Find Trade Colleges
2023 Best Value Trade School Schools
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Prices
There are so many trade school programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Trade College Search has developed this Best Value Trade School Schools ranking. This report analyzed 1,440 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value programs for trade school students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Featured schools near , edit
Top Value Trade Schools in the United States
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Brigham Young University - Idaho to be the best value school for trade school students in the United States. Located in Rexburg, Idaho, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 8,121 degrees in 2021-2022.
BYU - I undergraduate students pay an average of $4,536 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, BYU - I also is in the top 5% of our Best Trade Schools ranking.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Columbia Southern University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools list. Columbia Southern University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in Orange Beach, Alabama that handed out 5,998 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Columbia Southern University are $6,015 per year.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Columbia Southern University is ranked #2 for overall quality in the United States.
Out of the 1,440 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Coahoma Community College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in Clarksdale, Mississippi, the small public school handed out 553 degrees in 2021-2022.
Coahoma Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $3,353 in tuition and fees each year.
Out of the 1,440 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Clovis Community College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in Clovis, New Mexico, the small public school handed out 725 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Clovis Community College are $3,224 per year.
Out of the 1,440 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Panola College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in Carthage, Texas, the small public school handed out 897 degrees in 2021-2022.
Panola College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,896 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Panola College is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Trade Schools list.
Southeast Community College Area ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools list. Southeast Community College is a medium-sized public school situated in Lincoln, Nebraska. It awarded 1,344 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Southeast Community College are $3,864 a year.
North Seattle College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. Seattle, Washington is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 748 students in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at North Seattle are $5,547 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, North Seattle also is in the top 10% of our Best Trade Schools ranking.
Lee College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #8 on the list. Lee College is a medium-sized public school located in Baytown, Texas that handed out 3,677 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lee College are $4,302 per year.
Highland Community College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools ranking. Located in Highland, Kansas, the small public school awarded 601 diplomas to qualifed students in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Highland Community College are $3,330 a year.
Seattle Central College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools ranking. Located in Seattle, Washington, the small public school awarded 1,229 diplomas to qualifed students in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Seattle Central are $5,354 a year.
Seattle Central excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Trade Schools list.
Cloud County Community College landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. Cloud County Community College is located in Concordia, Kansas and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 471 degrees to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cloud County Community College are $3,570 per year.
North Hennepin Community College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools list. Located in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, the small public school awarded 1,207 diplomas to qualifed students in 2021-2022.
North Hennepin Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,050 in tuition and fees each year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, North Hennepin Community College also did well on our Best Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Hutchinson Community College ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools list. This small public school is located in Hutchinson, Kansas, and it awarded 1,608 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Hutchinson Community College are $4,530 a year.
Coastal Pines Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #14 on the list. Coastal Pines Technical College is a small public school located in Waycross, Georgia that handed out 1,478 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Coastal Pines Technical College are $4,906 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Coastal Pines Technical College also did well on our Best Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Neosho County Community College came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools ranking. This small public school is located in Chanute, Kansas, and it awarded 791 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Neosho County Community College are $4,416 per year.
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Flex did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the very small public school handed out 132 degrees in 2021-2022.
UWM Flexible Option undergraduate students pay an average of $6,750 in tuition and fees each year.
UWM Flexible Option excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Trade Schools list.
Camden County College ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools list. Camden County College is a public institution located in Blackwood, New Jersey. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 1,397 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Camden County College are $3,744 per year.
Central Arizona College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools ranking. Pinal County Community College is a public institution located in Coolidge, Arizona. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1,048 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Pinal County Community College are $3,000 a year.
Pinal County Community College also claimed a spot on our Best Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
Rochester Community and Technical College came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools ranking. This small public school is located in Rochester, Minnesota, and it awarded 929 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Rochester Community and Technical College are $5,670 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Rochester Community and Technical College is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Trade Schools list.
Read full report on Rochester Community and Technical College
Arkansas State University - Newport ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools list. ASUN is a public institution located in Newport, Arkansas. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1,296 degrees in 2021-2022.
ASUN undergraduate students pay an average of $4,416 in tuition and fees each year.
Alvin Community College came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools ranking. Alvin is located in Alvin, Texas and has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 1,253 degrees to qualified students.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Alvin are $4,010 a year.
Galveston College ranked #22 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools list. Galveston College is located in Galveston, Texas and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 677 degrees to qualified students.
Galveston College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,726 in tuition and fees each year.
Galveston College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Trade Schools list.
Bismarck State College ranked #23 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools list. Bismarck, North Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 1,078 students in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at BSC are $7,227 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, BSC is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Trade Schools list.
South Louisiana Community College came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools ranking. South Louisiana Community College is located in Lafayette, Louisiana and has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 1,646 degrees to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at South Louisiana Community College are $4,205 per year.
Highlands College of Montana Tech landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. This very small public school is located in Butte, Montana, and it awarded 139 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Highlands College of Montana Tech are $9,642 a year.
Highlands College of Montana Tech also made our Best Trade Schools list, coming in at #1.
Narrow Schools by Region
More Nationwide Rankings
Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
TradeCollege.org provides higher-education, college and university, degree, program, career, salary, and other helpful information to students, faculty, institutions, and other internet audiences. Presented information and data are subject to change. Inclusion on this website does not imply or represent a direct relationship with the company, school, or brand. Information, though believed correct at time of publication, may not be correct, and no warranty is provided. Contact the schools to verify any information before relying on it. Financial aid may be available for those who qualify. TradeCollege.org is a for-profit site, and the displayed options may include sponsored or recommended results, not necessarily based on your preferences.
© TradeCollege.org – All Rights Reserved.