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Community colleges in Virginia

There are 20 two-year, predominantly associate-degree-granting community colleges in Virginia reporting to the U.S. Department of Education. Median published in-state tuition across the state is $9,090 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 Virginia, 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 Virginia

  1. Patrick & Henry Community CollegeMartinsville$5,002
  2. Paul D Camp Community CollegeFranklin$5,012
  3. Piedmont Virginia Community CollegeCharlottesville$5,072
  4. Brightpoint Community CollegeChester$5,082
  5. Virginia Peninsula Community CollegeHampton$5,088

Full Virginia cost ranking → Tuition reference →

Largest community colleges in Virginia

  1. Northern Virginia Community CollegeAnnandale33,048
  2. ECPI UniversityVirginia Beach12,090
  3. Tidewater Community CollegeNorfolk12,082
  4. Brightpoint Community CollegeChester5,792
  5. J Sargeant Reynolds Community CollegeRichmond5,586

Full enrollment ranking →

Strongest transfer outcomes

Share of full-time entrants who transferred to another institution within 150% of program length.

  1. Richard Bland CollegeSouth Prince George65%
  2. Brightpoint Community CollegeChester18%
  3. Northern Virginia Community CollegeAnnandale16%
  4. Virginia Peninsula Community CollegeHampton16%
  5. Tidewater Community CollegeNorfolk15%

Virginia transfer guide →

All 20 community colleges in Virginia

InstitutionCityEnrollmentIn-state tuition
American National UniversitySalem630$10,961
Bon Secours St Mary's Hospital School of Medical ImagingRichmond35—
Brightpoint Community CollegeChester5,792$5,082
Bryant & Stratton College-Virginia BeachVirginia Beach1,709$18,489
Centra CollegeLynchburg219$12,983
ECPI UniversityVirginia Beach12,090$18,484
Galen Health Institutes-RichmondRichmond454$16,364
Galen Health Institutes-RoanokeRoanoke315$16,364
J Sargeant Reynolds Community CollegeRichmond5,586$5,280
Northern Virginia Community CollegeAnnandale33,048$5,891
Patrick & Henry Community CollegeMartinsville1,350$5,002
Paul D Camp Community CollegeFranklin613$5,012
Piedmont Virginia Community CollegeCharlottesville3,045$5,072
Richard Bland CollegeSouth Prince George894$9,090
Riverside College of Health CareersNewport News350$17,250
Southside College of Health SciencesColonial Heights151—
Sovah School of Health ProfessionsDanville30—
Tidewater Community CollegeNorfolk12,082$5,588
Virginia Peninsula Community CollegeHampton3,941$5,088
Virginia University of LynchburgLynchburg125$11,360

About community college in Virginia

Virginia's 20 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 Virginia 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 Virginia 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. Virginia'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.