Community colleges offer a great alternative for students who don't want to attend a traditional four-year college or university.
These schools offer more flexibility with classes, smaller class sizes, and are more affordable than typical universities. That means smaller student loans and better deals for getting a degree.
But which communities have the best community colleges in the United States? WalletHub set out to study community colleges across the country to determine where the best schools are based on criteria including cost of in-state tuition, scholarships, graduation rate, and median salary after attending.
Missouri tops the list
Based on its criteria, WalletHub determined that State Technical College of Missouri in Osage County, Missouri, is the best community college in the U.S.
Two major points working in the school's favor are that it has the best student retention rate in the country from the first year to the second year of school, as well as the best graduation rate in the country. State Technical College holds on to 90% of its students from the first to the second year, with 79% of them graduating after two years. The school also has the country's third-highest amount of grant or scholarship aid, averaging over $9,200 per student.
Missouri's neighbor Kansas is home to the second-best community college in the country. Graduates of Manhattan Area Technical College in Manhattan, Kansas, have a median annual income of $52,000, which is the 11th-best in the country, and more than 77% of graduates earn more on average than those with only a high school degree. The school is also affordable, with graduates having the lowest student loan default rate in the country.
Tucumcari, New Mexico, is home to Mesalands Community College, which is the third-best community college in the country. One of the benefits of going to school there is that New Mexico has a free tuition program for community college with few limits, making it easy for students to go there and not have to worry about the financial burden of funding college. Students also benefit from the eighth-best student-to-faculty ratio, giving them a better opportunity to learn with smaller classroom sizes.
New Mexico schools are a good deal
Some schools scored high in specific categories based on WalletHub's criteria. Mesalands Community College, for example, was the best community college in the country for cost and financing. The state offers the New Mexico Lottery Scholarship, which covers full tuition for local high school graduates who enroll full-time and maintain a 2.5 GPA.
The scholarship also likely boosted two other New Mexico community colleges. The top three schools with the best cost and financing scores are all in New Mexico. New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs came in second place, and Santa Fe Community College took third.
Educational outcomes—which track retention and graduation rates—were led by Lake Land College. The school in Mattoon, Illinois, beat second-place Mitchell Technical College in Mitchell, South Dakota. State Technical College of Missouri made it to the top spot overall with its third-place finish in outcomes.
And if you're looking for a college with the best career results, you may want to choose Tillamook Bay Community College. The school in Tillamook, Oregon, ranked highest in career metrics like post-grad median salary and low loan default rates.