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 Michigan 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.
With over 80 public and private colleges to choose from, students hoping to earn their associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree can find a program that suits their educational needs and budget. Michigan State University and the University of Michigan are the two largest schools, both serving around 42,000 students and costing $16,000 in tuition. Most of the schools in The Wolverine State, however, serve smaller student populations, with tuition fees ranging from $3,000 to $49,000.
Find college admissions consultants in your state.
Additionally, students pursuing their degree at a school with religious affiliations have more than 20 options to choose from, including Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Grand Rapid’s Calvin College, and Hope College in Holland. Students attending one of Michigan’s private schools, like Davenport University, can earn their degrees in fields like nursing, education, criminal justice, and history. Michigan, like many other states, also provides a special loan forgiveness program to those in medical, dental, and mental health professions who work in underserved communities. Recipients can receive up to $200,000 of tax-free funds over an eight-year period.
The great state of Michigan famously serves as the major hub of the United States auto industry — and also boasts the longest freshwater coastline in the nation. Students who love the outdoors but are also drawn to the metropolitan energy of big cities like Detroit and Grand Rapids will feel very much at home in Michigan.
To find your degree program, explore some of the top schools in Michigan.
The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why, at the undergraduate level, we rank the best colleges and universities based on what we call “Concentrated Influence”. Concentrated Influence takes the combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers (including faculty and alums) and divides it by the school’s total number of undergraduates.
Using concentrated influence gives small and mid-sized schools an opportunity to shine by taking away the size advantage of larger universities. A small school with proportionately more influential faculty than a large school, whose influence in absolute terms may be bigger, will nonetheless score higher in a concentrated influence ranking. Our approach highlights undergraduate schools that truly rank for excellence, regardless of size.
If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence.
Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.
Find out more about our ranking methodology here.
There are 23 community colleges in Michigan. The following list shows the best community colleges in the state.
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
21%
Student body
5K
View profile
Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
24%
Student body
1K
View profile
North Central Michigan College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
30%
Student body
<1K
View profile
Gogebic Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Graduation
16%
Student body
3K
View profile
Muskegon Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Graduation
17%
Student body
8K
View profile
Grand Rapids Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
14%
Student body
7K
View profile
Wayne County Community College District’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
14%
Student body
<1K
View profile
Bay Mills Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
22%
Student body
1K
View profile
Monroe County Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Graduation
34%
Student body
1K
View profile
Bay de Noc Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
11%
Student body
5K
View profile
Mott Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
31%
Student body
<1K
View profile
Glen Oaks Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
12%
Student body
13K
View profile
Macomb Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
23%
Student body
<1K
View profile
Kirtland Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Graduation
34%
Student body
<1K
View profile
Montcalm Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
15%
Student body
3K
View profile
Kellogg Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
29%
Student body
1K
View profile
Southwestern Michigan College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
27%
Student body
8K
View profile
Washtenaw Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
16%
Student body
5K
View profile
Delta College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
17%
Student body
8K
View profile
Lansing Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
15%
Student body
10K
View profile
Oakland Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
26%
Student body
<1K
View profile
West Shore Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Graduation
23%
Student body
2K
View profile
St. Clair County Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Graduation
16%
Student body
3K
View profile
Mid Michigan Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
What are Custom College Rankings?
College Strategist
Want to be an Academic Influence Insider?
Sign up to get the latest news, information, and rankings in our upcoming newsletter.