Community colleges in New York
There are 89 two-year, predominantly associate-degree-granting community colleges in New York reporting to the U.S. Department of Education. Median published in-state tuition across the state is $9,600 per academic year — among the most affordable postsecondary options anywhere in the country.
This page is a working directory: every institution links to a full profile with cost, enrollment, completion, and transfer numbers. The lists below highlight the most affordable, the largest, and the most transfer-active campuses in New York, drawn from the same Department of Education data four-year admissions offices use to evaluate incoming transfer applicants. If you are weighing a community-college start before continuing to a four-year program, the transfer rate column is the single most useful comparison.
Most affordable in-state tuition in New York
- CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community CollegeNew York$5,170
- CUNY Stella and Charles Guttman Community CollegeNew York$5,194
- CUNY Bronx Community CollegeBronx$5,206
- CUNY Queensborough Community CollegeBayside$5,210
- CUNY LaGuardia Community CollegeLong Island City$5,218
Largest community colleges in New York
- CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community CollegeNew York18,623
- Suffolk County Community CollegeSelden14,218
- CUNY LaGuardia Community CollegeLong Island City11,254
- Nassau Community CollegeGarden City10,630
- CUNY Queensborough Community CollegeBayside8,940
Strongest transfer outcomes
Share of full-time entrants who transferred to another institution within 150% of program length.
- American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral ServiceNew York75%
- Samaritan Hospital School of NursingTroy50%
- SUNY Broome Community CollegeBinghamton34%
- Sullivan County Community CollegeLoch Sheldrake24%
- Ulster County Community CollegeStone Ridge24%
All 89 community colleges in New York
About community college in New York
New York's 89 community colleges serve as the primary on-ramp into postsecondary education for hundreds of thousands of residents each year. They award associate degrees, occupational certificates, and — through articulation agreements with public and private four-year institutions — transferable general-education credit. For most students, the financial argument is decisive: published in-state tuition averages a small fraction of state-flagship sticker price, and many community-college students qualify for the full federal Pell Grant, eliminating tuition entirely.
If you intend to transfer, the most important question to ask any New York community college is which four-year institutions accept its credit on a course-for-course basis. The state's strongest transfer pipelines tend to feed regional public universities, but well-prepared students from accredited community colleges in New York routinely transfer into selective private institutions as well. Use the transfer-rate column above as a starting filter, then consult the receiving university's transfer admissions office to confirm specific course equivalencies.
Career-focused students should pay attention to the local labor market as much as to the institution. New York's community colleges concentrate heavily in health-care occupations, mechanical and engineering technology, business administration, and skilled-trades programs aligned to regional employers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' state-level wage data is the right reference for setting expectations on starting salary by field. Where this site reports earnings, the figure is median earnings ten years after first enrollment, drawn from the College Scorecard's match against federal tax records.