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2023 Best Value Trade School Schools in Virginia
Identifying High-Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for trade school students. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent.
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 in Virginia ranking. This report analyzed 38 schools in Virginia 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. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
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Top Value Trade Schools in Virginia
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Danville Community College the best value school in Virginia for trade school students working on their degree. Danville Community College is a small public school situated in Danville, Virginia. It awarded 779 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Danville Community College are $10,728 per year.
Danville Community College also took the #2 spot in our Best Trade Schools in Virginia rankings.
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Piedmont Virginia Community College is a great place for trade school students who want to get the most value for their educational dollar. Located in Charlottesville, Virginia, the medium-sized public school handed out 1,061 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at PVCC are $10,793 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, PVCC is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Trade Schools in Virginia list.
Out of the 38 schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, Wytheville Community College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in Wytheville, Virginia, the small public school awarded 473 diplomas to qualifed students in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WCC are $10,728 per year.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Thomas Nelson Community College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in Virginia list. TNCC is located in Hampton, Virginia and has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 1,186 degrees to qualified students.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at TNCC are $10,809 a year.
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Reynolds Community College is a great place for trade school students who want to get the most value for their educational dollar. Reynolds Community College is a medium-sized public school situated in Richmond, Virginia. It awarded 1,558 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Reynolds Community College are $11,001 per year.
John Tyler Community College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools in Virginia ranking. John Tyler Community College is a public institution located in Chester, Virginia. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 1,557 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at John Tyler Community College are $10,803 a year.
Northern Virginia Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in Annandale, Virginia, the large public school awarded 9,087 diplomas to qualifed students in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Northern Virginia Community College are $11,648 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Northern Virginia Community College also is in the top 15% of our Best Trade Schools in Virginia ranking.
Mountain Empire Community 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. Located in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, the small public school handed out 975 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MECC are $10,728 per year.
Southside Virginia Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #9 on the list. Southside Virginia Community College is a small public school situated in Alberta, Virginia. It awarded 952 degrees in 2021-2022.
Southside Virginia Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $10,698 in tuition and fees each year.
Dabney S Lancaster Community College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in Virginia list. This very small public school is located in Clifton Forge, Virginia, and it awarded 331 degrees in 2021-2022.
DSLCC undergraduate students pay an average of $10,743 in tuition and fees each year.
Central Virginia Community College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in Virginia list. This small public school is located in Lynchburg, Virginia, and it awarded 1,133 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Central Virginia Community College are $10,856 a year.
Tidewater Community College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in Virginia list. This fairly large public school is located in Norfolk, Virginia, and it awarded 3,462 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Tidewater Community College are $11,564 a year.
Patrick Henry Community College landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. Located in Martinsville, Virginia, the small public school handed out 699 degrees in 2021-2022.
Patrick Henry undergraduate students pay an average of $10,723 in tuition and fees each year.
Lord Fairfax Community 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. Lord Fairfax Community College is a medium-sized public school situated in Middletown, Virginia. It awarded 1,392 degrees in 2021-2022.
Lord Fairfax Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $10,742 in tuition and fees each year.
Virginia Highlands Community College came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools in Virginia ranking. Located in Abingdon, Virginia, the small public school awarded 704 diplomas to qualifed students in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at VHCC are $10,728 a year.
Blue Ridge Community College ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in Virginia list. Blue Ridge Community College is a small public school located in Weyers Cave, Virginia that handed out 1,266 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at BRCC are $11,367 a year.
New River Community College landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. NRCC is a public institution located in Dublin, Virginia. The school has a small population, and it awarded 942 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at NRCC are $10,699 a year.
Virginia Western Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #18 on the list. Virginia Western Community College is a public institution located in Roanoke, Virginia. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 1,184 degrees in 2021-2022.
Virginia Western Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $11,106 in tuition and fees each year.
Southwest Virginia Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #19 on the list. Southwest Virginia is a small public school situated in Cedar Bluff, Virginia. It awarded 617 degrees in 2021-2022.
Southwest Virginia undergraduate students pay an average of $10,736 in tuition and fees each year.
Paul D Camp Community College came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools in Virginia ranking. Located in Franklin, Virginia, the small public school handed out 265 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Paul D Camp Community College are $10,733 per year.
Old Dominion University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #21 on the list. Old Dominion is located in Norfolk, Virginia and has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 5,241 degrees to qualified students.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Old Dominion are $31,170 a year.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Old Dominion is ranked #4 for overall quality in Virginia.
Rappahannock Community College 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. RCC is a small public school situated in Glenns, Virginia. It awarded 923 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at RCC are $10,823 a year.
Germanna Community College came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools in Virginia ranking. Germanna Community College is a public institution located in Locust Grove, Virginia. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 2,211 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Germanna Community College are $10,916 a year.
James Madison University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools in Virginia ranking. JMU is a public institution located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5,530 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at JMU are $30,152 per year.
JMU did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our Best Trade Schools in Virginia list.
Radford 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. Located in Radford, Virginia, the medium-sized public school handed out 2,248 degrees in 2021-2022.
Radford undergraduate students pay an average of $24,453 in tuition and fees each year.
Radford did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Trade Schools in Virginia list.
Best Value Trade Schools in the Southeast Region
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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.