state

Community Colleges in Texas

The state of Texas nearly 270,000 square miles and home to 30 million people. As the 2nd largest state by land area, it’s also the second biggest based upon population. The Lone Star State is bordered by four states that include New Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. Its immense population base coupled with diverse workforce helps people understand why there are in excess of 500 accredited colleges in the state spread among 254 various counties. Approximately sixty community colleges and technical colleges can be found around Texas. Noteworthy and top ranked community colleges in Texas include Collin College, North Lake College, Cedar Valley College, Galveston College, Lee College, Northwest Vista College, Lamar State College, Western Texas College, Coastal Bend College, and Blinn College.

Benefits of Attending a Community College in Texas

Community colleges are public institutions that are partially funded by the state of Texas. They are known for their affordability and quality education plus a guaranteed admissions policy for all qualifying students. By combining convenience with quality and affordability, you arrive at the reason why community colleges serve millions of students every year. Typically, students can expect to complete degree and certificate programs in less than 2-years of full time study at a community college. Associate degrees can be parlayed into a bachelor’s degree by transferring to a 4-year university upon completion. Likewise, students can step directly into the workforce after completion of a degree or certificate if that path makes more sense.

Finding the Best Texas Community College for You

Begin your journey by sorting community colleges by salient criteria such as geography, enrollment, academics, and graduation rate. Narrow the list, request information from top rated schools via our portal, and work to reduce your list of colleges further after receiving admissions information. Remember to surround yourself with encouraging, positive people. Together you can help each other strive to be the very best you can be & utilize education to pave a way to a brighter future.

The following links may provide helpful information about community colleges in Texas:

Metro Area Links for Community Colleges in Texas

Community Colleges in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington

We have ranked the community colleges in the Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington area by the percent of students who either completed their degree or transferred to a 4-year institution. Collin College in McKinney, TX ranked as the #1 community college in this area. Visit their official website at http://www.collin.edu

Collin College Highlights

  • Serving students from McKinney and surrounding areas
  • 50% of students either graduated or transferred to a 4-year college/university
  • Tuition & fees are about $2,500 per year for state residents ($4,400 for out of state)

Top Community Colleges in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington

Rate Institution Name Location Enrollment
50%Collin CollegeMcKinney, TX28,000
41%Cedar Valley CollegeLancaster, TX6,000
41%North Lake CollegeIrving, TX10,000
39%Richland CollegeDallas, TX17,000
38%Weatherford CollegeWeatherford, TX5,000
37%Brookhaven CollegeFarmers Branch, TX11,000
35%Eastfield CollegeMesquite, TX12,000
29%Mountain View CollegeDallas, TX9,000
29%El Centro CollegeDallas, TX9,000
27%Tarrant County CollegeFort Worth, TX52,000

Community Colleges in Houston, Sugar Land, Baytown

We have ranked the community colleges in the Houston, Sugar Land, and Baytown area by the percent of students who either completed their degree or transferred to a 4-year institution. Lee College in Baytown, TX ranked as the #1 community college in this area. Visit their official website at http://www.lee.edu

Lee College Highlights

  • Serving students from Baytown and surrounding areas
  • 52% of students either graduated or transferred to a 4-year college/university
  • Tuition & fees are about $2,500 per year for state residents ($3,700 for out of state)

Top Community Colleges in Houston, Sugar Land, and Baytown

Rate Institution Name Location Enrollment
52%Lee CollegeBaytown, TX6,000
41%Galveston CollegeGalveston, TX2,000
36%San Jacinto CollegePasadena, TX28,000
34%Lone Star College - MontgomeryThe Woodlands, TX71,000
33%Houston Community College SystemHouston, TX57,000
32%Alvin Community CollegeAlvin, TX5,000
26%College of the MainlandTexas City, TX4,000

Community Colleges in San Antonio

We have ranked the community colleges in the San Antonio area by the percent of students who either completed their degree or transferred to a 4-year institution. Northwest Vista College in San Antonio, TX ranked as the #1 community college in this area. Visit their official website at http://alamo.edu/nvc/

Northwest Vista College Highlights

  • Serving students from San Antonio and surrounding areas
  • 31% of students either graduated or transferred to a 4-year college/university
  • Tuition & fees are about $5,800 per year for state residents ($11,300 for out of state)

Top Community Colleges in San Antonio

Rate Institution Name Location Enrollment
31%Northwest Vista CollegeSan Antonio, TX17,000
30%Palo Alto CollegeSan Antonio, TX9,000
25%San Antonio CollegeSan Antonio, TX21,000
18%St Philips CollegeSan Antonio, TX11,000

Community Colleges in Beaumont, Port Arthur

We have ranked the community colleges in the Beaumont and Port Arthur area by the percent of students who either completed their degree or transferred to a 4-year institution. Lamar State College - Port Arthur in Port Arthur, TX ranked as the #1 community college in this area. Visit their official website at http://www.lamarpa.edu/home

Lamar State College - Port Arthur Highlights

  • Serving students from Port Arthur and surrounding areas
  • 38% of students either graduated or transferred to a 4-year college/university
  • Tuition & fees are about $5,800 per year for state residents ($18,100 for out of state)

Top Community Colleges in Beaumont and Port Arthur

Rate Institution Name Location Enrollment
38%Lamar State College - Port ArthurPort Arthur, TX2,000
36%Lamar Institute of TechnologyBeaumont, TX3,000
32%Lamar State College - OrangeOrange, TX2,000

Community Colleges in Killeen, Temple, Fort Hood

We have ranked the community colleges in the Killeen, Temple, and Fort Hood area by the percent of students who either completed their degree or transferred to a 4-year institution. Temple College in Temple, TX ranked as the #1 community college in this area. Visit their official website at http://www.templejc.edu/

Temple College Highlights

  • Serving students from Temple and surrounding areas
  • 30% of students either graduated or transferred to a 4-year college/university
  • Tuition & fees are about $4,700 per year for state residents ($6,700 for out of state)

Top Community Colleges in Killeen, Temple, and Fort Hood

Rate Institution Name Location Enrollment
30%Temple CollegeTemple, TX6,000
25%Central Texas CollegeKilleen, TX20,000

Community Colleges in Waco

We have ranked the community colleges in the Waco area by the percent of students who either completed their degree or transferred to a 4-year institution. McLennan Community College in Waco, TX ranked as the #1 community college in this area. Visit their official website at http://www.mclennan.edu

McLennan Community College Highlights

  • Serving students from Waco and surrounding areas
  • 38% of students either graduated or transferred to a 4-year college/university
  • Tuition & fees are about $3,400 per year for state residents ($4,800 for out of state)

Top Community Colleges in Waco

Rate Institution Name Location Enrollment
38%McLennan Community CollegeWaco, TX8,000
-Waco, TX11,000

Other Community Colleges in Texas

The table below lists all the other community colleges in Texas that do not belong to any large metropolitan or urban concentrated area. The table also displays the "Rate" column, which is the percent of students completing course work.

Rate Institution Name Location Enrollment
76%Western Texas CollegeSnyder, TX2,000
56%Coastal Bend CollegeBeeville, TX4,000
54%Blinn CollegeBrenham, TX20,000
52%Vernon CollegeVernon, TX3,000
51%Wharton County Junior CollegeWharton, TX7,000
49%Frank Phillips CollegeBorger, TX1,000
47%South Plains CollegeLevelland, TX9,000
47%Tyler Junior CollegeTyler, TX11,000
45%Clarendon CollegeClarendon, TX1,000
44%Trinity Valley Community CollegeAthens, TX5,000
43%Navarro CollegeCorsicana, TX10,000
40%Cisco CollegeCisco, TX4,000
40%Odessa CollegeOdessa, TX5,000
40%Hill CollegeHillsboro, TX4,000
40%Paris Junior CollegeParis, TX5,000
38%Austin Community College DistrictAustin, TX42,000
37%Howard CollegeBig Spring, TX4,000
36%Victoria CollegeVictoria, TX4,000
35%Panola CollegeCarthage, TX3,000
34%North Central Texas CollegeGainesville, TX10,000
34%Southwest Texas Junior CollegeUvalde, TX6,000
33%Northeast Texas Community CollegeMount Pleasant, TX3,000
31%Kilgore CollegeKilgore, TX6,000
30%Texarkana CollegeTexarkana, TX4,000
29%Laredo Community CollegeLaredo, TX9,000
29%El Paso Community CollegeEl Paso, TX29,000
28%Angelina CollegeLufkin, TX5,000
26%Amarillo CollegeAmarillo, TX10,000
22%Grayson County CollegeDenison, TX5,000
18%Del Mar CollegeCorpus Christi, TX11,000

Notes: Tuition & fee amounts are for both Texas in-state residents and out of state students, unless noted otherwise. The tuition information displayed is an estimate, which we calculated based on historical data and should be solely used for informational purposes only. Please contact the respective school for information about the current school year.

Source: IPEDS Survey 2012-2015: Data obtained from the US Dept. of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Data may vary depending on school and academic year.