Top 2021 Colleges in Tennessee

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Tennessee's 156 Colleges and Universities

Most colleges in Tennessee are near Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and other large cities. Colleges range from large research universities to small liberal arts colleges. Let’s look at some NCES stats about the Volunteer state:

• Tennessee is home to 68 four year college. 10 of them are public state universities.
• There are 88 two year or less colleges. About 45% are public community colleges.
• Over the past 5 years, Tennessee has seen a small 5.9% drop in students. In 2017, 323,152 students were enrolled in college.
• In total, 65,500 degrees were awarded for the 2016 - 2017 school year. Thus, about 56% of those awards were bachelor's degrees.

Salary Breakdown

According to the College Scorecard alums from Vanderbilt Univeristy earn the highest average salary. 10 years after graduating, the average salary is about $97,800. Meanwhile, the 2017 mean annual wage in Tennessee is $44,660. You do the math!

Tennessee's Tuition Programs

Tennessee is also a member of the Academic Common Market. Students can enroll in an out of state college that offer their degree program and pay the school's in state tuition rate. Students can choose to attend in one of the 15 SREB states. Member states include nearby states like Alabama and South Carolina.

TNStars is a 529 savings plan where you can save and invest funds for your future college education. There are many tax advantages with the plan. The funds in the plan will grow tax-free. If you save $23,400 (or $25 a week) with TNStars, it adds up to $42,000 for college in over 18 years. When you withdraw the funds, it covers tuition, room and board, fees, and more.

Top Colleges in Tennessee

Top Tennessee colleges ranked by total number of students.

List of Colleges in Tennessee

Thousands of students have rated these Tennessee colleges. Discover what they have to say. Find out about campus life, academics and more!

Source for school statistics and data is the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.