Best Colleges for Low-Income Students (2026)

How this list is ranked

For families earning under $30,000, the sticker price is meaningless; what matters is the net price after aid. These schools charge the lowest net price to the lowest income bracket.

Schools on this list 50

Source Federal data, same records as every school page

Admit rate, net price, and SAT in the table are for context. Rank order follows the method above, not those columns.

Rank	School	Admit	Net price	SAT
1	Moorpark College Moorpark, CA	-	$-2,296	-	See record
2	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	5.4%	$28,699	1510-1570	See record
3	Williams College Williamstown, MA	8.3%	$17,716	1490-1570	See record
4	Stanford University Stanford, CA	3.6%	$13,807	1510-1580	See record
5	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA	4.5%	$20,111	1520-1580	See record
6	California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA	2.6%	$16,075	-	See record
7	Ventura College Ventura, CA	-	$-982	-	See record
8	Oxnard College Oxnard, CA	-	$-1,128	-	See record
9	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA	14.0%	$23,781	1430-1540	See record
10	Atlanta Technical College Atlanta, GA	-	$-914	-	See record
11	Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Crump Crump, TN	-	$-839	-	See record
12	Canada College Redwood City, CA	-	$32	-	See record
13	Wilkes Community College Wilkesboro, NC	-	$-264	-	See record
14	College of San Mateo San Mateo, CA	-	$536	-	See record
15	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	4.5%	$14,860	1510-1580	See record
16	Western Technology Center Burns Flat, OK	-	$-1,072	-	See record
17	Colegio Universitario de San Juan San Juan, PR	75%	$-778	-	See record
18	University of Pittsburgh-Titusville Titusville, PA	35%	$11,150	-	See record
19	Coastal Pines Technical College Waycross, GA	-	$-126	-	See record
20	Ralph R Willis Career and Technical Center Stollings, WV	-	$-767	-	See record
21	St Petersburg College St. Petersburg, FL	-	$1,471	-	See record
22	Indiana University-Kokomo Kokomo, IN	86%	$3,968	960-1150	See record
23	College of the Sequoias Visalia, CA	-	$480	-	See record
24	Kirksville Area Technical Center Kirksville, MO	62%	$1,699	-	See record
25	Brown University Providence, RI	5.4%	$25,184	1510-1580	See record
26	Macomb Community College Warren, MI	-	$1,618	-	See record
27	Santiago Canyon College Orange, CA	-	$2,129	-	See record
28	Coahoma Community College Clarksdale, MS	-	$-274	-	See record
29	Fort Peck Community College Poplar, MT	-	$400	-	See record
30	Taylor Institute of Cosmetology II Knox, IN	-	$3,781	-	See record
31	West Shore Community College Scottville, MI	-	$1,527	-	See record
32	Wiregrass Georgia Technical College Valdosta, GA	-	$614	-	See record
33	Edgecombe Community College Tarboro, NC	-	$0	-	See record
34	Rabbinical Seminary of America Flushing, NY	98%	$4,844	-	See record
35	Trenz Beauty Academy Calumet City, IL	-	$0	-	See record
36	Victor Valley College Victorville, CA	-	$1,947	-	See record
37	North Florida College Madison, FL	-	$804	-	See record
38	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	4.6%	$6,128	1510-1580	See record
39	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	5.4%	$29,519	1500-1570	See record
40	Henry Ford College Dearborn, MI	-	$660	-	See record
41	Illinois Valley Community College Oglesby, IL	-	$2,232	-	See record
42	Chipola College Marianna, FL	-	$1,133	-	See record
43	Radford M Locklin Technical College Milton, FL	-	$987	-	See record
44	Infinity College Lafayette, LA	-	$230	-	See record
45	New Mexico State University-Grants Grants, NM	-	$68	-	See record
46	Gordon Cooper Technology Center Shawnee, OK	-	$1,680	-	See record
47	James Sprunt Community College Kenansville, NC	-	$1,863	-	See record
48	Lamar State College-Orange Orange, TX	-	$1,655	-	See record
49	South Georgia Technical College Americus, GA	-	$1,164	-	See record
50	College of the Albemarle Elizabeth City, NC	-	$2,253	-	See record