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Community colleges in Puerto Rico

There are 16 two-year, predominantly associate-degree-granting community colleges in Puerto Rico reporting to the U.S. Department of Education. Median published in-state tuition across the state is $7,050 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 Puerto Rico, 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 Puerto Rico

  1. Instituto Tecnologico de Puerto Rico-Recinto de San JuanSan Juan$1,180
  2. Instituto Tecnologico de Puerto Rico-Recinto de ManatiManati$1,600
  3. Instituto Tecnologico de Puerto Rico-Recinto de GuayamaGuayama$3,608
  4. University of Puerto Rico-UtuadoUtuado$5,354
  5. Inter American University of Puerto Rico-GuayamaGuayama$5,780

Full Puerto Rico cost ranking → Tuition reference →

Largest community colleges in Puerto Rico

  1. Inter American University of Puerto Rico-GuayamaGuayama2,393
  2. EDP University of Puerto Rico Inc-San JuanSan Juan1,404
  3. EDP University of Puerto Rico Inc-San SebastianSan Sebastian1,032
  4. Atenas UniversityManati597
  5. Colegio de Cinematografia Artes y TelevisionBayamon556

Full enrollment ranking →

Strongest transfer outcomes

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

  1. Instituto Tecnologico de Puerto Rico-Recinto de San JuanSan Juan8%

Puerto Rico transfer guide →

All 16 community colleges in Puerto Rico

InstitutionCityEnrollmentIn-state tuition
Atenas UniversityManati597$8,954
CEM College-HumacaoHumacao161$12,900
Colegio de Cinematografia Artes y TelevisionBayamon556$7,796
Dewey University-CarolinaCarolina292$7,630
EDP University of Puerto Rico Inc-San JuanSan Juan1,404$7,050
EDP University of Puerto Rico Inc-San SebastianSan Sebastian1,032$7,050
EDP University of Puerto Rico-CaguasCaguas414$7,050
EDP University of Puerto Rico-HumacaoHumacao325$7,050
EDP University of Puerto Rico-ManatiManati468$7,050
EDP University of Puerto Rico-VillalbaVillalba379$7,050
Humacao Community CollegeHumacao173$6,560
Instituto Tecnologico de Puerto Rico-Recinto de GuayamaGuayama216$3,608
Instituto Tecnologico de Puerto Rico-Recinto de ManatiManati323$1,600
Instituto Tecnologico de Puerto Rico-Recinto de San JuanSan Juan179$1,180
Inter American University of Puerto Rico-GuayamaGuayama2,393$5,780
University of Puerto Rico-UtuadoUtuado325$5,354

About community college in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico's 16 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 Puerto Rico 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 Puerto Rico 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. Puerto Rico'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.