20 US universities charge international students less than $28,000 per year

International students at these 20 U.S. universities pay an average of US$24,200 for the 2025-2026 academic year, more than half the nation's overall average, according to U.S. News & World Report. Among 576 ranked in the U.S. News Best Colleges that enrolled at least 25 international students, 20 have annual total costs of $27,630 or less, according to U.S. News’s latest list of 20 more affordable schools for international students.The annual costs, which range from $18,639 to $27,630, do not account for financial aid and include tuition and fees, housing and food, books and transportation. The campus of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, U.S. Photo courtesy of the university's Facebook page The least expensive school is Delta State University, with annual costs of about $18,600.Seventeen of the 20 schools are regional universities, while more than one third are located in the Dakotas and North Carolina.Schools that did not report total costs for international students were excluded from the ranking.The U.S. attracted 1.18 million international students in the 2024-2025 academic year, generating nearly $55 billion for the economy.The list of the 20 affordable universities is as follows: No. University US News ranking Total annual cost (USD) 1 Cameron University 98 27,600 2 Wisconsin-La Crosse 14 27,600 3 Wisconsin-Whitewater 31 27,600 4 Lake Superior State University 19 27,200 5 South Dakota School of Mines and Technology 20 27,100 6 University of Wisconsin-Parkside 118 26,800 7 Rogers State University 27 26,600 8 Coppin State University 150-164 25,900 9 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania 55 25,500 10 Livingstone College 67 25,100 11 Talladega University 60 23,700 12 Southern Arkansas University 67 23,700 13 Valley City State University 15 23,400 14 Northern State University 61 23,200 15 Dakota State University 61 22,500 16 Fayetteville State University 52 22,200 17 Western Carolina University 257 20,400 18 California State University, Fresno 183 19,700 19 University of the Cumberlands 395-434 19,200 20 Delta State University 50 18,600 A recent report by the College Board found that the average annual budget for full-time undergraduate students in the U.S. ranged from about $50,900 at public four-year institutions for out-of-state students to $65,500 at private nonprofit four-year institutions in 2025-2026.The budgets include tuition and fees, housing and food, books and supplies, transportation, and other expenses.