State cost ranking · DOE College Scorecard
Cheapest Colleges in New Hampshire
According to U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data, 26 New Hampshire colleges ranked by average net price, what students actually paid after grant and scholarship aid, not the published sticker price.
- $9,170
- Cheapest net price
- $18,489
- New Hampshire median
- 26
- Schools ranked
Data updated June 2026 · IPEDS 2022–23 vintage
The list in one line
Empire Beauty School-Somersworth has the lowest average net price in New Hampshire at $9,170/year, and the state's median net price is 8% above the $17,083 national median across 4,942 schools.
- $9,170
- cheapest ranked net price
- $18,489
- New Hampshire median net price
- 12 public / 14 private
- schools in this ranking
- $16,434
- 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 Dartmouth College, where in-state published tuition of $68,268 falls to an average net price of $29,519 after aid, a $38,749 gap. This is the widest sticker-to-net-price gap among ranked New Hampshire schools, and a reminder that published tuition alone is a poor guide to what most admitted students actually pay.
Across all 26 ranked New Hampshire schools, 12 are public institutions and 14 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.
New Hampshire's 25 cheapest colleges by real net price
| # | College | Avg net price | Net price (<$30K income) | Median debt | Median earnings, 6yr | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Empire Beauty School-Somersworth Somersworth, NH · Private for-profit | $9,170 79% of the leader · rank #1 | $8,268 | $6,333 | $18,595 | 168 |
| 2 | University of New Hampshire at Manchester Manchester, NH · Public | $9,992 77% of the leader · rank #2 | $3,181 | $26,814 | $53,671 | 748 |
| 3 | Empire Beauty School-Hooksett Hooksett, NH · Private for-profit | $10,549 75% of the leader · rank #3 | $10,813 | $7,942 | $35,629 | 327 |
| 4 | University of New Hampshire College of Professional Studies Online Concord, NH · Public | $10,864 75% of the leader · rank #4 | $4,587 | $26,814 | $53,671 | 1,326 |
| 5 | Empire Beauty School-Laconia Laconia, NH · Private for-profit | $11,382 73% of the leader · rank #5 | $11,382 | $7,942 | $35,629 | 82 |
| 6 | Lakes Region Community College Laconia, NH · Public | $13,124 69% of the leader · rank #6 | $12,270 | $18,525 | $37,104 | 695 |
| 7 | Keene Beauty Academy Keene, NH · Private for-profit | $14,027 67% of the leader · rank #7 | $12,620 | $9,833 | - | 93 |
| 8 | Manchester Community College Manchester, NH · Public | $14,143 67% of the leader · rank #8 | $11,338 | $15,060 | $38,656 | 2,012 |
| 9 | River Valley Community College Claremont, NH · Public | $14,804 65% of the leader · rank #9 | $13,183 | $16,226 | $41,242 | 674 |
| 10 | White Mountains Community College Berlin, NH · Public | $15,474 64% of the leader · rank #10 | $14,004 | $11,000 | $30,905 | 508 |
| 11 | Great Bay Community College Portsmouth, NH · Public | $15,768 63% of the leader · rank #11 | $13,237 | $13,828 | $39,867 | 1,440 |
| 12 | Keene State College Keene, NH · Public | $17,887 58% of the leader · rank #12 | $12,192 | $25,749 | $46,649 | 2,846 |
| 13 | NHTI-Concord's Community College Concord, NH · Public | $18,011 58% of the leader · rank #13 | $14,790 | $14,650 | $41,421 | 2,613 |
| 14 | Thomas More College of Liberal Arts Merrimack, NH · Private nonprofit | $18,489 57% of the leader · rank #14 | $10,433 | $25,000 | $40,173 | 95 |
| 15 | Plymouth State University Plymouth, NH · Public | $19,216 55% of the leader · rank #15 | $14,676 | $26,000 | $46,466 | 3,839 |
| 16 | Nashua Community College Nashua, NH · Public | $23,154 46% of the leader · rank #16 | $21,030 | $11,000 | $39,161 | 1,262 |
| 17 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH · Public | $23,805 44% of the leader · rank #17 | $16,523 | $26,814 | $53,671 | 13,626 |
| 18 | New England College Henniker, NH · Private nonprofit | $26,972 37% of the leader · rank #18 | $25,598 | $26,000 | $31,050 | 2,856 |
| 19 | Franklin Pierce University Rindge, NH · Private nonprofit | $27,154 36% of the leader · rank #19 | $19,364 | $27,000 | $45,563 | 1,637 |
| 20 | Colby-Sawyer College New London, NH · Private nonprofit | $27,431 36% of the leader · rank #20 | $22,456 | $27,000 | $37,935 | 950 |
| 21 | Rivier University Nashua, NH · Private nonprofit | $28,082 34% of the leader · rank #21 | $23,321 | $26,956 | $54,599 | 2,879 |
| 22 | Dartmouth College Hanover, NH · Private nonprofit | $29,519 31% of the leader · rank #22 | $41 | $17,500 | $82,541 | 6,746 |
| 23 | Paul Mitchell the School-Portsmouth Portsmouth, NH · Private for-profit | $29,986 30% of the leader · rank #23 | $29,986 | $9,833 | - | 61 |
| 24 | Saint Anselm College Manchester, NH · Private nonprofit | $34,779 19% of the leader · rank #24 | $25,143 | $27,000 | $63,347 | 2,078 |
| 25 | Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH · Private nonprofit | $36,708 14% of the leader · rank #25 | $36,441 | $21,082 | $41,945 | 184,099 |
See all 26 ranked New Hampshire schools →
| # | College | Avg net price | Net price (<$30K income) | Median debt | Median earnings, 6yr | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Harmony Health Care Institute Merrimack, NH · Private for-profit | $42,740 4% of the leader · rank #26 | $40,410 | $12,685 | - | 164 |
What this means for you
Use New Hampshire's ranking as a starting point, real net price depends on your specific financial-aid package.
- Empire Beauty School-Somersworth reports the lowest average net price in New Hampshire, but "average" blends every income bracket, check your bracket's figure before assuming it applies to you. View Empire Beauty School-Somersworth
- See your specific school's in-state cost rank and nearest-price peers. My School Profile
- Compare campus safety alongside cost before deciding. New Hampshire 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.