Interesting Facts About the 735 Small Private Colleges in the U.S.

V. Peter Pitts, M.A.

8/6/2025

I just finished updating my “small private college database” and found some interesting facts and statistics:

There are 735 private colleges in the U.S. with fewer than 3,500 students.

500 of the 735 admit a wide array of students (from C+ to A+)

12 of the 735 are highly competitive (admit fewer than 10% of applicants)

28 are HBCUs

37 are single sex for undergrads (33 female, 4 male)

The average out of pocket cost (for tuition, housing, food, and fees), without loans, is $26,147 ($31,250 for families that make over $110K/year)

The average enrollment is 1,437 students.

122 of the 735 have at least one ABET-accredited engineering program (110 of these are liberal arts colleges).

241 of the 735 offer at least one full-tuition scholarship (usually by interview).

Average sticker price (before merit or financial aid): $39,228 for tuition and $13,534 for housing and food ($53,243 total).

Average merit award is $17,126 (43% of tuition).

The states with the largest number of small private colleges:

PA 63

NY 51

CA 40

OH 39

IL 33

MA 32

TX 28

NC 27

IN 25

MO 24

VA 24

The states where small private colleges cost, on average (after merit scholarships), the least for families earning more than $110K (numbers are averages in $) :

ND 22398

AR 24007

MS 24244

WV 24392

LA 24770

SD 25187

KY 25431

MO 26038

TN 26187

NE 26602

SC 26744

AL 26790

MT 27016

IA 27897

ID 27910

OK 27962

IL 28229

MI 28281

The states where small private colleges cost, on average (after merit scholarships), the most for families earning more than $110K (numbers are averages in $):

NJ 29827

VA 30394

UT 31329

MN 31612

PA 32271

NH 33087

MD 33330

AZ 34591

FL 35215

NY 36759

NM 36996

WA 37355

ME 37765

CO 37800

OR 38655

MA 39039

CT 39083

CA 40865

VT 43999

RI 47487

States where small private colleges have the least expensive room and board (numbers are averages in $):

ND 9500

SD 9750

OK 10445

MS 10714

AL 10750

TX 11042

KY 11111

MT 11334

MO 11417

AR 11445

NE 11445

KS 11478

UT 12000

TN 12043

WI 12235

IA 12257

WV 12400

LA 12500

MI 12694

States where small private colleges have the most expensive room and board (numbers are averages in $):

AZ 13600

FL 14476

VA 14916

CO 15000

MD 15143

WA 15333

PA 15397

OR 15555

DC 15840

ME 15978

NJ 16000

CA 16475

NY 16631

HI 17000

NH 17000

NM 17000

CT 17000

VT 17500

MA 17610

RI 17750