Cheapest Colleges in Pennsylvania
Sticker prices at the 83 four-year colleges we rank in Pennsylvania run from $10,568 to $70,794 a year in tuition and fees, a gap of $60,226 between the cheapest school and the most expensive one.
The 14 public colleges here charge a median of $11,408 a year, $1,468 (15%) above the national public median of $9,940. The 69 private nonprofit colleges on the list charge a median of $44,100, above the $39,582 national private median. Sticker price alone rarely settles the cheapest private option, so check the net price column.
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania ranks first at $10,568, ahead of West Chester University of Pennsylvania ($10,775) and Cheyney University of Pennsylvania ($10,904).
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 Pennsylvania
- 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; Pennsylvania has 83
- 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 83 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, PA Public · 4-year | $10,568 | $14,676 | $19,608 | 66% | 6,788 |
| 2 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA Public · 4-year | $10,775 | $22,599 | $23,331 | 70% | 14,164 |
| 3 | Cheyney University of Pennsylvania Cheyney, PA Public · 4-year | $10,904 | $18,870 | $14,265 | 24% | 617 |
| 4 | Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania Bloomsburg, PA Public · 4-year | $11,046 | $22,870 | $15,699 | 54% | 9,210 |
| 5 | Millersville University of Pennsylvania Millersville, PA Public · 4-year | $11,128 | $22,952 | $20,787 | 56% | 5,728 |
| 6 | Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown, PA Public · 4-year | $11,314 | $16,068 | $21,331 | 54% | 6,180 |
| 7 | Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana, PA Public · 4-year | $11,380 | $16,297 | $16,804 | 54% | 6,764 |
| 8 | Pennsylvania Western University California, PA Public · 4-year | $11,436 | $16,054 | $18,256 | 51% | 7,451 |
| 9 | East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg, PA Public · 4-year | $11,536 | $19,502 | $18,134 | 44% | 4,814 |
| 10 | Lincoln University (PA) Lincoln University, PA Public · 4-year | $12,512 | $19,384 | $14,977 | 48% | 1,539 |
| 11 | Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg, PA Public · 4-year | $13,720 | $15,974 | $23,726 | 54% | 4,086 |
| 12 | Peirce College Philadelphia, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $15,060 | — | $12,148 | 6% | 799 |
| 13 | Keystone College La Plume, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $18,300 | — | $22,051 | 38% | 771 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA Public · 4-year | $20,644 | $41,790 | $32,875 | 86% | 42,284 |
| 15 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA Public · 4-year | $21,926 | $41,430 | $30,434 | 85% | 20,370 |
| 16 | Temple University Philadelphia, PA Public · 4-year | $23,011 | $38,958 | $28,198 | 75% | 20,970 |
| 17 | Harrisburg University of Science and Technology Harrisburg, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $24,400 | — | $15,376 | 39% | 615 |
| 18 | York College of Pennsylvania York, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $25,588 | — | $18,556 | 62% | 3,265 |
| 19 | Mount Aloysius College Cresson, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $27,072 | — | $22,344 | 56% | 1,094 |
| 20 | Wilson College Chambersburg, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $27,100 | — | $21,741 | 50% | 865 |
| 21 | Albright College Reading, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $29,082 | — | $20,024 | 47% | 1,217 |
| 22 | Immaculata University Immaculata, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $29,330 | — | $24,258 | 68% | 1,320 |
| 23 | Washington & Jefferson College Washington, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $29,392 | — | $25,002 | 70% | 1,295 |
| 24 | Lancaster Bible College Lancaster, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $29,990 | — | $25,480 | 69% | 1,569 |
| 25 | Waynesburg University Waynesburg, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $30,480 | — | $18,235 | 63% | 1,009 |
| 26 | Geneva College Beaver Falls, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $33,450 | — | $25,890 | 61% | 1,096 |
| 27 | Cairn University-Langhorne Langhorne, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $34,009 | — | $27,642 | 62% | 775 |
| 28 | La Roche University Pittsburgh, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $34,052 | — | $20,794 | 57% | 751 |
| 29 | Holy Family University Philadelphia, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $35,330 | — | $13,143 | 61% | 2,464 |
| 30 | Carlow University Pittsburgh, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $35,874 | — | $20,786 | 58% | 1,348 |
| 31 | Robert Morris University Moon Township, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $35,970 | — | $23,003 | 66% | 2,896 |
| 32 | La Salle University Philadelphia, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $37,800 | — | $19,409 | 58% | 1,953 |
| 33 | Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $37,950 | — | $26,598 | 77% | 1,868 |
| 34 | Thiel College Greenville, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $38,344 | — | $22,347 | 46% | 788 |
| 35 | Eastern University Saint Davids, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $38,400 | — | $26,662 | 55% | 2,404 |
| 36 | Neumann University Aston, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $39,100 | — | $27,804 | 50% | 1,533 |
| 37 | Point Park University Pittsburgh, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $39,570 | — | $25,942 | 59% | 2,331 |
| 38 | Chestnut Hill College Philadelphia, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $39,870 | — | $27,970 | 53% | 815 |
| 39 | Gwynedd Mercy University Gwynedd Valley, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $40,122 | — | $27,483 | 58% | 1,067 |
| 40 | Westminster College (PA) New Wilmington, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $40,290 | — | $19,859 | 65% | 1,041 |
| 41 | Misericordia University Dallas, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $40,370 | — | $37,485 | 70% | 1,672 |
| 42 | Gannon University Erie, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $40,656 | — | $22,553 | 68% | 2,365 |
| 43 | Marywood University Scranton, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $41,420 | — | $23,388 | 72% | 1,784 |
| 44 | Messiah University Mechanicsburg, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $42,240 | — | $26,502 | 77% | 2,259 |
| 45 | Saint Vincent College Latrobe, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $42,396 | — | $23,510 | 70% | 1,259 |
| 46 | Seton Hill University Greensburg, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $42,944 | — | $22,204 | 69% | 1,492 |
| 47 | Wilkes University Wilkes-Barre, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $43,496 | — | $27,743 | 62% | 1,985 |
| 48 | Saint Francis University Loretto, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $44,000 | — | $23,526 | 74% | 1,557 |
| 49 | King's College Wilkes-Barre, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $44,100 | — | $23,093 | 60% | 1,484 |
| 50 | Chatham University Pittsburgh, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $44,626 | — | $29,954 | 65% | 1,232 |
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 Pennsylvania, and only public colleges charge a separate rate.
Guides worth reading first
More lists for Pennsylvania
Cheap colleges in Pennsylvania for out-of-state students
30 schools
Community colleges in Pennsylvania
16 schools
Best value colleges in Pennsylvania
80 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Pennsylvania
85 schools
Most affordable private colleges in Pennsylvania
70 schools
Same list in nearby states
Cheapest colleges in New York
112 schools
Cheapest colleges in Ohio
56 schools
Cheapest colleges in New Jersey
24 schools
All 147 colleges in Pennsylvania See the national version of this ranking