State cost ranking · DOE College Scorecard
Cheapest Colleges in North Dakota
According to U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data, 24 North Dakota colleges ranked by average net price, what students actually paid after grant and scholarship aid, not the published sticker price.
- $3,428
- Cheapest net price
- $12,773
- North Dakota median
- 24
- Schools ranked
Data updated June 2026 · IPEDS 2022–23 vintage
The list in one line
Turtle Mountain Community College has the lowest average net price in North Dakota at $3,428/year, and the state's median net price is 25% below the $17,083 national median across 4,942 schools.
- $3,428
- cheapest ranked net price
- $12,773
- North Dakota median net price
- 14 public / 10 private
- schools in this ranking
- $10,042
- 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 University of Jamestown, where in-state published tuition of $24,990 falls to an average net price of $19,567 after aid, a $5,423 gap. This is the widest sticker-to-net-price gap among ranked North Dakota schools, and a reminder that published tuition alone is a poor guide to what most admitted students actually pay.
Across all 24 ranked North Dakota schools, 14 are public institutions and 10 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.
North Dakota's 25 cheapest colleges by real net price
| # | College | Avg net price | Net price (<$30K income) | Median debt | Median earnings, 6yr | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turtle Mountain Community College Belcourt, ND · Private nonprofit | $3,428 85% of the leader · rank #1 | $3,067 | - | $30,931 | 698 |
| 2 | United Tribes Technical College Bismarck, ND · Private nonprofit | $3,569 84% of the leader · rank #2 | $3,571 | - | $21,254 | 542 |
| 3 | Sitting Bull College Fort Yates, ND · Public | $4,605 80% of the leader · rank #3 | $5,056 | - | $23,563 | 263 |
| 4 | Williston State College Williston, ND · Public | $5,932 74% of the leader · rank #4 | $4,454 | $10,099 | $39,524 | 912 |
| 5 | Cankdeska Cikana Community College Fort Totten, ND · Public | $6,507 72% of the leader · rank #5 | $7,018 | - | $15,814 | 325 |
| 6 | Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College New Town, ND · Public | $9,971 57% of the leader · rank #6 | $10,255 | - | - | 158 |
| 7 | Dakota College at Bottineau Bottineau, ND · Public | $10,039 56% of the leader · rank #7 | $7,225 | $10,507 | $32,758 | 1,180 |
| 8 | Bismarck State College Bismarck, ND · Public | $10,270 55% of the leader · rank #8 | $6,140 | $11,533 | $50,401 | 4,065 |
| 9 | North Dakota State College of Science Wahpeton, ND · Public | $11,261 51% of the leader · rank #9 | $7,803 | $12,000 | $48,800 | 3,140 |
| 10 | Mayville State University Mayville, ND · Public | $11,456 50% of the leader · rank #10 | $5,971 | $18,585 | $43,597 | 1,025 |
| 11 | Valley City State University Valley City, ND · Public | $11,890 48% of the leader · rank #11 | $7,879 | $20,369 | $45,820 | 1,754 |
| 12 | Minot State University Minot, ND · Public | $12,703 45% of the leader · rank #12 | $9,492 | $19,609 | $46,214 | 2,741 |
| 13 | Josef's School of Hair, Skin & Body-Fargo Fargo, ND · Private for-profit | $12,773 44% of the leader · rank #13 | $9,765 | $7,917 | $30,411 | 74 |
| 14 | Lake Region State College Devils Lake, ND · Public | $13,577 41% of the leader · rank #14 | $9,238 | $10,293 | $40,388 | 1,810 |
| 15 | Josef's School of Hair, Skin & Body-Grand Forks Grand Forks, ND · Private for-profit | $13,657 41% of the leader · rank #15 | $11,765 | $7,917 | $30,411 | 44 |
| 16 | Dickinson State University Dickinson, ND · Public | $14,092 39% of the leader · rank #16 | $10,479 | $18,442 | $48,628 | 1,453 |
| 17 | The Hair Academy Bismarck, ND · Private for-profit | $14,950 35% of the leader · rank #17 | $12,829 | $11,630 | $28,950 | 56 |
| 18 | North Dakota State University-Main Campus Fargo, ND · Public | $15,543 32% of the leader · rank #18 | $9,370 | $23,199 | $54,312 | 11,952 |
| 19 | University of Mary Bismarck, ND · Private nonprofit | $17,770 23% of the leader · rank #19 | $11,593 | $24,000 | $50,191 | 3,794 |
| 20 | University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND · Public | $18,551 19% of the leader · rank #20 | $13,126 | $22,057 | $54,588 | 14,172 |
| 21 | The Salon Professional Academy-Fargo Fargo, ND · Private for-profit | $18,814 18% of the leader · rank #21 | $18,814 | $12,000 | $31,723 | 173 |
| 22 | Trinity Bible College and Graduate School Ellendale, ND · Private nonprofit | $19,359 16% of the leader · rank #22 | $19,123 | $22,531 | $29,234 | 244 |
| 23 | University of Jamestown Jamestown, ND · Private nonprofit | $19,567 15% of the leader · rank #23 | $14,788 | $27,000 | $51,151 | 1,215 |
| 24 | Lynnes Welding Training Fargo, ND · Private for-profit | $22,960 4% of the leader · rank #24 | $22,197 | - | $43,508 | 36 |
What this means for you
Use North Dakota's ranking as a starting point, real net price depends on your specific financial-aid package.
- Turtle Mountain Community College reports the lowest average net price in North Dakota, but "average" blends every income bracket, check your bracket's figure before assuming it applies to you. View Turtle Mountain Community
- See your specific school's in-state cost rank and nearest-price peers. My School Profile
- Compare campus safety alongside cost before deciding. North Dakota 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.