State cost ranking · DOE College Scorecard
Cheapest Colleges in Alaska
According to U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data, 10 Alaska colleges ranked by average net price, what students actually paid after grant and scholarship aid, not the published sticker price.
- $6,743
- Cheapest net price
- $15,301
- Alaska median
- 10
- Schools ranked
Data updated June 2026 · IPEDS 2022–23 vintage
The list in one line
Ilisagvik College has the lowest average net price in Alaska at $6,743/year, and the state's median net price is 10% below the $17,083 national median across 4,942 schools.
- $6,743
- cheapest ranked net price
- $15,301
- Alaska median net price
- 5 public / 5 private
- schools in this ranking
- $13,920
- avg net price, <$30K income families
Average net price is the institution-reported average amount students actually paid after all grant and scholarship aid, not counting loans that must be repaid. A very low figure at a specialty or religious institution can reflect a narrow enrollment mix rather than typical affordability, check the sector label and enrollment before comparing.
Sticker tuition and real net price diverge most at Alaska Christian College, where in-state published tuition of $9,660 falls to an average net price of $7,063 after aid, a $2,597 gap. This is the widest sticker-to-net-price gap among ranked Alaska schools, and a reminder that published tuition alone is a poor guide to what most admitted students actually pay.
Across all 10 ranked Alaska schools, 5 are public institutions and 5 are private (nonprofit or for-profit). Sector is shown next to every school below because a low sticker-adjacent price at a small religious, seminary, or specialty school can reflect an unusual enrollment mix rather than broad affordability, check enrollment and sector before drawing conclusions from rank alone.
Average net price also blends every income bracket into one figure, so a family's own bracket can land well above or below the number shown here. Federal reporting requires an institution to have enough surveyed aid recipients in a bracket before that bracket is published, so a very small school can show only a partial income-bracket breakdown even when its overall average net price is fully reported. Use the school's own profile page for the full income-bracket table before treating a single average as a personal cost estimate.
Alaska's 25 cheapest colleges by real net price
| # | College | Avg net price | Net price (<$30K income) | Median debt | Median earnings, 6yr | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ilisagvik College Barrow, AK · Public | $6,743 81% of the leader · rank #1 | $6,124 | - | $31,396 | 311 |
| 2 | Alaska Christian College Soldotna, AK · Private nonprofit | $7,063 80% of the leader · rank #2 | $3,875 | - | $14,240 | 64 |
| 3 | University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, AK · Public | $10,892 69% of the leader · rank #3 | $7,992 | $20,291 | $40,746 | 6,640 |
| 4 | University of Alaska Southeast Juneau, AK · Public | $12,357 65% of the leader · rank #4 | $9,955 | $19,111 | $38,811 | 1,918 |
| 5 | Alaska Vocational Technical Center Seward, AK · Public | $12,635 64% of the leader · rank #5 | $9,485 | - | $42,187 | 452 |
| 6 | University of Alaska Anchorage Anchorage, AK · Public | $15,301 56% of the leader · rank #6 | $11,582 | $20,210 | $42,313 | 10,796 |
| 7 | Alaska Bible College Palmer, AK · Private nonprofit | $17,508 50% of the leader · rank #7 | $17,508 | - | - | 65 |
| 8 | Alaska Career College Anchorage, AK · Private for-profit | $20,150 42% of the leader · rank #8 | $19,657 | $7,377 | $35,863 | 255 |
| 9 | Alaska Pacific University Anchorage, AK · Private nonprofit | $21,616 38% of the leader · rank #9 | $19,404 | $23,500 | $47,803 | 578 |
| 10 | Charter College Anchorage, AK · Private for-profit | $34,860 4% of the leader · rank #10 | $33,621 | $14,176 | $35,427 | 2,277 |
What this means for you
Use Alaska's ranking as a starting point, real net price depends on your specific financial-aid package.
- Ilisagvik College reports the lowest average net price in Alaska, but "average" blends every income bracket, check your bracket's figure before assuming it applies to you. View Ilisagvik College
- See your specific school's in-state cost rank and nearest-price peers. My School Profile
- Compare campus safety alongside cost before deciding. Alaska safety
Figures reflect the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard IPEDS 2022–23 release.
Average net price = the institution-reported average amount students actually paid after all grant and scholarship aid, excluding loans. Only schools with a reported average net price in the DOE College Scorecard dataset are ranked. Schools with fewer than 10 net-price-reporting institutions in a state or territory are not given a dedicated ranking page.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard IPEDS 2022–23
Every figure on PlainCampus is rendered directly from federal Clery Act source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Every ranked figure on this page is queried directly from the DOE College Scorecard dataset at request time; no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.
PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice; the data describes reported on-campus activity, it is not a complete picture of safety at any campus and cannot predict any individual student's experience. See our appropriate use guidance.