Most Affordable Private Colleges in Tennessee
Private nonprofit colleges rarely cost what their price tags say. Among the 26 we rank in Tennessee, the average net price runs from $7,099 to $33,147 a year, a range of $26,048.
The median net price is $20,510, $3,350 (14%) below the national median of $23,860 for private nonprofit colleges. Median tuition and fees are $30,032, but the median net price, which also counts room, board and books after grants, is $20,510, so aid more than covers the housing and living costs added on top of tuition.
Le Moyne-Owen College ranks first at $7,099, ahead of Christian Brothers University ($9,854) and Lane College ($10,904).
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 Tennessee
- 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; Tennessee has 26
- 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 all 26 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Le Moyne-Owen College Memphis, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $7,099 | $12,076 | $6,393 | 26% | — |
| 2 | Christian Brothers University Memphis, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $9,854 | $38,420 | $9,466 | 55% | $68,058 |
| 3 | Lane College Jackson, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $10,904 | $11,790 | — | 18% | $38,716 |
| 4 | Baptist Health Sciences University Memphis, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $11,212 | $13,796 | $6,354 | 46% | $73,191 |
| 5 | Bethel University (TN) McKenzie, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $12,595 | $18,712 | $11,871 | 35% | $62,152 |
| 6 | Tennessee Wesleyan University Athens, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $14,836 | $30,814 | $11,609 | 46% | $53,707 |
| 7 | Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $15,846 | $67,498 | $3,414 | 93% | $101,204 |
| 8 | Trevecca Nazarene University Nashville, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $16,813 | $31,300 | $14,532 | 54% | $64,175 |
| 9 | Cumberland University Lebanon, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $18,759 | $27,840 | $17,882 | 46% | $58,091 |
| 10 | Lee University Cleveland, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $18,878 | $23,790 | $12,834 | 62% | $47,559 |
| 11 | Maryville College Maryville, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $19,360 | $39,284 | $15,094 | 49% | $49,454 |
| 12 | Carson-Newman University Jefferson City, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $20,251 | $34,700 | $16,672 | 50% | $53,936 |
| 13 | Lincoln Memorial University Harrogate, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $20,406 | $26,938 | $15,644 | 52% | $69,633 |
| 14 | Bryan College-Dayton Dayton, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $20,614 | $19,800 | $19,500 | 53% | $51,604 |
| 15 | Tusculum University Greeneville, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $21,131 | $29,250 | $20,766 | 28% | $51,271 |
| 16 | Milligan University Milligan, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $21,365 | $40,450 | $15,118 | 62% | $55,216 |
| 17 | Freed-Hardeman University Henderson, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $21,574 | $25,620 | $20,988 | 70% | $50,701 |
| 18 | Johnson University Knoxville, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $22,063 | $21,122 | $17,246 | 59% | $42,004 |
| 19 | King University Bristol, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $22,347 | $36,194 | $22,696 | 47% | $61,394 |
| 20 | Southern Adventist University Collegedale, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $24,345 | $27,300 | $19,123 | 50% | $58,282 |
| 21 | Lipscomb University Nashville, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $24,739 | $40,572 | $20,048 | 70% | $63,007 |
| 22 | Union University Jackson, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $27,171 | $40,025 | $25,839 | 68% | $60,152 |
| 23 | The University of the South Sewanee, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $27,872 | $56,120 | $10,485 | 81% | $63,966 |
| 24 | Rhodes College Memphis, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $28,585 | $57,110 | $15,770 | 83% | $65,427 |
| 25 | Fisk University Nashville, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $32,020 | $25,858 | $27,647 | 35% | $58,830 |
| 26 | Belmont University Nashville, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $33,147 | $42,540 | $22,950 | 71% | $56,202 |
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
More lists for Tennessee
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Cheap colleges in Tennessee for out-of-state students
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Highest graduate earnings in Tennessee
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Same list in nearby states
Most affordable private colleges in North Carolina
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Most affordable private colleges in Georgia
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Most affordable private colleges in Missouri
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All 58 colleges in Tennessee See the national version of this ranking