Cost of College in Tennessee
What does college cost in Tennessee?
In-state public tuition and fees average $10,201 (rank 28 of 51), out-of-state $19,439, private nonprofit $28,185. The all-in four-year in-state public total is about $91,835. The least expensive public option is Tennessee State University at $8,568.
Average charges, four-year totals, named institutional extremes, and flagship net prices for Tennessee, computed from the federal IPEDS file.
Updated October 22, 2026
Tennessee occupies the middle of the national price table: average in-state public tuition and fees of $10,201 rank 28 of 51 jurisdictions, 3% below the national average of $10,525. All figures on this page are computed from the federal IPEDS file for Tennessee: 11 public and 38 private nonprofit four-year institutions, charges for academic year 2023-24, net prices for 2022-23. Living allowances (room, board, books) are the averages institutions report for their own budgets; the guide to what cost of attendance includes explains each component.
| Average annual charge, Tennessee four-year institutions (IPEDS 2023-24) | Public in-state | Public out-of-state | Private nonprofit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition and fees | $10,201 | $19,439 | $28,185 |
| Housing and food (school-reported average) | $10,444 | $10,444 | $10,276 |
| Books and supplies | $1,306 | $1,306 | $1,306 |
| Four-year total at 3% annual increases | $91,835 | $130,483 | $166,370 |
The nonresident question in Tennessee is a 1.9-times question. Out-of-state students at the state's publics pay $19,439 on average against the resident $10,201, a premium of $9,238 a year that compounds to roughly $38,647 across a degree. Premiums of this shape are a policy choice dressed as a price: Tennessee's publics are funded to serve residents first, and the premium is how that priority is invoiced to everyone else.
How Tennessee compares
Inside the state, the public price is not one price. The least expensive public four-year institution in the federal file, Tennessee State University, published $8,568 of tuition and fees; the most expensive, The University of Tennessee-Knoxville, published $13,484, a spread of 1.6 to 1 between two degrees that both say Tennessee public on the diploma. Across 11 public four-year institutions, exactly where a student lands inside that spread is a six-figure four-year decision once living costs follow the same pattern, which they usually do.
Net price at The University of Tennessee-Knoxville
The flagship test shows what aid does to the sticker at the state's best-known institution, The University of Tennessee-Knoxville in Knoxville. Its published in-state tuition and fees are $13,484, yet the median net price paid by aided first-year students overall is $20,885, and by family income the schedule runs:
| Family income | Median net price at The University of Tennessee-Knoxville |
|---|---|
| Up to $30,000 | $9,397 |
| $30,001-$48,000 | $12,714 |
| $48,001-$75,000 | $18,820 |
| $75,001-$110,000 | $23,297 |
| Over $110,000 | $25,438 |
The shape of that schedule is the institution's aid policy in one column: the lowest-income students pay $9,397, the highest-income pay $25,438, a ratio of 2.7 to 1. A steep schedule (high ratio) means the flagship spends heavily to pull low-income students in and charges affluent families nearer the sticker; a flat one means aid is spread thin or merit-driven. Tennessee families should read their own bracket's figure as the flagship's realistic price and the sticker as its ceiling, then repeat the exercise for the other schools on their list using each school's mandated net price calculator.
The four-year view in Tennessee
Stretch the Tennessee averages across a degree and the ordering of choices changes. The four-year in-state public total, $91,835, works out to about $1,913 per month of enrollment, against a national equivalent of $100,787; the out-of-state public total of $130,483 and the private total of $166,370 bracket it. Notice what four years does to small differences: a $1,000 annual gap in tuition is a $4,184 gap by graduation, so the 'close enough' school choices families wave through in March are five-figure decisions wearing a four-figure disguise.
Translate the flagship's schedule into discounts and its policy sharpens. Against a full published year at The University of Tennessee-Knoxville of about $25,234 (in-state tuition, housing, food, books), the lowest-income median net of $9,397 represents roughly 63% of the cost covered by grant aid, while the top bracket's $25,438 still sits below the full figure. The middle bracket pays $18,820, which is $9,423 more than the lowest bracket: in Tennessee, as nationally, the aid cliff is not a cliff but a staircase, and the middle steps are where family budgets should focus.
The institutional landscape shapes every figure above. Tennessee families choose among 11 public and 38 private nonprofit four-year institutions in the federal file. The flagship premium is visible in its own sticker: The University of Tennessee-Knoxville publishes $13,484 of in-state tuition and fees, 1.3 times the state public average, the price of the research flagship's scale and selectivity. At the other end, the least expensive public sits at $8,568, about 84% of the state average, which is why 'attend a public in Tennessee' describes price experiences that differ by more than the entire private-public gap in some other states.
Ways Tennessee students lower the published bill
The largest lever remains the living arrangement, because housing and food average $10,444 a year at Tennessee publics, more than tuition itself here. A student who can live at home converts the $21,951 sticker year into a $11,507 commuting year before aid. The second lever is sequencing: community college transfer pathways, priced in our school section, harvest the same general-education credits at a fraction of the $10,201 average before the four-year meter starts.
Regional exchange. Through the Southern Regional Education Board's Regional Student Program, Tennessee residents can pursue designated programs not offered in-state at participating southern institutions while paying in-state rates there, and the same arrangement brings out-of-state students into specialized Tennessee programs. The catalog of qualifying programs is the catch: the benefit attaches to the program, not the institution.
The bottom line for Tennessee: budget $91,835 for the average in-state public degree before aid, expect the flagship's aided families to land between $9,397 and $25,438 a year by income, and treat Tennessee State University at $8,568 of tuition as the floor the whole system is priced above.
College costs in other states
Compare Tennessee with the other state pages in this section, each with the same IPEDS breakdown of average charges, four-year totals, named institutional extremes, and flagship net prices, or return to the College cost hub for the calculators and the national state table:
Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · District of Columbia · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming
Frequently asked questions
How much does college cost in Tennessee?
On IPEDS 2023-24 averages: $10,201 a year of tuition and fees in-state at publics, $19,439 out-of-state, and $28,185 at private nonprofits. The all-in four-year in-state public total with housing, food, and books at 3% annual increases is about $91,835.
What is the cheapest public college in Tennessee?
Tennessee State University, at $8,568 of tuition and fees in the 2023-24 federal file, the lowest among the state's 11 public four-year institutions. The most expensive is The University of Tennessee-Knoxville at $13,484.
How much aid does The University of Tennessee-Knoxville give?
Its median net price for aided first-year students is $20,885 against published in-state tuition and fees of $13,484. By income, the median runs from $9,397 (up to $30,000) to $25,438 (over $110,000) in the IPEDS 2022-23 data.
Is Tennessee a good state for out-of-state students?
That depends on the premium: nonresidents pay 1.9 times the resident tuition at Tennessee publics on average ($19,439 vs $10,201). Regional exchange participation can cut that premium substantially for eligible programs, as described on this page.