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 Texas 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.
In Texas, community colleges offer two-year associate degrees in high-demand areas like education and training, business administration, science and technology, and healthcare.
Texas also offers unique educational initiatives like development education, adult education and literacy programs, dual credit, and other short-term programs and guided pathways, all leading to entry-level professional jobs.
Because Texas has so many four-year colleges and universities, why do many students still prefer to attend a community college? What advantages and benefits do students get from enrolling in a two-year degree program?
Two-year community colleges provide an efficient alternative to conventional four-year colleges and universities. Many community colleges provide flexibility regarding the content and structure of the course schedule.
This is a great advantage for non-traditional students working in full or part-time positions and traditional enrollees seeking post-secondary education. Consider the benefits of enrolling in a community college to assess if this is the right educational path for you.
Cost of Tuition: Community colleges have lower tuition costs than traditional four-year colleges or universities. A lot of these types of colleges have reduced rates for in-state students, which results in a more affordable post-secondary education program. Some community colleges also offer reduced-cost certification programs compared to two-year and four-year degree programs.
Great Financial Aid Options: Aside from the low tuition costs, community colleges have financial aid incentives for eligible students who need help paying for their college tuition. Some aid also covers the cost of materials and even housing and transportation. Students can apply, too, for student loan programs, special grant programs, and academic transfer programs that usually come with lower interest rates than the usual student loans.
Greater Flexibility: When you attend a community college, you can explore higher education at your own pace. This is specifically true for those who are not yet sure what they want to major in or those who believe college is not even an affordable choice for them.
Many junior colleges also offer part-time academic coursework to allow students to attend their college classes a few days each week while still working a full-time or part-time job.
The flexibility offered at a community college also provides a better school-life balance. Students get the chance to build their schedules around their personal lives, resulting in a healthier life balance.
Trade and Vocational Focus: Most, if not all, community colleges offer vocational training programs on top of their associate degree programs. Students who want to pursue trades in health care, technology, engineering, and other vocations, can enroll in specifically designed courses that prepare them for a career.
Most of these vocational courses include programs where they can earn professional certifications in a shorter time than the established four-year degrees.
Community colleges offer STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) associate degree programs that will lead to careers in-demand by many employers. With a solid ground on STEM subjects, you can solve problems, conduct research, or develop new ideas seamlessly.
Earning a two-year associate degree will help you get started quickly in your STEM-related career. Many junior colleges partner with local businesses and industries to promote job placement with your new degree. This makes it easier for you to secure a job after completing your associate’s degree program.
While community colleges do not offer four-year degree programs, they have admissions agreements with state and public colleges that allow students to transfer their credits if they want to pursue a bachelor’s degree.
Provided that the students meet the school’s requirements, they can transfer to a university or college of their choice to complete their bachelor’s program after they earn their two-year associate’s degree at a community college.
Texas offers more than 30 colleges and universities that serve communities of 10,000 students or more. The largest school in the bunch (and in the nation), Texas A&M University in College Station serves more than 65,000 students. The University of Texas at Austin is the next largest, serving about 45,000 students - but it too has a big claim to fame, as the wealthiest public university in the United States. Texas’s private colleges and universities, including Baylor University and Southern Methodist University, are also impressive in size and scope. The majority of these schools have religious affiliations and offer degrees in a variety fields, such as nursing, religious studies, criminal justice, business, and education.
Find college admissions consultants in your state.
For students who prefer a more intimate educational environment, Texas offers a long list of smaller public and private colleges and universities, such as Abilene Christian University and University of Texas of the Permian Basin. Additionally, Texas has generous loan forgiveness programs for qualifying nurses, physicians, teachers, legal aid attorneys, and lawyers who work in the Texas Attorney General’s office.
Texas is known for doing things big. Big cities, big open spaces and, of course, big fun. Whether you’re hitting up the live music scene in Austin, catching a Cowboys game in Dallas, or strolling down the River Walk in San Antonio, you’re sure to have a good time. And, with more than 150 higher education institutes, it’s safe to say The Lone Star State is big on education too.
If you’re looking to earn your degree in the state of Texas, you’ll have plenty of higher learning institutes to choose from.
We’ve identified 53 community colleges in Texas. The following list shows the best community colleges and primarily associate degree granting colleges in Texas.
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
18%
Student body
48K
Lone Star College System’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
16%
Student body
22K
Collin College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
11%
Student body
13K
Blinn College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
32%
Student body
13K
San Jacinto College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
26%
Student body
10K
San Antonio College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
19%
Student body
4K
Weatherford College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
14%
Student body
3K
Angelina College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
44%
Student body
5K
Lee College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
32%
Student body
3K
Kilgore College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
17%
Student body
31K
Houston Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
24%
Student body
4K
Alvin Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
28%
Student body
3K
College of the Mainland’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
20%
Student body
31K
Tarrant County College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
18%
Student body
7K
Central Texas College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
20%
Student body
4K
Wharton County Junior College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
28%
Student body
6K
Amarillo College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
41%
Student body
2K
Galveston College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
21%
Student body
2K
Victoria College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
13%
Student body
5K
Del Mar College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
35%
Student body
2K
Ranger College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
34%
Student body
3K
Paris Junior College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
15%
Student body
4K
Temple College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
21%
Student body
15K
El Paso Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
27%
Student body
5K
McLennan Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
21%
Student body
5K
North Central Texas College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
49%
Student body
1K
Western Texas College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Graduation
9%
Student body
24K
Austin Community College District’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
30%
Student body
4K
Odessa College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
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.