Even in public state university tuition is quite high. Community colleges are more reasonable. I'm considering suggesting my kids go to local community college for 2 years and then university to finish their degrees. We'll see when we get there.
I really wish I had done this. It would've saved me $20,000+. It's a great option, especially if you're in a place with a good community college system with guaranteed admissions agreements (e.g., Virginia).
Compared to what, the price of a hamburger? In state tuition can be 1/2 or 1/3 the price of out of state tuition at the same school, and state schools have lower tuition than a lot of other unis already.