Best Community Colleges in Hawaii 2024
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 Hawaii 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.
Best Community Colleges in Hawaii
- Leeward Community College
- Honolulu Community College
- Windward Community College
- Kapiʻolani Community College
- Hawaiʻi Community College
- Kauaʻi Community College
- Leeward Community College 20 to 1
- Kapiʻolani Community College 17 to 1
- Windward Community College 16 to 1
- Honolulu Community College 15 to 1
- Hawaiʻi Community College 13 to 1
- Kauaʻi Community College 11 to 1
- Honolulu Community College $3,144
- Hawaiʻi Community College $3,144
- Kapiʻolani Community College $3,144
- Kauaʻi Community College $3,144
- Windward Community College $3,144
- Leeward Community College $3,144
- Kauaʻi Community College
- Hawaiʻi Community College
- Kapiʻolani Community College
- Windward Community College
- Honolulu Community College
- Leeward Community College
- Kauaʻi Community College 11 to 1
- Hawaiʻi Community College 13 to 1
- Honolulu Community College 15 to 1
- Windward Community College 16 to 1
- Kapiʻolani Community College 17 to 1
- Leeward Community College 20 to 1
- Honolulu Community College $3,144
- Hawaiʻi Community College $3,144
- Kapiʻolani Community College $3,144
- Kauaʻi Community College $3,144
- Windward Community College $3,144
- Leeward Community College $3,144
Colleges and Universities in Hawaiʻi
The majority of the universities and colleges in The Aloha State are public institutions, including Hawaiʻi’s largest school, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The nearly 15,000 students who attend this school pay tuition fees around $12,000. Students attending public colleges can choose between a wide range of on campus and online degree programs.
It’s also worth noting that you can receive in-state tuition discount rates for attending a public college in Hawaii, whether you enroll through a traditional or online degree program.
Hawaiʻi also offers several private school options, including two which have religious affiliations. While tuition at these private schools varies, from $6,000 at Brigham Young University Hawaiʻi to $26,000 at Hawaiʻi Pacific University, each serves between 2,000-3,000 students.
Find college admissions consultants in your state.
Students who attend both brick-and-mortar and online colleges in Hawaii have the option to major in fields like biology, education, history, criminal justice, physics, and many others. However, students who graduate with degrees in the health care field have an extra advantage. Hawaiʻi offers a student loan forgiveness-based financial aid program for health care workers who work at designated, high-need locations within the state for at least two years.
So, even though Hawaiʻi comes in just above the national average for tuition costs, if you are considering a career in health care, this may be the place for you.
Some dream of vacationing in paradise - but why not take it a step further and live there? Students attending school in Hawaiʻi won’t have to say aloha, or goodbye, to the beautiful white sand beaches, perfect waves, and tropical drinks. Both traditional and online students can enroll in one of Hawaiʻi’s 15 higher education institutes and live their best life in these picturesque island communities.
For more information on obtaining your degree in Hawaiʻi, explore some of the top programs and schools this state has to offer.
What are Hawaiʻi’s Colleges & Universities?
- 2 Research Universities
- 5 Liberal Arts Colleges & Universities
- 2 Graduate Schools
- 4 Public Colleges & Universities
- 3 Private Colleges & Universities
- 5 Affordable Colleges (below $20,000/year)
- 6 Community Colleges
- 6 Online Colleges
Hawaiʻi’s Best Overall
We’ve identified 6 community colleges in Hawaii. The following list shows the best community colleges and primarily associate degree granting colleges in Hawaii.
If you’re interested in an online associate degree, visit our best online associate degrees in Hawaii page.
Best Community Colleges in Hawaii
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
27%
Student body
4K
Career Outlook for degree at Leeward Community College
Cost of Degree: $3,209Starting Salary: $37,500What is Leeward Community College known for?
Leeward Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
23%
Student body
2K
Career Outlook for degree at Honolulu Community College
Cost of Degree: $3,174Starting Salary: $40,600What is Honolulu Community College known for?
Honolulu Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
24%
Student body
1K
Career Outlook for degree at Windward Community College
Cost of Degree: $3,194Starting Salary: $32,400What is Windward Community College known for?
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
34%
Student body
1K
Career Outlook for degree at Hawaiʻi Community College
Cost of Degree: $3,204Expenses: $13,564Starting Salary: $30,300Cost Recoup Time: 11 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryTuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
25%
Student body
4K
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
30%
Student body
<1K
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.
