[Community College Education](/majors/education/educational-administration/community-college-education/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
College Factual analyzed 2 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best value community college education schools.
What’s on this page:
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in community college education, balancing cost against outcomes.
Our analysis ranked Northern Arizona University the best value for a degree in community college education in the Southwest Region. Set in the city of Flagstaff, Northern Arizona University is a very large public institution. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $12,619, compared with $20,044 for out-of-state students. Students borrow a median of $21,645 to complete the community college education program here. Soon after graduation, community college education degree recipients from Northern Arizona University generally make around $72,219. That is a strong return on a $21,645 median debt. Northern Arizona University admits about 90% of applicants.
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Notes and References
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 2 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
