The fact remains that the cost of education is always increasing, in fact, the average tuition for an undergraduate degree in the United States is between $25,000 to $50,000 annually. This usually makes students depend on loans before they can graduate from a 4-year college.
Moreover, this consistent loan is not even speaking well about our country, currently, the outstanding federal loan balance is $1.6 trillion and accounts for 92.5% of all student loan debt coming from NerdWallet.
Fortunately, several cheapest community colleges in Ohio can help mitigate this pile of debt, even though these colleges provide a 2-year Associate degree. They still have a special agreement with 4-year colleges and universities to easily transfer their students’ credit, which helps you to complete the remaining 2 years to earn your bachelor’s degree.
Other states like Virginia, Pennsylvania, California, Florida, etc, also provide affordable community colleges.
Here are some of the most affordable community colleges you can find in Ohio.
Cheapest Community Colleges in Ohio
1. Cuyahoga Community College District
Cuyahoga Community College District is the cheapest community college in Ohio for both in-county residents and out-of-county residents, but Eastern Gateway Community College is more affordable for out-of-state students. The school is also one of the best community colleges in Ohio that have had a 50+ year commitment to veterans and their families, helping them to cut educational costs by any means necessary.
| In-County Resident | $124.54 per credit hour |
| Out-of-County Resident | $154.08 per credit hour |
| Out-of-state Student | $291.19 per credit hour |
2. Eastern Gateway Community College
EGCC has the cheapest out-of-state tuition fee and also offers more than 35 associate degrees and certificates in dozens of career areas, as well as the associate degree to transfer to a four-year institution.
| Jefferson County Residents | $131 per credit hour |
| All other Ohio Residents | $137 per credit hour |
| Out-of-State Residents | $245 per credit hour |
3. Sinclair Community College
Sinclair Community College is one of the cheapest community colleges in Ohio that offers more than 300 degree and certificate programs, including specialized and technical areas of study that are in high demand in the Dayton region. They also make their credits easy to be able to transfer to a 4-year college in Ohio.
| Ohio Residents | $141.03 per credit hour |
| Out-of-state Students | $188.28 per credit hour |
| International students | $344.40 per credit hour |
4. Columbus State Community College
Columbus State is one of the top community colleges that are intentional in bridging the gap between what students learn and the skills companies seek in a candidate. This has made them partner with companies like Honda to help students gather real-world experience in their field before they even leave school.
| Ohio Residents | $177.93 per credit hour |
| Out-of-state Students | $363.92 per credit hour |
| International students | $431.76 per credit hour |
5. Lorain County Community College
Since 1963 when LCCC was established, the college has been able to help more than 43,000 Lorain County residents acquire a degree. Even though most of their programs focus on associate degrees, they still provide some bachelor’s degree programs.
| In-County Resident | $159.03 per credit hour |
| Out-of-County Resident | $184.21 per credit hour |
| Out-of-state Student | $335.78 per credit hour |
6. Northwest State Community College
Even though NSCC’s tuition fee is low, and they are the 6th most affordable community college on our list, I don’t love the fact that their student-to-faculty ratio is 24:1 which is even higher than the state community college average of 17:1. This will reduce student to teacher relationships and proper learning.
| Ohio Residents | $192.33 per credit hour |
| Out-of-state Students | $384.66 per credit hour |
7. Owens Community College
Besides providing a cheap tuition rate they also provide other means to help you reduce your fee through financial aid like Grants, Scholarships, Federal Work-Study, and even Loans – but make sure going for loans is your last alternative.
| Ohio Residents | $172.50 per credit hour |
| Out-of-state Students | $335 per credit hour |
8. Clark State Community College
This is one of the cheapest community colleges in Ohio that provides hundreds of scholarships each year worth Over $650,000. We know that the scholarship price is not high, especially when compared to 4-year universities that provide 10s to 100s of millions of dollars in scholarships.
But seeing their low tuition fees, I think it’s justifiable. They also offer a 50% reduced tuition rate to all active duty, reserve, Ohio National Guard and their spouses, and Veterans benefits.
| Ohio Residents | $175.33 per credit hour |
| Out-of-state Students | $322.66 per credit hour |
9. Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
This is among the community colleges that are accustomed to a small class size teaching, the college provides a ratio of 13:1 student-to-teacher ratio. This helps their faculties to have a personal relationship with their students and to easily track and help them in their career pursuits.
| Ohio Residents | $183.64 per credit hour |
| Out-of-state Students | $367.28 per credit hour |
10. James A. Rhodes State College
To add to their low tuition fee, they also provide more than $2 million worth of scholarships to help reduce eligible students’ expenses even further. They also provide some 100% online programs like Accounting, Business Administration, Human Resources, Marketing, Cybersecurity Fundamentals, Digital Marketing, etc.
| Ohio Residents | $ 190 per credit hour |
| Out-of-state Students | $ 380 per credit hour |
11. North Central State College
North Central State College is the largest public college in the region, enrolling more than 4,700 students annually. Their college’s health and public services associate degree programs continue to remain the most popular degree in this college.
| Ohio Residents | $191.60 per credit hour |
| Out-of-state Students | $383.20 per credit hour |
12. Stark State College
Besides the fact that Stark State College provides a very affordable tuition rate, they also provide financial aid to even reduce this fee to the minimum.
You can still take advantage of their scholarships.
| Ohio Residents | $194.60 per credit hour |
| Out-of-state Students | $323.60 per credit hour |
13. Southern State Community College
SSCC provides several programs and careers like; Associate of Arts & Associate of Science, Business, Computer Science, Education, Engineering, Human & Social Services, Health Science, Law Enforcement, Truck Driving Academy, etc.
| Ohio Residents | $197 per credit hour |
| Out-of-state Students | $376 per credit hour |
14. Marion Technical College
This is among the most affordable community colleges in Ohio that provides several scholarships and educational grants. Their scholarships (grants) are reviewed based on academic performance and financial need.
| Ohio Residents | $205 per credit hour |
| Out-of-state Students | $360 per credit hour |
15. Central Ohio Technical College
The Central Ohio Technical College provides more than 50 degrees and certificates that can be completed in as little as one semester or two years. Also, the school can provide more than 80 different scholarships worth over $1 million annually, thanks to their generous donors.
| Ohio Residents | $214 per credit hour |
| Out-of-state Students | $329 per credit hour |
Key Takeaway
Please note that these cheapest community colleges in Ohio tuition fees are up-to-date fees for the 2024/2025 academic year, but they are still subject to change, and we promise to always keep this list up-to-date. Also, academic expenses like books, accommodation, insurance, transportation, etc, are not included in the tuition fees, so endeavor to use the websites’ link to view more of these.
