These Are the Cheapest University Meal Plans in the United States

It’s safe to say we’re being objective when we note that the price of higher education in the United States is absolutely astronomical.

According to the Education Data Initiative, the average cost of a four-year college in the United States is $38,270 per student, per year (including books, supplies, and daily living expenses). This, the organization states, means that the “average cost of college has more than doubled in the 21st century.”

It details that the typical “in-state student attending a public 4-year institution and living on-campus spends $27,146 for one academic year,” and that while the cost of “in-state tuition alone is $9,750; out-of-state tuition averages $27,457.”

So yes, those living in the U.S. are spending a lot of money on school. However, as U.S. News & World Report recently shared, there are a few colleges in the country that at least offer affordable meal plans — and three where students eat for free. 

According to the news organization, which also publishes the famed college ranking list, 1,044 colleges submitted data to the U.S. News annual survey. It took that data and learned that the average cost of food and housing — which consists of a shared room and either 19 meals a week or the school’s maximum meal plan — for the 2024-2025 school year sits at $13,877. However, it also found plenty of universities with more budget-friendly options. 

“Three schools – Miami Dade College in Florida, the United States Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut, and the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado – charge students nothing for food and housing,” U.S. News reports.

These are followed up by the least expensive of the paid options, CUNY-Lehman College in New York, which charges just $1,700 per year, and the College of Westchester, also in New York, with a price tag of $1,824. It’s important to note that some of the schools mentioned, including both of these, do not provide housing for students, so that cost must be factored in.

Southern University and A&M College in Louisiana comes in at number six, and charges $2,926. It appears that Southern hospitality extends to college students as well, as the organization found that half of the schools out of the 20 on this list are in the South. 

This all goes much deeper than cost savings. As a 2024 review published in the journal Nutrition Research Reviews explains, “Food environments on university campuses also play a significant role in shaping the dietary habits of students, with the availability of and accessibility to healthy food options being important factors influencing food choices and overall diet quality.” The researchers found that a diet high in fruits and vegetables was associated with a higher GPA outcome, as was the availability of breakfast for students.

This review pointed to a 2020 study in the Journal of American College Health, which showed that increasing the number of weekday breakfasts a student consumes can significantly and positively impact their GPA as well. The study also found that students who ate “some type of breakfast before exams had a higher passing rate than students who did not,” meaning students with consistent access to food could have an academic advantage.

See the full ranking of the most affordable college meal plans at usnews.com.