Most Affordable Colleges in Pennsylvania 2025

Badge for MOST AFFORDABLE COLLEGES IN PENNSYLVANIA

By Dr. James Barham
Reviewed By Jenn Finley

Published: Mar 23, 2021
Updated: Sep 20, 2024

Key Takeaways

The most affordable colleges in Pennsylvania are the public colleges and universities within Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education and the Commonwealth System of Higher Education.
Setting realistic expectations regarding costs, from tuition and other fees to room and board, is vital in completing your higher education in Pennsylvania without overwhelming student debt.
Look into the financial aid options offered by any small liberal arts college in you’re planning on attending in Pennsylvania, because they can result in significant reductions in the cost of higher education.

Table of Contents

10 Most Affordable Colleges in Pennsylvania 2024

Temple University
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Lincoln University
West Chester University
Slippery Rock University
Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania
PennWest California
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

Temple University
Lincoln University
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
West Chester University
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Millersville University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg 98%
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown 97%
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania 96%
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania 94%
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford 94%
Millersville University of Pennsylvania 92%
Indiana University of Pennsylvania 92%
West Chester University 88%
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania 88%
Lincoln University 81%

Indiana University of Pennsylvania 21 to 1
Lackawanna College 21 to 1
West Chester University 20 to 1
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania 20 to 1
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania 20 to 1
Slippery Rock University 19 to 1
Millersville University of Pennsylvania 18 to 1
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania 17 to 1
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg 16 to 1
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown 15 to 1

Temple University $20,173
Keystone College $17,450
Lackawanna College $17,340
Pittsburgh Technical College $16,974
Peirce College $15,060
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown $13,660
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg $13,660
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford $13,660
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania $9,570
Millersville University of Pennsylvania $9,570

Temple University $20,531
Keystone College $15,600
Peirce College $13,896
Lincoln University $10,106
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania $10,062
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania $9,288
Millersville University of Pennsylvania $9,288
Indiana University of Pennsylvania $9,288
Slippery Rock University $9,288
West Chester University $9,288

Mansfield University of Pennsylvania
Peirce College
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg
Pittsburgh Technical College
Keystone College
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania
PennWest Clarion
Lackawanna College
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania
PennWest Clarion
PennWest Edinboro
Pittsburgh Technical College
PennWest California
Slippery Rock University
Keystone College
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania
Lackawanna College
Peirce College

Slippery Rock University 74%
Temple University 80%
Keystone College 81%
Lincoln University 81%
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania 88%
West Chester University 88%
Indiana University of Pennsylvania 92%
Millersville University of Pennsylvania 92%
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford 94%
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania 94%

Peirce College 9 to 1
Temple University 12 to 1
Lincoln University 13 to 1
Pittsburgh Technical College 13 to 1
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford 13 to 1
Keystone College 14 to 1
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown 15 to 1
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania 15 to 1
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg 16 to 1
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania 17 to 1

Indiana University of Pennsylvania $7,716
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania $7,716
Slippery Rock University $7,716
West Chester University $7,716
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania $7,716
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania $7,716
Lincoln University $8,476
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania $9,570
Millersville University of Pennsylvania $9,570
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown $13,660

Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania $9,288
Millersville University of Pennsylvania $9,288
Indiana University of Pennsylvania $9,288
Slippery Rock University $9,288
West Chester University $9,288
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania $9,288
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania $10,062
Lincoln University $10,106
Peirce College $13,896
Keystone College $15,600

Pennsylvania and Its Affordable Colleges

Did you know that one of the country’s oldest universities is in Pennsylvania? A private Ivy League school, the University of Pennsylvania, was founded in 1740. But if you’re looking for the state’s most affordable colleges, know first that the average tuition is $63,452 or higher than the $41,568 national average.

College-bound students who want to enjoy the benefits of higher education without crippling student debt can look into colleges and universities in the Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and the Commonwealth System of Higher Education. Both of these systems not only offer affordable tuition and other fees but also have a wide range of financial aid options.

Furthermore, the colleges and universities offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs that prepare students for successful careers and productive lives. Many also have job training programs that prepare students for competitive industries like health science, business administration, and criminal justice.

Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education

Founded on July 1, 1983, the Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) is the state agency responsible for overseeing state-owned universities.

As a group, these universities are the largest providers of higher education in Pennsylvania with more than 90,000 students in their degree programs alone. Students and alumni contribute to the socio-economic progress of their local communities, the commonwealth, and the country.

Every member university in the PASSHE is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusivity in higher education. Affordable cost of college education is among the universities’ primary means of enabling students to achieve personal and professional advancement.

The PASSHE is also committed to ideal student to faculty ratio in their member schools, which allows students a higher rate of success in their studies.

You can also check out our ranking of the most affordable colleges and universities in the United States.

The 10 state-owned universities within PASSHE are:

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Millersville University of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Western University
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Note that starting in the 2022-2023 academic year, consolidations were made between several universities. Pennsylvania Western University is composed of the former Clarion University, California University, and Edinboro University. Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania consists of the former Mansfield University, Bloomsburg University, and Lock Haven University.

Nearly 80% of students enrolled in PASSHE universities receive financial aid with the typical financial assistance package consisting of scholarships, loans, and work-study employment. The Board of Governors has also voted for a tuition freeze—the fourth in a row—for the 2022-2023 academic year.

While each university has its in-state and out-of-state tuition structure, housing and board packages, and other mandatory fees, the typical undergraduate tuition and other costs for students are:

In-state tuition: $7,716
In-state technology fee: $478
Out-of-state tuition: $9,660-$19,290
Mandatory fees: $2,214-$3,496

Students must also consider on-campus housing and other incidental expenses. Housing plans are between $3,488 and $11,884, while board plans are in the $1,640-$4,924 range.

Commonwealth System of Higher Education

The Commonwealth System of Higher Education designates state-related status on four universities in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, namely:

Lincoln University, a public state-related historically black university in Oxford, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania State University, a multi-campus public state-related land-grant research university
Temple University, a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania known for its world-class professional education programs such as law, medicine, and engineering
University of Pittsburgh, a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The unique public-private hybrid university system allows Pennsylvania residents/students to benefit from tuition discounts, thanks to annual financial appropriations from the state. Note, however, that PASSHE universities still have more affordable tuition than universities in the Commonwealth System of Higher Education.

How do we determine Pennsylvania's best affordable colleges and universities?

Methodology

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great! 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 in their fields of study.

Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is freer from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

To rank the influence of schools, we first determine the influence of scholars and professionals based on the number of citations and publications they have had over the past 10 years. In addition to publications and citations, we consider the web links to and from these sources, and the page views of those sources. We then match the influential people to their alma maters and institutions of employment, so that their influence is attributed to those schools. Our machine-learning Influence Ranking algorithm produces a numerical score of academic achievements, merits, and citations across Wikipedia, wikidata, Crossref, Semantic Scholar and an ever-growing body of data. If you are interested in exploring how and why we rank by influence, explore our methodology in more depth.

There are 27 colleges and universities in Pennsylvania with stated tuitions and fees under $20,000/year. The following list of the most affordable colleges and universities in Pennsylvania is composed entirely of schools offering bachelor’s degree programs, have stated tuition and fees near or under the national average of $16,000/year, and are fully accredited colleges.