State cost ranking · DOE College Scorecard
Cheapest Colleges in Vermont
According to U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data, 11 Vermont colleges ranked by average net price, what students actually paid after grant and scholarship aid, not the published sticker price.
- $13,696
- Cheapest net price
- $25,239
- Vermont median
- 11
- Schools ranked
Data updated June 2026 · IPEDS 2022–23 vintage
The list in one line
Community College of Vermont has the lowest average net price in Vermont at $13,696/year, and the state's median net price is 48% above the $17,083 national median across 4,942 schools.
- $13,696
- cheapest ranked net price
- $25,239
- Vermont median net price
- 3 public / 8 private
- schools in this ranking
- $19,570
- 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 Middlebury College, where in-state published tuition of $67,600 falls to an average net price of $31,483 after aid, a $36,117 gap. This is the widest sticker-to-net-price gap among ranked Vermont schools, and a reminder that published tuition alone is a poor guide to what most admitted students actually pay.
Across all 11 ranked Vermont schools, 3 are public institutions and 8 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.
Vermont's 25 cheapest colleges by real net price
| # | College | Avg net price | Net price (<$30K income) | Median debt | Median earnings, 6yr | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Community College of Vermont Montpelier, VT · Public | $13,696 76% of the leader · rank #1 | $12,373 | $10,491 | $37,362 | 5,377 |
| 2 | Vermont State University Randolph Center, VT · Public | $18,212 68% of the leader · rank #2 | $14,645 | $15,000 | $41,340 | 5,136 |
| 3 | University of Vermont Burlington, VT · Public | $19,343 66% of the leader · rank #3 | $11,127 | $20,951 | $48,164 | 14,320 |
| 4 | Sterling College Craftsbury Common, VT · Private nonprofit | $21,854 62% of the leader · rank #4 | $18,533 | $23,000 | $27,109 | 78 |
| 5 | Norwich University Northfield, VT · Private nonprofit | $22,257 61% of the leader · rank #5 | $15,610 | $25,000 | $59,743 | 3,274 |
| 6 | Saint Michael's College Colchester, VT · Private nonprofit | $25,239 56% of the leader · rank #6 | $12,825 | $26,922 | $46,898 | 1,370 |
| 7 | O'Briens Aveda Institute Williston, VT · Private for-profit | $28,304 50% of the leader · rank #7 | $25,355 | $6,333 | - | 85 |
| 8 | Bennington College Bennington, VT · Private nonprofit | $30,947 46% of the leader · rank #8 | $18,480 | $26,000 | $24,711 | 867 |
| 9 | Middlebury College Middlebury, VT · Private nonprofit | $31,483 45% of the leader · rank #9 | $12,723 | $13,857 | $57,291 | 2,857 |
| 10 | Champlain College Burlington, VT · Private nonprofit | $35,860 37% of the leader · rank #10 | $28,885 | $26,814 | $48,844 | 3,328 |
| 11 | Landmark College Putney, VT · Private nonprofit | $56,954 4% of the leader · rank #11 | $44,712 | $17,500 | $30,033 | 650 |
What this means for you
Use Vermont's ranking as a starting point, real net price depends on your specific financial-aid package.
- Community College of Vermont reports the lowest average net price in Vermont, but "average" blends every income bracket, check your bracket's figure before assuming it applies to you. View Community College of
- See your specific school's in-state cost rank and nearest-price peers. My School Profile
- Compare campus safety alongside cost before deciding. Vermont 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.