2026 Cheapest Tennessee College Costs Rankings
Among Tennessee colleges, East Tennessee State University has the cheapest tuition & fees ($13,726) and Strayer University-Tennessee has the second lowest tuition & fees ($13,920) based on academic year 2024-2025 college costs data.
Below table ranks and compares the Cheapest Tennessee College Costs having lowest tuition & fees (based on undergraduate rate). For the ranking, we only include 4-year colleges that more than 1,500 students have enrolled in.
Cheapest Tennessee College Costs
| Rank | College Name | Undergraduate Tuition & Fees | Graduate Tuition & Fees | SAT Score | Acceptance Rate | Population | Graduation Rate | Student to Faculty Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Tennessee State University Johnson City, TN | $13,726 | $26,486 | 1,080 | 86.2% | 13,728 | 53% | 15 to 1 |
| 2 | Strayer University-Tennessee Nashville, TN | $13,920 | $15,135 | - | - | 1,965 | - | 47 to 1 |
| 3 | Austin Peay State University Clarksville, TN | $14,766 | $15,702 | 1,005 | 96.4% | 10,439 | 40% | 14 to 1 |
| 4 | University of Memphis Memphis, TN | $15,384 | $15,840 | 1,035 | 72.0% | 20,276 | 51% | 16 to 1 |
| 5 | Tennessee Technological University Cookeville, TN | $15,576 | $15,746 | 1,180 | 76.1% | 10,511 | 58% | 16 to 1 |
| 6 | SAE Institute of Technology-Nashville Nashville, TN | $15,828 | - | - | - | 1,712 | 42% | 11 to 1 |
| 7 | The University of Tennessee-Martin Martin, TN | $16,600 | $12,978 | 1,110 | 88.2% | 7,499 | 53% | 16 to 1 |
| 8 | The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Chattanooga, TN | $18,512 | $19,174 | 1,100 | 81.1% | 11,775 | 50% | 18 to 1 |
| 9 | South College Knoxville, TN | $18,535 | $28,849 | - | - | 11,557 | 42% | 25 to 1 |
| 10 | Bethel University McKenzie, TN | $18,712 | $15,525 | 920 | 60.2% | 2,936 | 35% | 15 to 1 |
Qualified Tennessee Colleges in Core Admission Stats
