Cheap Colleges in Texas for Out-of-State Students
Out-of-state students pay between $3,570 and $45,080 a year in tuition and fees at the 77 public colleges and universities we rank in Texas, a gap of $41,510 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 $9,952, $2,834 (22%) below the national median of $12,786 for public colleges. Residents pay a median of $4,080, so the typical out-of-state premium is $5,872, with nonresidents charged 2.4 times the in-state price.
Hill College ranks first at $3,570, ahead of College of the Mainland ($4,140) and Alvin Community College ($4,402).
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 Texas
- 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; Texas has 77
- 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 77 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Hill College Hillsboro, TX Public · 2-year | $3,570 | $3,570 | $7,577 | 30% | 2,253 |
| 2 | College of the Mainland Texas City, TX Public · 4-year | $4,140 | $2,310 | $1,342 | 30% | 3,368 |
| 3 | Alvin Community College Alvin, TX Public · 4-year | $4,402 | $1,906 | $8,525 | 24% | 3,342 |
| 4 | Tyler Junior College Tyler, TX Public · 4-year | $4,512 | $2,400 | $10,206 | 27% | 9,087 |
| 5 | Amarillo College Amarillo, TX Public · 2-year | $4,704 | $2,136 | $4,600 | 31% | 7,399 |
| 6 | Odessa College Odessa, TX Public · 4-year | $4,926 | $2,688 | $6,368 | 32% | 4,654 |
| 7 | Texas Southmost College Brownsville, TX Public · 2-year | $4,948 | $3,148 | $3,085 | 28% | 3,372 |
| 8 | South Plains College Levelland, TX Public · 2-year | $5,155 | $2,731 | $6,791 | 27% | 6,005 |
| 9 | Coastal Bend College Beeville, TX Public · 2-year | $5,226 | $2,916 | $4,237 | 14% | 1,958 |
| 10 | Kilgore College Kilgore, TX Public · 2-year | $5,256 | $2,160 | $5,364 | 36% | 3,215 |
| 11 | Victoria College Victoria, TX Public · 2-year | $5,328 | $2,976 | $3,043 | 27% | 2,351 |
| 12 | Texarkana College Texarkana, TX Public · 2-year | $5,332 | $2,476 | $8,812 | 41% | 1,502 |
| 13 | Clarendon College Clarendon, TX Public · 2-year | $5,400 | $3,720 | $8,390 | 51% | 1,520 |
| 14 | Houston City College Houston, TX Public · 4-year | $5,460 | $2,040 | $5,737 | 17% | 40,503 |
| 15 | Paris Junior College Paris, TX Public · 2-year | $5,700 | $2,700 | $7,690 | 37% | 2,204 |
| 16 | North Central Texas College Gainesville, TX Public · 2-year | $5,739 | $3,600 | $6,587 | 35% | 5,863 |
| 17 | Laredo College Laredo, TX Public · 4-year | $5,748 | $3,300 | $5,798 | 30% | 5,818 |
| 18 | Wharton County Junior College Wharton, TX Public · 2-year | $5,904 | $3,192 | $4,666 | 24% | 4,585 |
| 19 | McLennan Community College Waco, TX Public · 2-year | $5,910 | $3,660 | $5,051 | 37% | 5,668 |
| 20 | Trinity Valley Community College Athens, TX Public · 4-year | $5,970 | $2,640 | $4,092 | 26% | 5,655 |
| 21 | Del Mar College Corpus Christi, TX Public · 4-year | $6,050 | $3,440 | $3,399 | 12% | 9,501 |
| 22 | Collin County Community College District McKinney, TX Public · 4-year | $6,064 | $2,014 | $8,969 | 21% | 26,449 |
| 23 | Vernon College Vernon, TX Public · 2-year | $6,120 | $3,720 | $6,404 | 20% | 2,113 |
| 24 | Western Texas College Snyder, TX Public · 2-year | $6,150 | $3,300 | $3,562 | 56% | 599 |
| 25 | Navarro College Corsicana, TX Public · 4-year | $6,578 | $3,008 | $14,820 | 23% | 3,781 |
| 26 | El Paso Community College El Paso, TX Public · 2-year | $6,630 | $4,080 | $3,206 | 23% | 24,214 |
| 27 | San Jacinto Community College Pasadena, TX Public · 4-year | $6,690 | $2,490 | $12,143 | 32% | 22,969 |
| 28 | Howard College Big Spring, TX Public · 2-year | $6,716 | $2,766 | $6,147 | 35% | 1,611 |
| 29 | Dallas College Dallas, TX Public · 4-year | $6,900 | $2,730 | $3,214 | 34% | 43,869 |
| 30 | Temple College Temple, TX Public · 2-year | $7,224 | $3,000 | $10,682 | 29% | 3,178 |
| 31 | Central Texas College Killeen, TX Public · 2-year | $7,500 | $3,750 | $10,265 | 13% | 6,247 |
| 32 | South Texas College McAllen, TX Public · 4-year | $7,620 | $4,920 | $1,751 | 27% | 15,856 |
| 33 | Tarrant County College District Fort Worth, TX Public · 2-year | $8,370 | $1,863 | $4,337 | 29% | 42,300 |
| 34 | Ranger College Ranger, TX Public · 2-year | $9,066 | $2,766 | $6,182 | 27% | 971 |
| 35 | Lone Star College System The Woodlands, TX Public · 4-year | $9,390 | $3,330 | $11,252 | 20% | 45,188 |
| 36 | San Antonio College San Antonio, TX Public · 4-year | $9,952 | $3,412 | $4,585 | 24% | 16,416 |
| 37 | Northwest Vista College San Antonio, TX Public · 4-year | $9,952 | $3,412 | $4,525 | 32% | 13,993 |
| 38 | Palo Alto College San Antonio, TX Public · 4-year | $9,952 | $3,412 | $4,463 | 33% | 8,801 |
| 39 | Northeast Lakeview College Universal City, TX Public · 2-year | $9,952 | $3,412 | $5,029 | 33% | 6,471 |
| 40 | Austin Community College District Austin, TX Public · 4-year | $10,590 | $2,550 | $6,390 | 19% | 30,189 |
| 41 | Weatherford College Weatherford, TX Public · 4-year | $10,860 | $5,250 | $9,967 | 28% | 5,094 |
| 42 | West Texas A & M University Canyon, TX Public · 4-year | $10,996 | $9,101 | $19,487 | 51% | 6,917 |
| 43 | Blinn College District Brenham, TX Public · 2-year | $11,370 | $4,890 | $10,844 | 11% | 15,535 |
| 44 | Midwestern State University Wichita Falls, TX Public · 4-year | $12,530 | $10,580 | $11,656 | 42% | 4,087 |
| 45 | Texas A&M University-Victoria Victoria, TX Public · 4-year | $16,989 | $7,149 | $8,109 | 26% | 2,513 |
| 46 | Texas A&M University-Central Texas Killeen, TX Public · 4-year | $17,154 | $7,363 | $1,300 | — | 1,750 |
| 47 | University of Houston-Downtown Houston, TX Public · 4-year | $17,548 | $7,708 | $10,542 | 33% | 12,555 |
| 48 | Sul Ross State University Alpine, TX Public · 4-year | $17,672 | $7,592 | $13,286 | 29% | 1,396 |
| 49 | Tarleton State University Stephenville, TX Public · 4-year | $18,142 | $8,302 | $20,783 | 50% | 12,673 |
| 50 | Angelo State University San Angelo, TX Public · 4-year | $18,300 | $8,460 | $15,091 | 42% | 5,643 |
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 Texas
Cheapest colleges in Texas
73 schools
Community colleges in Texas
42 schools
Best value colleges in Texas
54 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Texas
92 schools
Most affordable private colleges in Texas
38 schools
Same list in nearby states
Cheap colleges in Oklahoma for out-of-state students
26 schools
Cheap colleges in Louisiana for out-of-state students
16 schools
Cheap colleges in California for out-of-state students
121 schools
All 147 colleges in Texas See the national version of this ranking