Best Online Colleges in Kentucky
for 2024

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Kentucky’s employment and unemployment numbers appear to be moving in the right direction in recent years. Employment is up, with 2,005,600 residents in the work force; between July 2021 and December 2021, the state added about 200,000 jobs. The unemployment rate also fell from a rate of 4.4% to around 3.9%.

While some employment sectors have seen a drop in employment numbers, the remainder of the state’s economy has been warming up. Most industries have stayed at about the same number of workers, while others have experienced a small increase. One of these experiencing an increase is the information sector. Leisure and hospitality also rebounded, with a 13.1% employment ranking.

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Online Higher Education in Kentucky

College students in Kentucky need to find ways of going to school that fit their individual situations. Here’s some information about your options.

  • How many students in Kentucky are enrolled in online programs?

    Kentucky colleges report that, for the academic year of 2020-2021, 78,309 of their students are exclusively online; they do not attend any in-person classes. This may be for several reasons; they may work well in an online format or have family or work obligations that rule out in-person education.

    Another 112,267 students are taking some online courses or degree programs, while their other classes take place on-campus.

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  • How many college students are there in Kentucky?
    For the academic year 2020-2021, Kentucky colleges and universities enrolled 268,065 students altogether. Splitting this between undergraduate and graduate students, 207,484 were undergraduate and 60,581 were graduate students.
  • What is the average tuition for college students in Kentucky?
    On average, in-state college students pay around $6,266 to attend school in Kentucky, while out-of-state students paid closer to $16,900. The highest tuition and fees that undergraduate students paid was $45,092 and the least expensive was $6,990. Graduate students paid $31,294 for their most expensive tuition and $25,100 for the least expensive.
  • What is the average cost of attendance at Kentucky colleges and universities?
    The cost of attendance includes tuition and fees, books, supplies, room and board (for on-campus students), and other fees. The average cost of attendance for in-state students in 2021 was $20,232; for out-of-state students, it was $30,877.

Our School Rankings Methodology

While some data is reliable and more recent, students and parents should keep in mind that much of the university experience is more subjective. However, looking into the objective data can help you parse what is most important about subjective options.

Our data comes from several reliable resources. These are .gov education sources, such as the College Scorecard. The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides the most-recent employment data, broken down by industries, occupations, states, and regions. And another website offers current snapshots of pay rates in various occupations.

We also use retention rates which measure the percentage of new first-year students who return for their next year, graduation rates which show the percentage of students who graduate within a normal time frame, admission rates which can show a university’s competitiveness (a low admission rate means the school is more competitive), and more.

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What are the Best Online Associate & Community College Programs in Kentucky?

Best Online Associates & Community Colleges In Kentucky badge
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The best, highest-ranked online community colleges all have several factors in common. They offer an affordable and quality education. Some students and their parents decide to begin at a state community college specifically in order to save themselves some money, and then transfer to a four-year university after earning an associate degree. In general, though not always, community colleges offer lower tuition to their students.

Prospective students who choose a community college may also qualify for financial aid, which can offer grants, scholarships, student employment, and loans to help them afford their time in school.

Gateway Community and Technical College
College Type
2-year, Public		 Student Population
4,763		 Graduation Rate
47%		 Net Price
$7,873		 Grads Salary
$28,800
West Kentucky Community and Technical College
College Type
2-year, Public		 Student Population
4,893		 Graduation Rate
51%		 Net Price
$7,780		 Grads Salary
$27,300
Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College
College Type
2-year, Public		 Student Population
4,304		 Graduation Rate
38%		 Net Price
$7,240		 Grads Salary
$34,000
Madisonville Community College
College Type
2-year, Public		 Student Population
3,104		 Graduation Rate
42%		 Net Price
$5,884		 Grads Salary
$33,200
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
College Type
2-year, Public		 Student Population
5,850		 Graduation Rate
39%		 Net Price
$7,082		 Grads Salary
$29,000
Maysville Community and Technical College
College Type
2-year, Public		 Student Population
3,446		 Graduation Rate
45%		 Net Price
$5,811		 Grads Salary
$29,300
Owensboro Community and Technical College
College Type
2-year, Public		 Student Population
4,004		 Graduation Rate
41%		 Net Price
$6,936		 Grads Salary
$33,600
Ashland Community and Technical College
College Type
2-year, Public		 Student Population
2,400		 Graduation Rate
43%		 Net Price
$6,605		 Grads Salary
$30,600
Hazard Community and Technical College
College Type
2-year, Public		 Student Population
2,630		 Graduation Rate
40%		 Net Price
$4,459		 Grads Salary
$27,400
Bluegrass Community and Technical College
College Type
2-year, Public		 Student Population
10,180		 Graduation Rate
30%		 Net Price
$7,013		 Grads Salary
$33,100
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What are the Best Online Universities & College Programs in Kentucky?

Best Online Colleges In Kentucky
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The state of Kentucky has a huge variety of colleges and universities available and campuses can offer both undergraduate and graduate programs which aim to meet the career goals of students throughout the state. Online graduate programs may use both asynchronous and synchronous learning, meaning students can find programs that require they log into their classes at a certain time and give them real-time interaction, or they can find a class they can work through whenever they have the time. Either way, distance learners can stay wherever they are in the state, work full-time if they must, and be available to their families while they earn their degrees.

Universities in the state offer both on-campus and online degrees in programs such as manufacturing, healthcare, and other industries that can earn you an excellent job within the state. Others offer programs that educate online learners to prepare them for careers in agricultural technology, aerospace design and production, and the automotive industry.

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University of Kentucky
College Type
4-year, Public		 Student Population
29,986		 Graduation Rate
66%		 Net Price
$19,831		 Grads Salary
$68,000
Northern Kentucky University
College Type
4-year, Public		 Student Population
16,211		 Graduation Rate
47%		 Net Price
$9,664		 Grads Salary
$67,000
Murray State University
College Type
4-year, Public		 Student Population
9,449		 Graduation Rate
53%		 Net Price
$11,628		 Grads Salary
$65,000
University of Louisville
College Type
4-year, Public		 Student Population
22,211		 Graduation Rate
60%		 Net Price
$17,894		 Grads Salary
$68,000
Western Kentucky University
College Type
4-year, Public		 Student Population
17,517		 Graduation Rate
52%		 Net Price
$12,705		 Grads Salary
$61,000
Kentucky State University
College Type
4-year, Public		 Student Population
2,290		 Graduation Rate
30%		 Net Price
$7,254		 Grads Salary
$68,000
Georgetown College
College Type
4-year, Private not-for-profit		 Student Population
1,565		 Graduation Rate
56%		 Net Price
$18,056		 Grads Salary
$64,000
Kentucky Wesleyan College
College Type
4-year, Private not-for-profit		 Student Population
887		 Graduation Rate
38%		 Net Price
$19,348		 Grads Salary
$78,000
Bellarmine University
College Type
4-year, Private not-for-profit		 Student Population
3,293		 Graduation Rate
64%		 Net Price
$24,425		 Grads Salary
$66,000
Spalding University
College Type
4-year, Private not-for-profit		 Student Population
1,596		 Graduation Rate
58%		 Net Price
$23,003		 Grads Salary
$68,000
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