Data shows that students paid $15,274 on average to attend higher education courses at the time, $300 more than the previous school year.
Among the 128 institutions providing full disclosure in the state, Vanderbilt University stood out with the highest tuition fees, reaching an average of $60,348. Rhodes College followed with an average of $52,310 per year. Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Jackson students were offered the lowest annual tuition fees at $4,008.
Currently there are 131 higher education institutions in Tennessee.
At the time, at least $657.2 million in grants or scholarships were awarded to full-time undergraduates who started college in Tennessee. Additionally, federal student loans reached more than $142.6 million.
Undergraduate education costs have seen a significant increase over the past few decades. Data shows a 169% rise in the average total cost, including tuition, fees, room, and board, between 1980 and 2020.
According to a 2023 College Board report, in-state students at public universities paid an average of $11,260, while out-of-state students paid $29,150 in the 2023-24 academic year.
Meanwhile, student loan debt has steadily increased over the last 30 years, reaching $1.75 trillion in 2024, averaging a total of $28,950 per borrower. Federal loans make up 92% of the debt, with over half of students at both public and private four-year colleges graduating with student loans.
Of the 131 institutions in Tennessee, three did not provide detailed data on tuition fees, including Pentecostal Theological Seminary, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, and Meridian Institute of Surgical Assisting.
Available data sometimes exceeds 100% due to rounding and administrative calculations.
Average Tuition Fees in Tennessee Universities in 2022-23 School Year
| Institution | Average Tuition Fees | Total Enrollment |
|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt University | $60,348 | 7,151 |
| Rhodes College | $52,310 | 1,996 |
| The University of the South | $51,146 | 1,613 |
| Belmont University | $39,850 | 7,384 |
| Maryville College | $37,758 | 1,065 |
| Milligan University | $37,550 | 755 |
| Lipscomb University | $37,152 | 2,955 |
| Union University | $36,880 | 1,900 |
| Christian Brothers University | $35,520 | 1,253 |
| Lincoln College of Technology-Nashville | $34,590 | 1,053 |
| King University | $33,784 | 1,120 |
| Carson-Newman University | $33,000 | 1,519 |
| Miller-Motte College-Chattanooga | $32,240 | 2,478 |
| Trevecca Nazarene University | $28,200 | 1,867 |
| Tennessee Wesleyan University | $27,350 | 929 |
| Tusculum University | $27,208 | 1,111 |
| Cumberland University | $26,400 | 2,311 |
| Lincoln Memorial University | $25,180 | 1,560 |
| Freed-Hardeman University | $24,300 | 1,850 |
| Southern Adventist University | $23,870 | 2,571 |
| Fisk University | $23,578 | 1,009 |
| Lee University | $21,730 | 3,446 |
| The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | $21,617 | 27,039 |
| Remington College-Nashville Campus | $21,147 | 240 |
| Nashville Film Institute | $20,800 | 57 |
| Welch College | $20,170 | 345 |
| Visible Music College | $20,000 | 211 |
| Remington College-Memphis Campus | $19,964 | 344 |
| The Salon Professional Academy-Nashville | $19,460 | 45 |
| Johnson University | $19,274 | 669 |
| Nossi College of Art and Design | $19,150 | 298 |
| Image Maker Beauty Institute | $19,100 | 65 |
| Bryan College-Dayton | $17,900 | 1,482 |
| North Central Institute | $17,802 | 51 |
| Galen Health Institutes-Nashville Campus | $17,700 | 377 |
| Genesis Career College-Lebanon | $17,495 | 155 |
| Bethel University | $17,482 | 4,038 |
| Paul Mitchell the School-Murfreesboro | $17,400 | 261 |
| Paul Mitchell the School-Murfreesboro-Nashville | $17,400 | 247 |
| South College | $17,335 | 4,906 |
| Concorde Career College-Memphis | $17,276 | 1,317 |
| The Hair Academy LLC | $17,250 | 72 |
| Empire Beauty School-Jackson | $17,145 | 68 |
| Empire Beauty School-E Memphis | $17,145 | 162 |
| Empire Beauty School-Nashville | $17,145 | 91 |
| SAE Institute of Technology-Nashville | $17,027 | 1,556 |
| Elite College of Cosmetology | $16,875 | 59 |
| Arnolds Beauty School | $16,750 | 70 |
| Tennessee State University | $16,565 | 7,678 |
| Brillare Beauty Institute | $16,500 | 255 |
| Mr Wayne's School of Unisex Hair Design | $16,500 | 21 |
| Ross Medical Education Center-Knoxville | $16,297 | 71 |
| Ross Medical Education Center-Johnson City | $16,297 | 67 |
| TC Beauty | $16,250 | 121 |
| Fortis Institute-Cookeville | $16,237 | 295 |
| Queen City College | $16,150 | 128 |
| Fortis Institute-Nashville | $16,035 | 383 |
| Tennessee School of Beauty of Knoxville Inc | $15,995 | 342 |
| Gould's Academy | $15,650 | 174 |
| Master's Barber & Styling College | $15,100 | 25 |
| Love Beauty School Inc | $15,000 | 69 |
| Paul Mitchell the School-Knoxville | $14,900 | 137 |
| Austin's Beauty College Inc | $14,900 | 59 |
| Vibe Barber College | $14,250 | 67 |
| Williamson Christian College | $13,940 | 51 |
| Health-Tech Institute of Memphis | $13,542 | 4 |
| Strayer University-Tennessee | $13,515 | 2,598 |
| Baptist Health Sciences University | $13,078 | 777 |
| Franklin Hair Academy School of Cosmetology | $13,075 | 39 |
| American Baptist College | $12,474 | 53 |
| Lawrenceburg Technical College | $12,375 | 40 |
| Le Moyne-Owen College | $12,076 | 609 |
| Mid-South Christian College | $11,905 | 17 |
| Lane College | $11,790 | 1,010 |
| John A Gupton College | $11,735 | 196 |
| The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga | $11,621 | 9,884 |
| Middle Tennessee State University | $11,326 | 17,438 |
| University of Memphis | $10,789 | 16,708 |
| Gould's Academy | $10,725 | 157 |
| Chattanooga College Medical Dental and & Technical Careers | $10,690 | 220 |
| Allied Health Careers Institute | $10,625 | 63 |
| East Tennessee State University | $10,568 | 10,554 |
| The University of Tennessee-Martin | $10,461 | 6,165 |
| Tennessee Technological University | $10,309 | 8,537 |
| The University of Tennessee Southern | $10,200 | 896 |
| Massage Institute of Memphis | $9,900 | 15 |
| Mind Body Institute | $9,875 | 36 |
| William R Moore College of Technology | $9,678 | 361 |
| Genesis Career College-Cookeville | $9,070 | 346 |
| Austin Peay State University | $9,047 | 8,120 |
| Academy of Allied Health Careers | $6,925 | 114 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Shelbyville | $6,725 | 550 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Murfreesboro | $6,605 | 337 |
| EduMed Partners | $6,500 | 66 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Memphis | $6,121 | 1,547 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-McMinnville | $5,344 | 577 |
| Chattanooga State Community College | $5,327 | 6,429 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Crump | $5,248 | 1,411 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Knoxville | $5,185 | 1,157 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology Nashville | $4,928 | 1,016 |
| Roane State Community College | $4,852 | 4,457 |
| Dyersburg State Community College | $4,798 | 2,683 |
| Columbia State Community College | $4,793 | 4,954 |
| Cleveland State Community College | $4,784 | 3,180 |
| Jackson State Community College | $4,753 | 3,442 |
| Southwest Tennessee Community College | $4,689 | 6,443 |
| Pellissippi State Community College | $4,585 | 8,452 |
| Northeast State Community College | $4,550 | 5,100 |
| Motlow State Community College | $4,545 | 5,636 |
| Volunteer State Community College | $4,533 | 6,957 |
| Walters State Community College | $4,528 | 5,477 |
| Nashville State Community College | $4,500 | 6,617 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Elizabethton | $4,496 | 495 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Hohenwald | $4,356 | 912 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Dickson | $4,328 | 982 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Jacksboro | $4,308 | 328 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-McKenzie | $4,308 | 134 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Crossville | $4,308 | 495 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology Northwest | $4,308 | 444 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Morristown | $4,308 | 859 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Henry/Carroll | $4,308 | 248 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Athens | $4,308 | 221 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Livingston | $4,308 | 1,417 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Harriman | $4,308 | 579 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Hartsville | $4,308 | 643 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Pulaski | $4,236 | 565 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Oneida-Huntsville | $4,013 | 439 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Jackson | $4,008 | 2,239 |
ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS STORY
Strayer University-Tennessee• Cumberland University• Lane College• Bethel University• Jenny Lea Academy of Cosmetology• Vibe Barber College• Carson-Newman University• Cleveland State Community College• Edumed Partners• Rhodes College• Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Athens• Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Murfreesboro• Lincoln Memorial University• John A Gupton College• Fortis Institute-Cookeville• Sae Institute of Technology-Nashville• Galen Health Institutes-Nashville Campus• Ross Medical Education Center-Johnson City• Austin Peay State University• The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga• Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Pulaski• American Baptist College• Chattanooga College Medical Dental And Technical Careers• Le Moyne-Owen College• Fisk University• The University of Tennessee Health Science Center• Milligan University• Academy of Allied Health Careers• Chattanooga State Community College• East Tennessee State University• Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Shelbyville• Tennessee College of Applied Technology Nashville• Middle Tennessee State University• Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Hartsville• The University of Tennessee-Knoxville• Mr. Wayne's School of Unisex Hair Design• South College• King University• Health-Tech Institute of Memphis• Columbia State Community College• Lipscomb University• Bryan College-Dayton• The Salon Professional Academy-Nashville• Paul Mitchell the School-Murfreesboro-Nashville• The University of the South• Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Elizabethton• Image Maker Beauty Institute• Martin Methodist College• Brillare Beauty Institute• Gould's Academy• Mind Body Institute• Lincoln College of Technology-Nashville• Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Oneida-Huntsville• Elite College of Cosmetology• Pentecostal Theological Seminary• Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Hohenwald• Nashville Film Institute• Genesis Career College-Lebanon• Southwest Tennessee Community College• Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Jacksboro• Dyersburg State Community College• North Central Institute• Ross Medical Education Center-Knoxville• Freed-Hardeman University• Belmont University• Union University• Johnson University• Tusculum University• Master's Barber & Styling College• Gould's Academy• Nashville State Community College• Fortis Institute-Nashville• Austin's Beauty College Inc.• Tennessee School of Beauty of Knoxville Inc.• Walters State Community College• Mid-South Christian College• Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Jackson• Pellissippi State Community College• Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Dickson• Volunteer State Community College• Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Memphis• Tennessee Wesleyan University• Northeast State Community College• Arnolds Beauty School• Meridian Institute of Surgical Assisting• Tennessee College of Applied Technology McKenzie• Motlow State Community College• University of Memphis• Christian Brothers University• Visible Music College• Tennessee Technological University• Vanderbilt University• Concorde Career College-Memphis• Paul Mitchell The School-Murfreesboro• Southern Adventist University• Allied Health Careers Institute• Lee University• Tennessee State University• Empire Beauty School-Nashville• Queen City College• Remington College-Memphis Campus• Tennessee College of Applied Technology Harriman• Paul Mitchell The School-Knoxville• Tennessee College of Applied Technology Newbern• Jackson State Community College• Welch College• Nossi College of Art• Trevecca Nazarene University• Baptist Memorial College Of Health Sciences• Tennessee College Of Applied Technology-Knoxville• Tennessee College Of Applied Technology-McMinnville• Williamson Christian College• Love Beauty School Inc• Tennessee College Of Applied Technology-Livingston• Tennessee College Of Applied Technology-Crossville• Franklin Hair Academy School Of Cosmetology• Roane State Community College• William R Moore College Of Technology• Genesis Career College-Cookeville• Miller-Motte Technical College-Chattanooga• Maryville College• Tennessee College Of Applied Technology-Crump• Empire Beauty School-E Memphis• Fayetteville College Of Cosmetology Arts And Sciences• Remington College-Nashville Campus• Tennessee College Of Applied Technology-Paris• Tennessee College Of Applied Technology-Morristown• Empire Beauty School-Jackson• Career Beauty College• Massage Institute Of Memphis• University Of Tennessee At Martin
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