The rising cost of college tuition is a significant concern for both students and their families. 

Community colleges like Lake Region State College offer a compelling solution by providing lower tuition rates and fees compared to traditional universities. This affordability enables more students to pursue higher education without being overwhelmed by financial burdens.

Supporting this value, a recent Wallet Hub report ranked North Dakota's community colleges as number 4 nationally. This recognition highlights the state's commitment to accessible and high-quality education through its community college system. 

Students and graduates of LRSC agree.

"When I first began searching for a college, the cost of tuition at some schools was overwhelming,” says recent graduate Bridgette Harkness. “Then, I was told about LRSC and their lower tuition cost and numerous scholarship opportunities. This allowed me to live at home while working on my degree and focus more on my education and enjoying my time at college rather than worry about the cost." 

Scholarship opportunities along with lower tuition make Lake Region State College an especially attractive option for families and students. Many students can choose to live at home and commute to classes. Students can become active on campus and join groups that may offer leadership and networking opportunities that lead to additional scholarships if/when the student transfers to a university for a bachelor’s degree.

In order to determine the best and worst community-college systems in the U.S., Wallet Hub drew upon its analysis of 2025’s Best & Worst Community Colleges, which was conducted at the individual-school level across a sample of 653 institutions and 18 key metrics.

Lake Region State College also can prepare students for the workforce in numerous fields. A student can complete the first half of a bachelor’s degree at LRSC or be workforce ready in two years or less in the numerous career and technical education programs.

“When I was choosing between a four-year university and a two-year community college, my top priorities were cost and program availability. After comparing tuition rates across the state, it became clear that Lake Region State College offered the best value,” said current LRSC student Jaelyn Buckman. “I could receive a high-quality education while paying only a fraction of what I would at a larger university, making Lake Region the right choice for me.”

For its state-by-state analysis, Wallet Hub calculated a weighted average of the scores earned by the community colleges in each state and the number of students enrolled in each school. The state with the highest average corresponds with a rank of No. 1, or the best community-college system. Wallet Hub also took into account only the states that had at least two community colleges present in our sample of the Best & Worst Community Colleges in order to ensure comparability of results.

For more information about Lake Region State College and its programs go to www.LRSC.edu or call (701) 662-1600.

This story is supplemented with direct information from Wallet Hub. Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of July 15, 2025 from the National Center for Education Statistics, Campaign for Free College Tuition, U.S. Department of Education and Council for Community & Economic Research.