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2023 Best Value Trade School Schools in Tennessee
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.
The Best Value Trade School Schools in Tennessee ranking is one of many tools that Trade College Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 35 schools in Tennessee to see which programs offered the best value experiences for trade school students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
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.
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Top Value Trade Schools in Tennessee
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Motlow State Community College the best value school in Tennessee for trade school students working on their degree. Located in Tullahoma, Tennessee, the medium-sized public school handed out 1,071 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Motlow are $17,232 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Motlow also is in the top 15% of our Best Trade Schools in Tennessee ranking.
Out of the 35 schools in Tennessee that were part of this year’s ranking, Jackson State Community College landed the # 2 spot on the list. JSCC is a public institution located in Jackson, Tennessee. The school has a small population, and it awarded 665 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at JSCC are $18,076 a year.
JSCC did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Trade Schools in Tennessee list.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Volunteer State Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Trade School Schools in Tennessee list. Gallatin, Tennessee is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 1,628 students in 2021-2022.
VSCC undergraduate students pay an average of $17,220 in tuition and fees each year.
Out of the 35 schools in Tennessee that were part of this year’s ranking, Southwest Tennessee Community College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in Memphis, Tennessee, the medium-sized public school handed out 1,106 degrees in 2021-2022.
Southwest undergraduate students pay an average of $17,246 in tuition and fees each year.
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Dyersburg State Community College is a great place for trade school students who want to get the most value for their educational dollar. Dyersburg, Tennessee is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 883 students in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DSCC are $17,226 per year.
Walters State Community College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. WSCC is a medium-sized public school situated in Morristown, Tennessee. It awarded 1,249 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at WSCC are $17,215 a year.
Chattanooga State Community College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools in Tennessee ranking. This medium-sized public school is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and it awarded 1,429 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Chattanooga State Community College are $17,246 a year.
Roane State Community College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in Tennessee list. Roane State Community College is a public institution located in Harriman, Tennessee. The school has a small population, and it awarded 955 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Roane State Community College are $17,540 per year.
Columbia State Community College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. Columbia State Community College is located in Columbia, Tennessee and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 1,099 degrees to qualified students.
Columbia State Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $17,260 in tuition and fees each year.
Pellissippi State Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #10 on the list. Pellissippi State Community College is a medium-sized public school located in Knoxville, Tennessee that handed out 1,741 degrees in 2021-2022.
Pellissippi State Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $17,272 in tuition and fees each year.
Nashville State Community College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in Tennessee list. Nashville, Tennessee is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 1,195 students in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Nashville State Community College are $17,188 a year.
Northeast State Community College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools in Tennessee ranking. Northeast State Community College is a medium-sized public school located in Blountville, Tennessee that handed out 1,219 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northeast State Technical Community College are $17,238 per year.
Tennessee Technological University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. Cookeville, Tennessee is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 2,502 students in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Tennessee Tech University are $19,834 per year.
Tennessee Tech University not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Trade Schools in Tennessee list.
The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. UT Chattanooga is a fairly large public school situated in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It awarded 2,551 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at UT Chattanooga are $25,966 a year.
UT Chattanooga also made our Best Trade Schools in Tennessee list, coming in at #4.
Tennessee State University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. This medium-sized public school is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and it awarded 1,272 degrees in 2021-2022.
Tennessee State University undergraduate students pay an average of $21,692 in tuition and fees each year.
Austin Peay State University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in Tennessee list. Located in Clarksville, Tennessee, the medium-sized public school handed out 2,421 degrees in 2021-2022.
Austin Peay State University undergraduate students pay an average of $13,975 in tuition and fees each year.
Cleveland State Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #17 on the list. Cleveland, Tennessee is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 1,092 students in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cleveland State Community College are $17,216 per year.
University of Memphis did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #17 on the list. UofM is a large public school situated in Memphis, Tennessee. It awarded 4,862 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UofM are $14,280 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, UofM is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Trade Schools in Tennessee list.
Middle Tennessee State University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in Tennessee list. This large public school is located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and it awarded 4,677 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Middle Tennessee State University are $28,264 per year.
East Tennessee State University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in Tennessee list. ETSU is located in Johnson City, Tennessee and has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 3,604 degrees to qualified students.
ETSU undergraduate students pay an average of $12,740 in tuition and fees each year.
The University of Tennessee - Knoxville ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in Tennessee list. UT Knoxville is a public institution located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The school has a large population, and it awarded 8,049 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UT Knoxville are $31,664 per year.
Union University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #22 on the list. Union is located in Jackson, Tennessee and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 982 degrees to qualified students.
Union undergraduate students pay an average of $19,363 in tuition and fees each year.
Bethel University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #23 on the list. Bethel is located in McKenzie, Tennessee and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 688 degrees to qualified students.
Bethel undergraduate students pay an average of $16,871 in tuition and fees each year.
Remington College - Memphis Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #24 on the list. Remington College - Memphis Campus is located in Memphis, Tennessee and has a very small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 204 degrees to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Remington College - Memphis Campus are $19,964 per year.
Trevecca Nazarene University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #25 on the list. TNU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1,179 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at TNU are $28,500 a year.
TNU also made our Best Trade Schools in Tennessee list, coming in at #2.
Best Value Trade Schools in the Southeast Region
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More Tennessee 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.