See the States With the Best—And Worst—Community Colleges, Mapped

Community colleges have become more important as Americans try to pursue a college degree. For many, the high cost and other barriers of attending a more traditional college stand in their way.

The average annual cost at a community college in the United States is $7,780, according to the Education Data Initiative. Compare that to the average cost of a typical college of $38,270, and you can see the benefits of getting an education at a community college without going into debt.

Some states have more robust community colleges, giving students a real boost in their education and potential professional careers, while others don't have the same high performance. So which states have the best and worst community colleges to further a student's education?

Maryland Tops the List for a Community College

If you're looking for a community college that can give you the best education, Maryland may be a good place to start. Maryland's top five community colleges all rank among the top 30 nationwide, according to rankings compiled by WalletHub. This gives students a good variety of options that still offer a high level of education.

Prince George's Community College, for example, has a main campus and several additional campuses in Prince George's County that stand out for their student retention rates and high median salaries. They also offer students credit for life experiences they may have had before attending community college.

Second-place New Mexico also ranked well, particularly with help from Mesalands Community College. The school ranked third nationally in WalletHub's national rankings in part due to its teacher-to-student ratio and the fact that graduates are unlikely to default on their debt.

Both first-place Maryland and second-place New Mexico offer free community college education to help relieve the burden of debt that students may face at a typical college.

Third-place South Dakota was boosted by its nationally recognized Mitchell Technical College. The community college ranks fourth-best nationally because of its graduation rates, retention rates, and teacher-to-student ratio.

The top 10 best states for community colleges are:

1. Maryland
2. New Mexico
3. South Dakota
4. North Dakota
5. Oregon
6. New Hampshire
7. Wyoming
8. Kansas
9. Wisconsin
10. Minnesota

Some States Struggle with Community College Education

Not all states have robust community college programs, which can hurt students trying to get an education at a fraction of the cost of a typical four-year degree. Of the 39 states included in WalletHub's review, Alabama ranked the lowest for community college programs. Seven of the top 20 worst community colleges in WalletHub's review are based in the state.

Behind Alabama was Pennsylvania, which is expensive for community college students. Data from the Education Data Initiative found that the state's tuition ranks in the top 10 for most expensive tuition in the country for both in-state and out-of-state students. WalletHub's review found that Community College of Beaver County in Pennsylvania was one of the most expensive community colleges in the country for in-state tuition and fees.

Mississippi came in third place on the list, pulled down by poor rankings from particular community colleges in the state. Mississippi Delta Community College and Coahoma Community College both ranked in the top 10 worst community colleges based on WalletHub's data.

Here are the top 10 worst states for community colleges:

1. Alabama
2. Pennsylvania
3. Mississippi
4. Georgia
5. Ohio
6. Texas
7. Montana
8. Louisiana
9. New Jersey
10. Arizona

Note: WalletHub excluded 11 states from its final rankings, so these are the 10 lowest-ranked of the 39 states included in the final data.

More State-By-State Data: