Highest Average Net Price
What students actually pay after grant aid, averaged across aided undergraduates — not the sticker price. The other end of the affordability list.
Ranked by average annual net price · 1,640 of 2,406 institutions report this measure · Compiled 2026-09-01
Chase these schools
Top schools on this list that also show up elsewhere — hop lists without leaving the trail.
- 1School of Visual ArtsNew York, NY · For-profit$58,628Compare nearby
- 2Ringling College of Art and DesignSarasota, FL · Private$55,390Compare nearby
- 3The New SchoolNew York, NY · Private$55,359Compare nearby
- 4West Coast University-Los AngelesNorth Hollywood, CA · For-profit$51,992Compare nearby
- 5Santa Clara UniversitySanta Clara, CA · Private$50,959Compare nearby
- 6Pratt Institute-MainBrooklyn, NY · Private$50,647Compare nearby
- 7Berklee College of MusicBoston, MA · Private$50,404Compare nearby
- 8Dominican University of CaliforniaSan Rafael, CA · Private$50,218Compare nearby
- 9Art Center College of DesignPasadena, CA · Private$50,209Compare nearby
- 10Point Loma Nazarene UniversitySan Diego, CA · Private$50,168Compare nearby
- 11School of the Art Institute of ChicagoChicago, IL · Private$49,822Compare nearby
- 12Howard UniversityWashington, DC · Private$47,919Compare nearby
- 13Manhattan School of MusicNew York, NY · Private$47,599Compare nearby
- 14Yeshiva UniversityNew York, NY · Private$47,560Compare nearby
- 15Chapman UniversityOrange, CA · Private$47,527Compare nearby
- 16California Institute of the ArtsValencia, CA · Private$47,183Compare nearby
- 17Emerson CollegeBoston, MA · Private$46,766Compare nearby
- 18New York Film AcademyBurbank, CA · For-profit$46,420Compare nearby
- 19Fairfield UniversityFairfield, CT · Private$46,274Compare nearby
- 20Rhode Island School of DesignProvidence, RI · Private$46,253Compare nearby
- 21Glendale Career CollegeGlendale, CA · For-profit$46,212Compare nearby
- 22Otis College of Art and DesignLos Angeles, CA · Private$45,864Compare nearby
- 23Loyola Marymount UniversityLos Angeles, CA · Private$45,723Compare nearby
- 24Providence CollegeProvidence, RI · Private$45,538Compare nearby
- 25Sacred Heart UniversityFairfield, CT · Private$45,459Compare nearby
How this list was built
- Measure
- Average annual net price — sorted highest to lowest
- Source variable
NPT4_PUB / NPT4_PRIV- Dataset
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most-Recent-Cohorts-Institution (05-19-2025 release)
- Four-year, main-campus institutions awarding bachelor's degrees or higher (2,406 schools).
- Excludes the few institutions reporting a net price at or below zero.
- Institutions enrolling fewer than 500 undergraduates are excluded so that small-cohort medians do not distort the ranking.
- 1,640 of 2,406 institutions report this measure; the rest are omitted rather than estimated.
A single measure is a narrow way to judge a college. Read this alongside the others, and see the methodology for what these figures do and do not capture.
Keep exploring
- Re-rank with your weightsTune affordability, earnings, and fit yourself
- Showdown: School of Visual Arts vs Ringling College of Art and DesignHigher-or-lower on Scorecard metrics — round 1 is these two
- Live leaderboardReshuffle Top 10–50 on one Scorecard measure
- Explore games & mapsShowdown, Name That College, sports, and more lists
- Sports at School of Visual ArtsEADA programs for the #1 school on this list
Keep going
Lowest Average Net Price
What students actually pay after grant aid, averaged across aided undergraduates — not the sticker price.
The Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price
Full published cost of attendance — tuition, fees, housing, books and living costs — before any aid is applied.
Where Graduates Borrow the Most
Median federal loan debt among borrowers who completed a degree. Excludes private loans and parent PLUS borrowing — the other end of the debt list.