — | $16,530 | 56% | 1,129 |
| 39 | Ursuline College Pepper Pike, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $38,990 | — | $16,164 | 61% | 670 |
| 40 | Marietta College Marietta, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $39,652 | — | $21,083 | 60% | 952 |
| 41 | Ohio Northern University Ada, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $39,800 | — | $24,478 | 75% | 2,489 |
| 42 | Baldwin Wallace University Berea, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $39,832 | — | $27,603 | 68% | 2,842 |
| 43 | Columbus College of Art & Design Columbus, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $40,825 | — | $29,439 | 59% | 882 |
| 44 | The University of Findlay Findlay, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $41,164 | — | $27,221 | 60% | 2,223 |
| 45 | Capital University Columbus, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $43,234 | — | $22,576 | 63% | 1,585 |
| 46 | Wittenberg University Springfield, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $45,940 | — | $18,649 | 53% | 1,215 |
| 47 | University of Dayton Dayton, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $49,140 | — | $29,533 | 81% | 7,682 |
| 48 | Cleveland Institute of Art Cleveland, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $49,400 | — | $29,208 | 62% | 539 |
| 49 | John Carroll University University Heights, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $50,500 | — | $28,746 | 78% | 2,274 |
| 50 | Xavier University Cincinnati, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $50,640 | — | $32,997 | 70% | 4,207 |
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 Ohio, and only public colleges charge a separate rate.
Guides worth reading first
More lists for Ohio
Cheap colleges in Ohio for out-of-state students
23 schools
Community colleges in Ohio
10 schools
Best value colleges in Ohio
54 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Ohio
64 schools
Most affordable private colleges in Ohio
46 schools
Same list in nearby states
Cheapest colleges in Pennsylvania
83 schools
Cheapest colleges in Indiana
39 schools
Cheapest colleges in Michigan
38 schools
All 113 colleges in Ohio See the national version of this ranking