Students, especially those with family or job responsibilities, often turn to an online degree program for its flexibility.
With online education, learning is not confined to a physical classroom. Students can complete coursework from the comfort of their home, office or even a coffee shop – anywhere in the world with internet access.
The need for adaptable education has increased in recent years due to the coronavirus pandemic, which forced higher education to reevaluate its course delivery methods. Now, more colleges offer remote options in addition to hybrid and in-person instruction.
At first glance, online programs may seem like the most affordable route, since costs for transportation, campus housing and meal plans are eliminated. But with additional fees for software programs and instructor training, completing a degree online is not always less expensive than the traditional on-campus experience.
Among the 184 ranked public schools offering online bachelor's degrees that submitted total out-of-state program tuition data to U.S. News in an annual survey for the 2023-2024 school year, the average cost for such a degree was $59,185. The out-of-state, per-credit cost among the 190 ranked public schools that provided that data was about $489.
There are relatively inexpensive online options at some public colleges, however, even for out-of-state students. The average total tuition cost at the 20 most affordable schools for out-of-state online undergraduate students was $28,811, less than half the average overall price.
Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts and Middle Georgia State University offer the lowest out-of-state per-credit rate at $150, with the total cost of tuition $18,000 each. The University of Southern Indiana charges $290 per credit for out-of-state undergraduates, or a total of $34,800, putting it at No. 20 on the list.
The average per-credit price for out-of-state undergrads among these 20 colleges is about $240, per U.S. News data.
Just over half of the 20 most affordable online schools for out-of-state students are in the South: Four are in Georgia, while North Carolina, Arkansas and Texas each host two colleges on the list and Florida has one. The remaining schools are in Alaska, Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Dakota and Utah.
Among the 184 ranked public colleges with online programs that provided data on the number of credits needed to graduate, a student needs an average of 122. The majority of the 20 most affordable schools require 120 credits to complete a bachelor's degree. The exceptions are Columbus State University in Georgia and the University of Utah, which require more.
Time-to-degree completion varies based on each student. Entering college with prior learning assessments, such as military training or College Level Examination Program credit, can speed up the process and reduce costs.
Below is a list of the 20 public undergraduate online programs where out-of-state students were charged the lowest total tuition cost during the 2023-2024 school year. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News, were not considered for this report.
School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.
