Best Community Colleges in Arizona 2023

BEST IN ARIZONA COMMUNITY COLLEGES

The best community colleges provide an effective springboard into higher education, offering students high-quality two-year degree programs in a wide range of disciplines. The top-rated community colleges in Arizona offer a broad selection of associate’s degrees, affordable tuition rates, and strong partnerships with public four-year schools so that students can easily transfer their credits into accredited bachelor’s degree programs.

10 Best Community Colleges in Arizona

Sort by:
  1. Mesa Community College
  2. Eastern Arizona College
  3. Phoenix College
  4. Diné College
  5. Pima Community College
  6. Yavapai College
  7. Cochise College
  8. Mohave Community College
  9. Scottsdale Community College
  10. Central Arizona College
    1. Rio Salado College 28 to 1
    2. Coconino County Community College 23 to 1
    3. Chandler–Gilbert Community College 22 to 1
    4. Estrella Mountain Community College 19 to 1
    5. Eastern Arizona College 18 to 1
    6. Tohono Oʼodham Community College 17 to 1
    7. Arizona Western College 17 to 1
    8. Yavapai College 17 to 1
    9. Cochise College 17 to 1
    10. Mesa Community College 16 to 1
    1. Coconino County Community College $3,254
    2. Arizona Western College $2,700
    3. Yavapai College $2,600
    4. Central Arizona College $2,580
    5. Cochise College $2,184
    6. Eastern Arizona College $2,160
    7. Pima Community College $2,088
    8. Glendale Community College $2,040
    9. Estrella Mountain Community College $2,040
    10. Phoenix College $2,040
      1. Tohono Oʼodham Community College
      2. Chandler–Gilbert Community College
      3. South Mountain Community College
      4. Coconino County Community College
      5. Estrella Mountain Community College
      6. Paradise Valley Community College
      7. GateWay Community College
      8. Rio Salado College
      9. Northland Pioneer College
      10. Arizona Western College
        1. GateWay Community College 11 to 1
        2. Mohave Community College 12 to 1
        3. Phoenix College 13 to 1
        4. Diné College 13 to 1
        5. Paradise Valley Community College 13 to 1
        6. Northland Pioneer College 14 to 1
        7. South Mountain Community College 14 to 1
        8. Glendale Community College 15 to 1
        9. Central Arizona College 15 to 1
        10. Scottsdale Community College 15 to 1
        1. Tohono Oʼodham Community College $932
        2. Diné College $1,410
        3. Mohave Community College $1,944
        4. Northland Pioneer College $1,948
        5. Glendale Community College $2,040
        6. Estrella Mountain Community College $2,040
        7. Phoenix College $2,040
        8. Rio Salado College $2,040
        9. Mesa Community College $2,040
        10. South Mountain Community College $2,040

          Colleges and Universities in Arizona

          Both traditional and online students hoping to attend college in Arizona have a lot to choose from. With both in-person and online degrees at every level of education, Arizona offers educational variety and excellence. Students can choose from associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs anywhere in the state.

          The state’s largest university, the University of Arizona located in Tucson, offers a competitive tuition rate, at $12,000, for its 39,000 students.Moreover, Arizona’s most affordable schools, such as the tribally-owned Diné College, offer tuition as low as $1,000.

          Private schools make up about one third of the higher education institutes in Arizona. Arizona’s private schools offer a comprehensive range of traditional and online degrees from fine arts to naturopathic medicine.

          Arizona’s public universities and colleges, such as Northern Arizona University located in Flagstaff, offer both on-campus and online students a variety of study concentrations, including mathematics, education, political science, and psychology. If you’re looking for flexibility, Arizona has 14 colleges and universities offering entirely online degrees.

          Find college admissions consultants in your state.

          Arizona is also home to three religiously affiliated schools: Arizona Christian University, Phoenix Seminary, and International Baptist College. While tuition varies greatly among these three schools, each school provides unique degree programs, such as music ministry at International Baptist College.

          Arizona boasts year-round sunshine, the Grand Canyon, award-winning restaurants, and several professional sports teams? With more than 30 colleges and universities to choose from, Arizona allows students to get their degrees while cashing in on some of life’s greatest pleasures.

          If you want to experience the state of Arizona while taking some online courses, you may be able to take a hybrid degree program. Many Arizona colleges and universities allow you to earn a degree through a combination of online learning and on-campus courses.

          Arizona offers a variety of excellent and affordable colleges and universities for on-campus and online students at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree level.


          What are Arizona’s Colleges & Universities?

          Arizona’s Best Overall

          Arizona's Best Community Colleges Badge
          Download Badge

          We’ve identified 21 community colleges in Arizona. The following list shows the best community colleges and primarily associate degree granting colleges in Arizona.

          If you’re interested in an online associate degree, visit our best online associate degrees in Alabama page.

          Best Community Colleges in Arizona

          1. Tuition + fees

            $2K

            Graduation

            14%

            Student body

            8K

            What is Glendale Community College known for?

            Glendale Community College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:

            Most Influential Alumni

          2. #6

            Cochise College

            Sierra Vista , AZ

            Tuition + fees

            $2K

            Graduation

            30%

            Student body

            7K

            What is Cochise College known for?

            Cochise College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:

            Most Influential Alumni

          3. Tuition + fees

            $3K

            Graduation

            19%

            Student body

            3K

            What is Central Arizona College known for?

            Central Arizona College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:

            Most Influential Alumni

          4. #9

            Diné College

            Tsaile , AZ

            Tuition + fees

            $1K

            Graduation

            6%

            Student body

            <1K

            What is Diné College known for?

            Diné College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:

          5. #10

            Eastern Arizona College

            Thatcher , AZ

            Tuition + fees

            $2K

            Graduation

            42%

            Student body

            3K

          6. Tuition + fees

            $3K

            Graduation

            13%

            Student body

            2K

            What is Coconino County Community College known for?

            Coconino County Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:

          7. Tuition + fees

            $2K

            Graduation

            22%

            Student body

            1K

            What is Northland Pioneer College known for?

            Northland Pioneer College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:

          8. Tuition + fees

            $2K

            Graduation

            23%

            Student body

            2K

            What is Mohave Community College known for?

            Mohave Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:

          9. Tuition + fees

            $2K

            Graduation

            28%

            Student body

            3K

            What is GateWay Community College known for?

            GateWay Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:

          10. Tuition + fees

            $2K

            Graduation

            16%

            Student body

            2K

            What is South Mountain Community College known for?

            South Mountain Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:

          11. Tuition + fees

            $2K

            Graduation

            16%

            Student body

            5K

            What is Estrella Mountain Community College known for?

            Estrella Mountain Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:

          12. Tuition + fees

            $2K

            Graduation

            20%

            Student body

            7K

            What is Chandler–Gilbert Community College known for?

            Chandler–Gilbert Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:

            Most Influential Alumni

          13. Tuition + fees

            $1K

            Graduation

            14%

            Student body

            <1K

            What is Tohono Oʼodham Community College known for?

            Tohono Oʼodham Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:

          2021 Ranking Archive

          Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.

          1. Diné College
          2. Eastern Arizona College
          3. Mesa Community College
          4. Scottsdale Community College
          5. Yavapai College
          6. Phoenix College
          7. Pima Community College
          8. Glendale Community College
          9. South Mountain Community College
          10. Central Arizona College
          11. Northland Pioneer College
          12. Paradise Valley Community College
          13. Rio Salado College
          14. GateWay Community College
          15. Cochise College
          16. Mohave Community College
          17. Tohono Oʼodham Community College
          18. Estrella Mountain Community College
          19. Arizona Western College
          20. Coconino County Community College
          21. Chandler–Gilbert Community College