How Much Does College Cost? Average College Tuition and More Statistics

Over the decades, the price tag of getting a college degree has skyrocketed. While most Americans surveyed by BestColleges valued alternatives to college as a viable educational option, 60% of business leaders said a college degree is important to long-term success.

Several factors can make your college education more or less expensive. Knowing them can help you plan your education. We collected college cost statistics, from average yearly tuition rates to pricing for textbooks and dorms, plus how expenses differ across states and school types.

Average College Tuition

The average college tuition across all schools was $14,307 in 2021-2022.^{Note Reference [3]}

Private nonprofit colleges tend to have higher tuition than other school types. The average tuition at a four-year private nonprofit school was nearly four times that of a four-year public school. Two-year public colleges had the least expensive tuition.

Average Total Cost of College

There's more to the cost of college than tuition alone. The all-in cost of college includes tuition and fees, textbooks and supplies, college dorm or off-campus living expenses, and other student expenses like transportation.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports the average total cost of attending college for first-time undergrads based on students' living arrangements: if they live on campus, off campus, or off campus with family.

Four-year schools are generally more expensive than two-year schools. At four-year schools, a year of total college expenses for students living on campus amounts to $36,436, or about $146,000 over four years. Two-year schools cost on-campus students an average of $16,782 per year, or roughly $34,000 over two years.

Average Net Cost of College

The sum of tuition and other college expenses still doesn't tell the whole story of what students pay for school. That's because students can take advantage of scholarships and grants to subsidize the cost of college.

The table below represents the average cost of college minus aid from scholarships or grants across all income levels. Keep in mind the amount of aid students receive depends on their income level.

Cost of College by School Type

The cost of college varies by school type, like public vs. private and two-year vs. four-year schools. In this section, we dig into cost differences by school category.

Public College Tuition: In-State vs. Out-of-State

Public colleges and universities receive funding from state taxpayers. This funding allows public colleges to offer lower tuition rates than private institutions. It also means that lower rates only apply to students who are state residents, resulting in a steep difference between in-state vs. out-of-state tuition.

On average, out-of-state tuition at four-year public colleges is close to three times that of in-state tuition.^[4]

Private College Tuition: Nonprofit vs. For-Profit College

Unlike public colleges, private schools earn money primarily through tuition and donors. But there are different types of private colleges. Private nonprofit schools invest the money they receive into the school's offerings. Private for-profit schools give earnings to investors.

On average, private for-profit colleges have lower tuition rates. However, private nonprofit institutions generally award much higher grants to students. These schools are also more likely to award financial aid to students. About 83% of students attending private nonprofit schools receive an institutional grant, compared to just 24% of students at private for-profit schools.

Cost of Ivy League and Other Elite Colleges

Some of the nation's most selective and esteemed institutions, such as Ivy League and other elite schools, have the highest tuition rates. At the same time, these schools often provide large financial aid packages.

Learn more about the country's most expensive colleges.

Average Cost of Online College

Students at online colleges may escape some fees related to on-campus services. However, online learners usually incur many of the same expenses as on-campus learners and may even have additional fees to consider, such as those related to technology.

Net Price of Online College

There are 65 degree-conferring distance-learning-only institutions in the NCES College Navigator database.^{Note Reference [6]}

Of those, 38 reported the net cost of attendance for full-time first-year undergraduate students in 2021-2022.

Of those 38 reporting distance-learning-only schools:

• The average net cost of attendance for full-time first-year undergraduate students was about $17,140.
• As with in-person schools, public schools were less expensive than private schools, on average.
• Unlike in-person colleges, online private for-profit schools were more expensive than online private nonprofit schools, on average.

Average Cost of College by State

As of 2021-2022, states with the highest tuition for state residents at four-year public colleges were in the Northeast and Midwest. These states' average tuition rates were roughly 2-4 times more expensive than the cheapest states' average tuition.^{Note Reference [4]}

States with the highest average in-state public school tuition:

1. Vermont ($17,683)
2. New Hampshire ($16,846)
3. Illinois ($14,993)
4. Connecticut ($14,963)
5. Pennsylvania ($14,920)

States with the lowest average in-state public school tuition:

1. Florida ($4,613)
2. Wyoming ($4,929)
3. Washington, D.C. ($6,152)
4. Nevada ($6,564)
5. Montana ($7,097)

States with the highest average tuition at four-year private schools were:

1. Massachusetts ($50,820)
2. Vermont ($48,968)
3. Rhode Island ($47,522)
4. Maryland ($47,092)
5. Oregon ($45,571)

College Expenses Beyond Tuition

Students have lives outside of the classroom, so they have expenses beyond just tuition. Each college student's budget depends on their individual circumstances, but here's the data behind typical college costs.

Cost of Room & Board in College

Room and board refers to the cost of on-campus housing (room) plus a meal plan (board).

Across all institutions in 2021-22, the average cost to live in dorms for one school year was $7,097. The average board cost was roughly $5,500.^{Note Reference [3]}

Living Off-Campus

Depending on where you live, it could be cheaper or costlier to rent an apartment off campus. National data suggests that, on average, the costs are pretty similar. The average difference between living on and off campus is $150 a year.

However, students living with family off campus (i.e., not paying for their own housing) save over $12,000 a year on average.

The average total cost for a student attending a four-year college in their first year is:^{Note Reference [1]}

• $36,436 to live on campus
• $36,586 to live off campus
• $24,488 to live off campus with family

Cost of College Textbooks and Supplies

The average cost of college books and supplies for first-year, full-time undergraduate students was comparable at public and private nonprofit schools. It was slightly less at private for-profit schools.

However, students can save money on textbooks by renting books or buying them used.

Transportation Costs

As expected, commuter students report spending more on transportation than students living on-campus.

Other Costs in College

The NCES' "other expenses" category includes many diverse, sometimes hidden costs of college, such as transportation, entertainment, laundry, dorm supplies, loan fees, study abroad, childcare, healthcare expenses, and more.

• In 2020-2021, the average "other" expenses for first-year, on-campus college students across all schools were $3,304.^{Note Reference [1]}
• Students living off campus had higher "other" expenses, averaging $4,551.^{Note Reference [1]}

Frequently Asked Questions About the Cost of College