For a Utah Valley family, the choice usually gets framed as BYU or UVU. That leaves out seven other schools within a day's drive, several of them cheaper than either, and one of them close enough to live at home. Here they are, with the 2026-27 numbers each school has posted, the miles from Provo, and the kind of student each one tends to suit.
If you are still deciding between the two local schools, our BYU vs UVU comparison covers that ground. This page is for the family whose senior has said, "I think I want to go somewhere else."
The numbers side by side
All tuition below is the published 2026-27 rate for a full-time Utah resident undergraduate, tuition plus mandatory fees, doubled from the per-semester figure to make a fall-and-winter year. Distances are road miles from the BYU campus by OpenStreetMap routing.
| School | Town | 2026-27 resident tuition and fees, two semesters | Road miles from Provo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Utah University | Cedar City | $7,267 | 208 |
| Utah State University | Logan | $9,064 | 127 |
| Utah Tech University | St. George | $6,663 | 258 |
| Snow College | Ephraim | $4,595 | 74 |
| Weber State University | Ogden | $6,580 (lower division) / $6,893 (upper) | 76 |
| Westminster University | Salt Lake City | $46,826 (private; no resident rate) | 44 |
| Salt Lake Community College | Taylorsville and other sites | $4,648 | 39 |
For comparison, UVU's approved 2026-27 resident total is $6,873 for the year, according to the tuition request UVU filed with the Utah Board of Higher Education, which approved a 2.98% increase on March 27, 2026. BYU's own tuition pages were still showing 2025-26 rates in October 2026: $3,444 a semester for Latter-day Saint undergraduates and $6,888 for students who are not members.
A few things the table cannot show:
- Every figure is before scholarships. Merit and need-based aid move the real price more than the sticker differences between public schools do.
- The "full-time" line differs. SUU's flat rate starts at 10 credits, Weber's at 11, Utah Tech's and SLCC's at 12. A student taking 12 credits pays the same as one taking 15 or 18 at all of them, which is a reason to take 15.
- Housing is where the money goes. USU's 2026-27 cost-of-attendance estimate for a Logan undergraduate is $4,532 a semester in tuition and fees but $2,223 for on-campus housing and $2,723 off campus, before food, books and transportation. Moving away roughly doubles the cost of college compared with living at home, at almost any public school here.
Southern Utah University, Cedar City
2026-27: $3,633.50 a semester for residents (10 to 18 credits), $11,097.50 for nonresidents, on SUU's cashier page. Size: 15,825 students in fall 2025, according to USHE data reported by the Deseret News.
SUU is the closest thing Utah has to a classic college town at a public university. Cedar City is small, the campus is the center of it, and the Utah Shakespeare Festival, founded in 1961, performs on SUU's campus at the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts from June into October. Students interested in theater, outdoor recreation and the national parks within reach of southern Utah tend to find it a good fit.
The catch is distance. At about 208 miles, it is a day trip each way for a parent with a carload of dorm supplies, and an emergency weekend home is a commitment. For a student who wants to leave home and mean it, that is the point.
Utah State University, Logan
2026-27: $4,532 a semester in tuition and fees for a Logan resident undergraduate, $13,255 for nonresidents, on USU's cost-of-attendance page. Size: 29,831 students in fall 2025 across the statewide system.
USU is the most expensive public option in this guide for residents, and the Board of Higher Education trimmed its request this spring: USU had proposed a 3.97% increase and was approved at 3.22% ($286). It is also the closest large university that is not in the Provo-Salt Lake corridor. Logan has its own valley, its own culture and a college-town feel at a much bigger scale than Cedar City. Our Provo vs Logan comparison looks at the two college valleys side by side, and Logan and Cache Valley from Provo covers the trip itself.
Admissions are more forgiving than many families assume. USU's Earned Admission program lets an applicant with a 2.0 to 2.79 high school GPA earn admission in good standing by finishing a free, self-paced online workshop before registering for classes.
Utah Tech University, St. George
2026-27: $3,331.56 a semester for residents at 12 or more credits, $9,714.12 for nonresidents, in the 2026-27 catalog. Size: 13,207 students in fall 2025.
Utah Tech is the farthest school here and, among the four-year universities, the cheapest for residents. Its catalog states plainly that it is "an open enrollment institution" with no minimum GPA for first-year applicants: a transcript, an application and the fee. Students are asked to apply by the first day of the semester they plan to start.
St. George is warm in winter, hot in summer and growing fast. For a Utah Valley student who wants sunshine, a lower bill and a fresh start, it is a common pick. For a family that expects Sunday dinners, 258 miles each way is the honest obstacle. Our Zion and St. George weekend guide covers the drive and the area.
Snow College, Ephraim
2026-27: $2,096 tuition plus $201.25 fees, $2,297.25 a semester for residents; $7,601.25 for nonresidents, on Snow's cost page. Size: 5,561 students in fall 2025.
Snow is the sleeper pick for a Utah Valley family, and it is closer than most people think: about 74 miles and an hour and a half to Ephraim, in Sanpete County. Its catalog describes it as "an open admission institution." It is mostly a two-year residential college, with campuses in Ephraim and Richfield, and it offers two bachelor's degrees: a Bachelor of Music in Commercial Music and a Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering.
The classic Snow plan is two years of general education in a small town at the lowest price in this guide, then a transfer to a university. Because Snow is a public Utah institution, an associate degree earned there satisfies general education at every other public college in the state under Board policy R470. Snow's own tuition request this year said it intends to "remain the most affordable institution in the state."
Sanpete's summer towns are their own world; our guide to the Sanpete festival circuit is a good introduction to Ephraim.
Weber State University, Ogden
2026-27: $3,290.04 a semester for residents with fewer than 60 credits, $3,446.39 with 60 or more (11 to 18 credits), on Weber's 2026-27 tuition schedules. Size: 33,293 students in fall 2025.
Weber charges less for the first two years than for the last two, which the Board's approval reflected this year: a 0.35% increase for lower-division students and 2.99% for upper-division. The total approved increase was $132, the smallest dollar figure among the universities.
Weber is open-enrollment, as KSL reported in October 2025, and since 2024 it has automatically admitted seniors from Weber, Davis and Morgan county high schools. A Utah County student still applies the regular way, but the bar is a high school diploma. Ogden sits at the north end of UTA's FrontRunner line, about 76 road miles from Provo, which makes it a school a student could reach by train for a weekend home. Our Ogden day trip guide gives a feel for the city.
Westminster University, Salt Lake City
2026-27: $23,244 tuition plus $169 in required fees, $23,413 a semester, $46,826 a year, on Westminster's 2026-27 tuition page. On-campus housing runs $3,827 to $4,809 a semester; meal plans $1,670 to $2,895. Size: 1,152 students (882 undergraduate, 270 graduate), on the university's About page.
Westminster is the only private school here and the only one without a resident discount. It sits on a 27-acre campus in Sugar House, about 44 miles from BYU. The sticker price is about seven times SUU's, so a family should treat it as a school to apply to and then compare on the financial aid offer, never on the published number.
The students it suits want a small private campus without leaving the state, and want to be in Salt Lake City. If a student wants a Church-sponsored option beyond Provo, our BYU vs BYU-Idaho comparison covers that other path.
Salt Lake Community College
2026-27: $2,116.25 tuition plus $207.50 fees, $2,323.75 a semester for residents at 12 to 18 credits; $7,614.50 for nonresidents, on SLCC's 2026-27 rate sheet. Size: 31,473 students in fall 2025.
SLCC's approved increase this year, $105, was the smallest in the system. Its Taylorsville Redwood campus is about 39 miles from BYU, which makes it the one school in this guide a Utah County student could plausibly attend from home. For most Utah Valley students, though, UVU in Orem serves the same purpose closer to home, so SLCC tends to make sense for a student who already lives or works in the Salt Lake Valley, or who wants a specific SLCC program.
Who fits where
These are patterns, not rules:
- The student who wants to leave home but stay in-state and keep costs low: SUU or Utah Tech. Both are far enough that the student builds a new life, and both cost less than USU.
- The student who wants a big university that is not BYU or the U: Utah State. Logan offers the scale, the programs and a separate valley.
- The student who is not sure about college yet: Snow. Open admission, small classes, two years at the lowest price, and a clear path to transfer.
- The student who needs to keep a Utah County job: UVU, or SLCC if the job is north. The others mean moving.
- The student whose family can compare a private aid offer: Westminster, as one of several applications.
- The student who wants a train ride home: Weber.
Faith life at the other schools
For Latter-day Saint families, the practical question is often whether a student will have a ward and an institute. Wards are assigned by address everywhere, so the Church's meetinghouse locator will show which young single adult ward covers a given apartment before the lease is signed. Institutes follow students, too: the newest, the Logan Institute of Religion at 600 Darwin Avenue near USU, was dedicated in November 2025, and the Church said it expects to serve about 10,000 young adults a year. Our guide to the Institute of Religion at UVU explains how an institute works, and how wards work covers the rest. What changes away from Provo is how many classmates share the faith. For some students that is a reason to go; for some, a reason to stay.
The transfer question, before you choose
Two rules decide how well a first school sets up a second one:
- Inside Utah's public system, general education is protected. Board of Higher Education policy R470 says an associate degree from any public Utah institution meets general education at all the others, and general education courses approved at one transfer at full value to the rest. That covers SUU, USU, Utah Tech, Snow, Weber, SLCC, UVU and the University of Utah.
- BYU and Westminster are outside it. Both are private. They accept plenty of transfer credit, but on their own terms. A student who starts at Snow intending to finish at BYU should check each course against BYU's transfer rules from the first semester.
Our guide to transferring between BYU, UVU and the U goes deeper on that move, and Provo for Transfer Students covers the adjustment after arriving. For an out-of-state student weighing any Utah public school, the residency rules in our in-state tuition guide can change the math more than anything in this article.
Where these numbers come from
Tuition figures are from each school's own 2026-27 tuition page or rate schedule, read in October 2026: SUU's cashier page, USU's cost-of-attendance page, Utah Tech's 2026-27 catalog, Snow's cost page, Weber's bursar schedules, Westminster's 2026-27 tuition page and SLCC's 2026-27 combined rate sheet. The approved increases are from the Utah System of Higher Education's March 2026 announcement, and fall 2025 enrollment is from USHE data as reported by the Deseret News. Schools change fees mid-year occasionally, so check the current page before you budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest four-year university in Utah for a resident in 2026-27?
How far is Utah State University from Provo?
Which Utah colleges are open admission?
Do credits from Snow College or SLCC transfer to BYU?
Is Westminster University the same as Westminster College?
Can a Utah County student live at home and attend one of these schools?
Do the 2026-27 tuition increases apply to all Utah public colleges?
Which of these schools is best for a student who wants a small residential campus?
Sources
The facts in this guide were checked against these sources. Hours, fees and rules change, so confirm anything time-sensitive with the source before you go. How we make Provo.com.
- Tuition and fee increases remain modest following Board review and adjustments, Utah System of Higher Education. Checked October 20, 2026.
- UVU 2026-27 tuition and fees request, Utah System of Higher Education. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Snow College 2026-27 tuition and fees request, Utah System of Higher Education. Checked October 20, 2026.
- USU 2026-27 tuition and fees request, Utah System of Higher Education. Checked October 20, 2026.
- R470 policy text, Utah Board of Higher Education (copy posted by UVU). Checked October 20, 2026.
- 2026-27 Undergraduate Tuition & Fees, Southern Utah University. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Cost of Attendance 2026-27, Utah State University. Checked October 20, 2026.
- 2026-2027 Tuition & Fees (catalog), Utah Tech University. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Cost of attendance, Snow College. Checked October 20, 2026.
- 26-27 UG LD R tuition schedule, Weber State University. Checked October 20, 2026.
- 26-27 UG UD R tuition schedule, Weber State University. Checked October 20, 2026.
- 2026-27 Undergraduate Tuition and Fees, Westminster University. Checked October 20, 2026.
- About Westminster, Westminster University. Checked October 20, 2026.
- 2026-2027 combined tuition rates, Salt Lake Community College. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Brigham Young University: Tuition, Brigham Young University. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Bachelor's degree program requirements, Snow College. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Admissions Policy, Snow College. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Admission (catalog), Utah Tech University. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Earned Admission, Utah State University. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Transfer and Articulation at USU, Utah State University. Checked October 20, 2026.
- About the Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Institute of religion in northern Utah opens its doors to the public, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Newsroom. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Utah public universities record enrollment (fall 2025), Deseret News. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Weber State enrollment up after start of admission program, KSL. Checked October 20, 2026.
- OSRM routing (OpenStreetMap) driving distances from BYU, Project OSRM. Checked October 20, 2026.
