Free College Tuition Can Come With Your New Home: Cities Where Your Kid Can Go To College for Free

Climbing home prices and mortgage rates are already a major expense for many families—but a new address could help lighten the load of other costs, like college.

Six cities across America offer free tuition—and free adds up to a ton.

The average annual cost of attending college in the United States—including tuition, fees, books, supplies, and room and board—clocks in at a staggering $38,270 per student, according to the Education Data Initiative. Over four years, that totals a hefty $153,080.

With the average cost of a home in the U.S. now hovering near $424,950 and mortgage rates pushing 7%, a six-figure savings might just be the reason to move, especially for families with more than one child.

The town that started it all

Living in one tiny Vermont town could save you more than $264,000, that is, if your kids want to go to Dartmouth College.

It’s Wheelock, VT—population 768, also known as the first town to offer free tuition.

Dartmouth College used to own Wheelock, and in 1830, Dartmouth President Nathan Lord offered free tuition to qualified applicants from the town.

That offer still stands today. For the 2024–25 college term, Dartmouth tuition will run $66,123. That’s a staggering $264,492 over four years—a solid quarter of a million dollars in savings for homeowners whose kids can manage to get in.

More tuition-free locales

Inspired by the small town in Vermont, 32 states now offer some form of free college tuition. (Of those, 17 offer needs-based assistance, while 15 have no salary requirements.)

Six U.S. cities have location-based tuition assistance programs of their own.

What’s more, three of these cities—Detroit, Rockford, IL, and the aforementioned Wheelock—all have a typical home price of $170,000 or less, “making these areas incredibly affordable relative to the rest of the country,” says Hannah Jones, Realtor.com® senior economic research analyst.

Throw in free college tuition, and that’s just the cherry on top.

See below what other cities will pay your kid’s college bills.

Chicago, IL

Median list price: $372,000
Minimum income to live comfortably there: $82,287

Thanks to the Chicago Star Scholarship, Chicago residents who graduate from city high schools with a GPA of 3.0 or higher can attend the City Colleges of Chicago with no tuition costs.

High school graduates have up to three years to use the funds, starting in the first fall semester after graduation.

Detroit, MI

Median list price: $96,850
Minimum income to live comfortably there: $21,423

The Detroit Promise program offers free education to recent high school graduates from Detroit, covering the cost of tuition at local community colleges and universities.

Recipients can earn trade certifications and two-year and four-year degrees tuition-free at 26 colleges across Michigan.

Kalamazoo, MI

Median list price: $281,825
Minimum income to live comfortably there: $62,340

Kalamazoo Public Schools graduates who meet the basic eligibility criteria will receive up to 100% of their tuition and mandatory fees covered at any in-state public community college or university for four years.

To qualify for the Kalamazoo Promise, students must be enrolled in at least 12 credit hours per semester and maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA.

Rockford, IL

Median list price: $168,675
Minimum income to live comfortably there: $37,311

Through the Rockford Promise Northern Illinois University Scholarship Program, students who attended all four years of high school in Rockford public schools and maintained a 3.0 GPA can attend up to four years at Northern Illinois University free of charge.

San Francisco

Median list price: $1,195,000
Minimum income to live comfortably there: $264,336

The San Francisco Promise grants scholarships to graduates from the San Francisco Unified School District who attend San Francisco State. Scholarships will be renewed for up to four years, provided the student maintains a GPA of 2.5 or higher.

Wheelcock, VT

Median list price: $150,000
Minimum income to live comfortably there: $33,180

Dartmouth College offers free four-year scholarships to Wheelock residents who are accepted. But that’s no easy feat since Dartmouth’s acceptance rate for the Class of 2028 was just 5.4%—a record low.