State cost ranking · DOE College Scorecard

Cheapest Colleges in New Jersey

Private campuses outnumber public ones on this New Jersey list (93 vs 36); Middlesex College still leads on average net price at $2,288.

$2,288
Cheapest net price
$18,173
New Jersey median
129
Schools ranked

Middlesex College has the lowest average net price in New Jersey among Scorecard reporters

According to the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, Middlesex College posts the lowest average net price in New Jersey at $2,288 among 129 ranked schools, with the state median 6% above the $17,124 national median. Net price is what students paid after grant aid, not sticker tuition, and can reflect a narrow enrollment mix at specialty schools.

Data source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard

Cheapest net price
$2,288
New Jersey median
$18,173
Schools ranked
129
National median
$17,124

Data updated August 2026 · IPEDS 2022–23 vintage

The list in one line

Middlesex College has the lowest average net price in New Jersey at $2,288/year, and the state's median net price is 6% above the $17,124 national median across 4,965 schools.

$2,288
cheapest ranked net price
$18,173
New Jersey median net price
36 public / 93 private
schools in this ranking
$17,299
avg net price, <$30K income families

Average net price blends every income bracket; families under $30k average $17,299 here. Loans are excluded, open a school profile for the bracket table before treating one average as a personal cost.

Sticker tuition and real net price diverge most at Princeton University, where in-state published tuition of $62,688 falls to an average net price of $6,128 after aid, a $56,560 gap, the widest sticker-to-net gap among ranked New Jersey schools.

Private campuses outnumber public ones here (93 vs 36). A low figure at a small religious or specialty school can reflect a narrow enrollment mix, check sector and enrollment beside the price.

The bar to make this top-25 list is $9,766. Here is where that cutoff sits among all 129 Scorecard-reporting New Jersey schools:

The bar to make New Jersey's top-25 cheapest list

Average net price after aid · 129 Scorecard-reporting schools

$9,766 Among the most affordable more affordable than 81% of 129 New Jersey colleges

Show national distribution $0–$6,000: 7 New Jersey colleges (5%). Below this entry. $6,000–$12,000: 32 New Jersey colleges (25%). This entry sits in this band. $12,000–$18,000: 25 New Jersey colleges (19%). Above this entry. $18,000–$24,000: 28 New Jersey colleges (22%). Above this entry. $24,000–$30,000: 20 New Jersey colleges (16%). Above this entry. $30,000–$36,000: 7 New Jersey colleges (5%). Above this entry. $36,000–$42,000: 7 New Jersey colleges (5%). Above this entry. $42,000–$48,000: 2 New Jersey colleges (2%). Above this entry. $48,000–$54,000: 1 New Jersey colleges (1%). Above this entry. #25 cutoff $0 $54,000 every ranked New Jersey college, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $6K-wide band; taller bars hold more New Jersey colleges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · 2022–23

New Jersey's 25 cheapest colleges by real net price

1
Middlesex CollegeEdison, NJ · Public
Avg net price
$2,288
Net price (<$30K income)
$1,306
Median debt
$9,750
Median earnings, 6yr
$37,254
Enrollment
12,044
2
Essex County CollegeNewark, NJ · Public
Avg net price
$4,436
Net price (<$30K income)
$3,792
Median debt
-
Median earnings, 6yr
$30,298
Enrollment
7,026
3
Mercer County Community CollegeWest Windsor, NJ · Public
Avg net price
$5,279
Net price (<$30K income)
$4,017
Median debt
$10,500
Median earnings, 6yr
$35,267
Enrollment
6,394
4
Rowan College at Burlington CountyMount Laurel, NJ · Public
Avg net price
$5,344
Net price (<$30K income)
$4,071
Median debt
$10,500
Median earnings, 6yr
$35,978
Enrollment
6,620
5
Yeshiva Toras ChaimLakewood, NJ · Private nonprofit
Avg net price
$5,356
Net price (<$30K income)
$3,247
Median debt
-
Median earnings, 6yr
-
Enrollment
227
6
Warren County Community CollegeWashington, NJ · Public
Avg net price
$5,726
Net price (<$30K income)
$3,962
Median debt
$9,300
Median earnings, 6yr
$37,919
Enrollment
944
7
Camden County CollegeBlackwood, NJ · Public
Avg net price
$5,996
Net price (<$30K income)
$4,582
Median debt
$11,851
Median earnings, 6yr
$32,960
Enrollment
7,622
8
Princeton UniversityPrinceton, NJ · Private nonprofit
Avg net price
$6,128
Net price (<$30K income)
$41
Median debt
$10,320
Median earnings, 6yr
$87,815
Enrollment
9,137
9
Talmudical Academy-New JerseyAdelphia, NJ · Private nonprofit
Avg net price
$6,164
Net price (<$30K income)
-
Median debt
-
Median earnings, 6yr
-
Enrollment
72
10
Raritan Valley Community CollegeBranchburg, NJ · Public
Avg net price
$6,778
Net price (<$30K income)
$5,135
Median debt
$10,500
Median earnings, 6yr
$39,229
Enrollment
6,762
11
Bais Medrash Toras ChesedLakewood, NJ · Private nonprofit
Avg net price
$6,838
Net price (<$30K income)
$6,605
Median debt
-
Median earnings, 6yr
-
Enrollment
132
12
Hudson County Community CollegeJersey City, NJ · Public
Avg net price
$7,307
Net price (<$30K income)
$6,864
Median debt
$10,500
Median earnings, 6yr
$28,676
Enrollment
7,763
14
Passaic County Community CollegePaterson, NJ · Public
Avg net price
$7,761
Net price (<$30K income)
$7,686
Median debt
$7,536
Median earnings, 6yr
$31,276
Enrollment
4,782
15
Sussex County Community CollegeNewton, NJ · Public
Avg net price
$7,859
Net price (<$30K income)
$5,955
Median debt
$11,000
Median earnings, 6yr
$36,934
Enrollment
2,247
17
Rabbi Jacob Joseph SchoolEdison, NJ · Private nonprofit
Avg net price
$8,389
Net price (<$30K income)
$8,913
Median debt
-
Median earnings, 6yr
-
Enrollment
115
18
Atlantic Cape Community CollegeMays Landing, NJ · Public
Avg net price
$8,392
Net price (<$30K income)
$7,383
Median debt
$9,500
Median earnings, 6yr
$29,224
Enrollment
4,052
19
Pillar CollegeNewark, NJ · Private nonprofit
Avg net price
$8,470
Net price (<$30K income)
$15,139
Median debt
$21,483
Median earnings, 6yr
$37,885
Enrollment
556
20
County College of MorrisRandolph, NJ · Public
Avg net price
$8,895
Net price (<$30K income)
$6,573
Median debt
$9,000
Median earnings, 6yr
$40,215
Enrollment
6,131
22
Yeshiva Gedolah Tiferes BoruchNorth Plainfield, NJ · Private nonprofit
Avg net price
$9,417
Net price (<$30K income)
$8,910
Median debt
-
Median earnings, 6yr
-
Enrollment
81
23
Rabbinical Seminary Mkor ChaimLakewood, NJ · Private nonprofit
Avg net price
$9,494
Net price (<$30K income)
$8,929
Median debt
-
Median earnings, 6yr
-
Enrollment
96
24
Yeshiva Gedolah of CliffwoodKeyport, NJ · Private nonprofit
Avg net price
$9,641
Net price (<$30K income)
$9,755
Median debt
-
Median earnings, 6yr
-
Enrollment
30
25
Beth Medrash of Asbury ParkLakewood, NJ · Private nonprofit
Avg net price
$9,766
Net price (<$30K income)
$10,157
Median debt
-
Median earnings, 6yr
-
Enrollment
124
#CollegeAvg net priceNet price (<$30K income)Median debtMedian earnings, 6yrEnrollment
1Middlesex CollegeEdison, NJ · Public$2,28896% of the leader · rank #1$1,306$9,750$37,25412,044
2Essex County CollegeNewark, NJ · Public$4,43692% of the leader · rank #2$3,792-$30,2987,026
3Mercer County Community CollegeWest Windsor, NJ · Public$5,27990% of the leader · rank #3$4,017$10,500$35,2676,394
4Rowan College at Burlington CountyMount Laurel, NJ · Public$5,34490% of the leader · rank #4$4,071$10,500$35,9786,620
5Yeshiva Toras ChaimLakewood, NJ · Private nonprofit$5,35690% of the leader · rank #5$3,247--227
6Warren County Community CollegeWashington, NJ · Public$5,72689% of the leader · rank #6$3,962$9,300$37,919944
7Camden County CollegeBlackwood, NJ · Public$5,99689% of the leader · rank #7$4,582$11,851$32,9607,622
8Princeton UniversityPrinceton, NJ · Private nonprofit$6,12888% of the leader · rank #8$41$10,320$87,8159,137
9Talmudical Academy-New JerseyAdelphia, NJ · Private nonprofit$6,16488% of the leader · rank #9---72
10Raritan Valley Community CollegeBranchburg, NJ · Public$6,77887% of the leader · rank #10$5,135$10,500$39,2296,762
11Bais Medrash Toras ChesedLakewood, NJ · Private nonprofit$6,83887% of the leader · rank #11$6,605--132
12Hudson County Community CollegeJersey City, NJ · Public$7,30786% of the leader · rank #12$6,864$10,500$28,6767,763
13Union County Vocational Technical SchoolScotch Plains, NJ · Public$7,36186% of the leader · rank #13$3,283-$39,21888
14Passaic County Community CollegePaterson, NJ · Public$7,76185% of the leader · rank #14$7,686$7,536$31,2764,782
15Sussex County Community CollegeNewton, NJ · Public$7,85985% of the leader · rank #15$5,955$11,000$36,9342,247
16UCNJ Union College of Union County, New JerseyCranford, NJ · Public$8,25784% of the leader · rank #16$6,880$15,091$33,7318,330
17Rabbi Jacob Joseph SchoolEdison, NJ · Private nonprofit$8,38984% of the leader · rank #17$8,913--115
18Atlantic Cape Community CollegeMays Landing, NJ · Public$8,39284% of the leader · rank #18$7,383$9,500$29,2244,052
19Pillar CollegeNewark, NJ · Private nonprofit$8,47084% of the leader · rank #19$15,139$21,483$37,885556
20County College of MorrisRandolph, NJ · Public$8,89583% of the leader · rank #20$6,573$9,000$40,2156,131
21New Community Career & Technical InstituteNewark, NJ · Private nonprofit$9,07583% of the leader · rank #21$9,075$2,808-11
22Yeshiva Gedolah Tiferes BoruchNorth Plainfield, NJ · Private nonprofit$9,41782% of the leader · rank #22$8,910--81
23Rabbinical Seminary Mkor ChaimLakewood, NJ · Private nonprofit$9,49482% of the leader · rank #23$8,929--96
24Yeshiva Gedolah of CliffwoodKeyport, NJ · Private nonprofit$9,64182% of the leader · rank #24$9,755--30
25Beth Medrash of Asbury ParkLakewood, NJ · Private nonprofit$9,76681% of the leader · rank #25$10,157--124

Showing the 25 cheapest of 129 Scorecard-reporting New Jersey schools. The remaining 104 are ranked in the same net-price order but omitted from this HTML table so the page stays crawlable.

Look up any institution's exact rank via My School Profile, or open its school page for income-bracket net price, debt, and earnings.

Related

All 51 states → | New Jersey campus safety → | Find your school's rank → | Methodology →

What this means for you

Use New Jersey's ranking as a starting point, real net price depends on your specific financial-aid package.

  • Middlesex College reports the lowest average net price in New Jersey, but "average" blends every income bracket, check your bracket's figure before assuming it applies to you. View Middlesex College
  • See your specific school's in-state cost rank and nearest-price peers. My School Profile
  • Compare campus safety alongside cost before deciding. New Jersey 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. This page lists the 25 cheapest; the title count is the full Scorecard-reporting cohort for New Jersey. 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.