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Community colleges in Hawaii

There are 8 two-year, predominantly associate-degree-granting community colleges in Hawaii reporting to the U.S. Department of Education. Median published in-state tuition across the state is $3,284 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 Hawaii, 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 Hawaii

  1. Honolulu Community CollegeHonolulu$3,174
  2. Windward Community CollegeKaneohe$3,194
  3. Hawaii Community CollegeHilo$3,204
  4. Leeward Community CollegePearl City$3,214
  5. Kapiolani Community CollegeHonolulu$3,284

Full Hawaii cost ranking → Tuition reference →

Largest community colleges in Hawaii

  1. Kapiolani Community CollegeHonolulu3,910
  2. Leeward Community CollegePearl City3,438
  3. Honolulu Community CollegeHonolulu1,897
  4. University of Hawaii Maui CollegeKahului1,700
  5. Hawaii Community CollegeHilo1,546

Full enrollment ranking →

Strongest transfer outcomes

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

  1. Kapiolani Community CollegeHonolulu21%
  2. Honolulu Community CollegeHonolulu16%
  3. Leeward Community CollegePearl City14%
  4. Windward Community CollegeKaneohe12%
  5. Hawaii Community CollegeHilo11%

Hawaii transfer guide →

All 8 community colleges in Hawaii

InstitutionCityEnrollmentIn-state tuition
Hawaii Community CollegeHilo1,546$3,204
Hawaii Tokai International CollegeKapolei24$16,560
Honolulu Community CollegeHonolulu1,897$3,174
Kapiolani Community CollegeHonolulu3,910$3,284
Leeward Community CollegePearl City3,438$3,214
Pacific Rim Christian UniversityHonolulu129$13,580
University of Hawaii Maui CollegeKahului1,700$3,284
Windward Community CollegeKaneohe1,159$3,194

About community college in Hawaii

Hawaii's 8 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 Hawaii 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 Hawaii 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. Hawaii'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.