Real costs by region · Southwest · families earning $30,000–$48,000
25 Southwest colleges under $11,000 a year — if you earn $30,000–$48,000.
Across 116 Southwest colleges, families earning $30,000–$48,000 paid between $563 and $37,924 a year. The 25 cheapest are all under $11,000 — and 2 of them are private.
| School | Type | Admit | Sticker / yr | This band paidPaid |
| Rice University | Private | 8% | $79,788 | $563 |
| Texas A&M University-Central Texas | Public | 100% | $14,187 | $750 |
| Texas A & M International University | Public | 44% | $15,558 | $2,745 |
| Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus | Public | 92% | $18,940 | $3,080 |
| The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | Public | 94% | $16,830 | $3,877 |
| Louisiana State University-Shreveport | Public | 51% | $19,461 | $4,836 |
| Louisiana State University at Alexandria | Public | 92% | $15,550 | $5,075 |
| Texas A&M University-Victoria | Public | 96% | $21,401 | $5,579 |
| University of North Texas at Dallas | Public | 84% | $20,064 | $5,743 |
| Southeastern Oklahoma State University | Public | 76% | $18,594 | $6,333 |
| East Central University | Public | 58% | $18,459 | $6,402 |
| New Mexico State University-Main Campus | Public | 89% | $23,274 | $7,424 |
| Northwestern Oklahoma State University | Public | 65% | $18,672 | $7,828 |
| The University of Texas at San Antonio | Public | 87% | $22,352 | $7,847 |
| University of Arkansas Community College-Morrilton | Public | 100% | $15,362 | $8,051 |
| The University of Texas at El Paso | Public | 100% | $19,836 | $8,136 |
| Lamar University | Public | 86% | $22,254 | $8,261 |
| University of Tulsa | Private | 62% | $64,459 | $8,616 |
| Louisiana Tech University | Public | 86% | $24,280 | $8,619 |
| Arkansas State University | Public | 82% | $25,082 | $9,255 |
| University of Arkansas-Fort Smith | Public | 80% | $19,048 | $9,391 |
| Northeastern State University | Public | 100% | $21,551 | $9,827 |
| Midwestern State University | Public | 94% | $22,652 | $9,886 |
| Texas Woman's University | Public | 96% | $22,234 | $9,894 |
| University of Houston-Downtown | Public | 90% | $20,749 | $10,048 |
"Paid" is the average net price reported to the U.S. Department of Education for aided families at $30,000–$48,000 household income — planning data, not an offer. Public colleges show in-state prices; out-of-state families typically pay more. Colleges enrolling fewer than 1,000 students are excluded, because federal price cells at very small schools are volatile enough to manufacture patterns that disappear at scale. A low price and a low admit rate are different things — the admit column is there so the two are never confused.
Same region, different income
under $30,000 · $48,000–$75,000 · $75,000–$110,000 · over $110,000
Same income, different region
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State by state
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