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Community colleges in Arkansas

There are 7 two-year, predominantly associate-degree-granting community colleges in Arkansas reporting to the U.S. Department of Education. Median published in-state tuition across the state is $7,334 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 Arkansas, 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 Arkansas

  1. Arkansas State University-BeebeBeebe$3,336
  2. NorthWest Arkansas Community CollegeBentonville$3,342
  3. Shorter CollegeN Little Rock$6,246
  4. University of Arkansas-Fort SmithFort Smith$7,334
  5. Arkansas Tech UniversityRussellville$8,674

Full Arkansas cost ranking → Tuition reference →

Largest community colleges in Arkansas

  1. Arkansas Tech UniversityRussellville5,388
  2. NorthWest Arkansas Community CollegeBentonville4,953
  3. University of Arkansas-Fort SmithFort Smith4,091
  4. Arkansas State University-BeebeBeebe1,986
  5. Baptist Health College Little RockLittle Rock569

Full enrollment ranking →

Strongest transfer outcomes

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

  1. NorthWest Arkansas Community CollegeBentonville16%
  2. Arkansas State University-BeebeBeebe14%

Arkansas transfer guide →

All 7 community colleges in Arkansas

InstitutionCityEnrollmentIn-state tuition
Arkansas State University-BeebeBeebe1,986$3,336
Arkansas Tech UniversityRussellville5,388$8,674
Baptist Health College Little RockLittle Rock569$13,987
Jefferson Regional School of NursingPine Bluff92—
NorthWest Arkansas Community CollegeBentonville4,953$3,342
Shorter CollegeN Little Rock287$6,246
University of Arkansas-Fort SmithFort Smith4,091$7,334

About community college in Arkansas

Arkansas's 7 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 Arkansas 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 Arkansas 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. Arkansas'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.