The 10 states with the best community colleges

Community colleges are experiencing a renaissance, and Maryland is at the heart of the action, according to this list analyzing over 600 schools.

Based on cost and education and career outcomes, Maryland’s community college system is the strongest holistically in the nation, with the state’s top five schools ranking among the top 30 nationwide, according to WalletHub.

The personal finance website compiled its state ranking by reviewing more than 610 community colleges across 18 indicators of cost and quality, including in-state tuition, student-faculty ratio and graduation rate. (WalletHub omitted 11 states from its list, including Florida, Connecticut and Indiana.)

Maryland’s best community college, Prince George’s Community College, ranked 19th in the nation for offering credit for life experiences, while scoring strong student retention rates and high median salaries for graduates.

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The Old Line State also offers tuition-free community college. Full-time, in-state enrollment at public two-year schools nationally averaged $4,150 in the 2025-26 academic year—a far cry from the $11,950 and $45,000 price tags at four-year public and private colleges, respectively.

The 10 best community college systems are:

1. Maryland
2. New Mexico
3. South Dakota
4. North Dakota
5. Oregon
6. New Hampshire
7. Wyoming
8. Kansas
9. Wisconsin
10. Minnesota

New Mexico’s Mesalands Community College ranked No. 3 in the U.S. thanks to its high faculty-student ratio, low debt and high graduation rates. The state also offers tuition-free enrollment for two-year schools.

South Dakota earned third place for its student employment services and for accepting credit for prior learning. The state’s top school, Mitchell Technical College, recorded third in graduation rates, second in retention rates and eighth in student-to-faculty ratios.

Community colleges: The best in the U.S.

California, Kansas and New Mexico each had three community colleges featured among the 20 best. Among the 613 community colleges analyzed by WalletHub, here’s the short list:

1. State Technical College of Missouri
2. Manhattan Area Technical College (Kansas)
3. Mesalands Community College (New Mexico)
4. Mitchell Technical College (South Dakota)
5. Pratt Community College (Kansas)
6. Saddleback College (California)
7. Gogebic Community College (Michigan)
8. Colby Community College (Kansas)
9. Clackamas Community College (Oregon)
10. Alexandria Technical & Community College (Minnesota)
11. Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture
12. Santa Rosa Junior College (California)
13. San Juan College (New Mexico)
14. Santa Fe Community College (New Mexico)
15. College of San Mateo (California)
16. Minnesota State Community and Technical College
17. Kellogg Community College (Michigan)
18. Fox Valley Technical College (Wisconsin)
19. Prince George’s Community College (Maryland)
20. Carroll Community College (Maryland)

Check out the full ranking here.