Average cost of college 2024-2025

Written by

Dori Zinn,

Edited by

Jennifer Lee,

Reviewed by

Thomas Brock, CFA, CPA,

Expert verified

Published on March 10, 2025 | 3 min read

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Key takeaways

Students are paying $11,610 per year on average in tuition and fees at public, in-state schools, and $30,780 for out-of-state undergraduates, according to the CollegeBoard.
The average cost of college has skyrocketed in the last 30 years.
The average cost of college is based on the type of institution, in-state vs. out-of-state students, and other expenses.

Where you go to school matters, whether you’re staying at an in-state institution; a private, for-profit university; or a local, two-year college. When you add room and board, books and other expenses to the mix, that bill goes up several thousand dollars more.

The cost of college in the U.S. has tripled over the last three decades — and things don’t seem to be slowing down, especially now that sky-high inflation is making everything more expensive.

Key college cost statistics 2024-2025

The average annual cost of tuition and fees at a public, four-year university for out-of-state undergraduates is $30,780 per year.
When adding in other costs like housing, supplies, transportation and other expenses, in-state students paid $29,910 per year and out-of-state students paid $49,080 for the full cost of college per year.
Students going to private institutions paid $62,990 in tuition, fees, housing, food, supplies, and other expenses.
Commuter students paid $20,570, but only $4,050 was towards tuition and fees.

How much does college cost?

The net price for college depends on the type of institution and where it’s located. Private colleges are usually the most expensive option because public schools receive funding from the federal government, whereas private colleges receive most of their funding through tuition payments and private donations.

Beyond tuition and fees, the cost of attendance includes housing (whether that’s on-campus or off), food, transportation, books and supplies, and other expenses. Commuter students at a two-year college might pay more in transportation and other expenses, but they pay significantly less when it comes to tuition.

Average estimated full-time undergraduate budgets by sector 2024-2025

Key points	Public two-year in-district commuter	Public four-year in-state, on-campus	Public four-year out-of-state, on-campus	Private nonprofit four-year, on-campus
Tuition and fees	$4,050	$11,610	$30,780	$43,350
Room and board	$10,390	$13,310	$13,310	$15,250
Books and supplies	$1,520	$1,290	$1,290	$1,290
Transportation	$2,010	$1,340	$1,340	$1,150
Other expenses	$2,600	$2,360	$2,360	$1,950
Total	$20,570	$29,910	$49,080	$62,990
				Source: CollegeBoard

The reason the cost of college is high could be for a number of reasons. Public universities receiving less state funding need to make up the difference by charging students more. Operating costs also come out of those tuition dollars and get spread out campus-wide, and those costs aren’t going down either.

Learn more: How do I pay for college with no money?

Average cost of college by state

The average cost of public universities and colleges varies by state. The size of the state, the population and the number of colleges are all factors that impact the average cost of college.

State average undergraduate college tuition and fees 2022-2023

State	Public two-year (in-state)	Public two-year (out-of-state)	Public four-year (in-state)	Public four-year (out-of-state)	Private four-year
Alabama	$5,039	$9,432	$11,081	$28,315	$17,687
Alaska	N/A	N/A	$8,291	$24,410	$20,148
Arizona	$2,160	$7,444	$11,768	$28,506	$13,485
Arkansas	$3,657	$5,151	$8,879	$23,091	$24,798
California	$1,286	$9,338	$8,637	$32,967	$42,017
Colorado	$3,426	$7,527	$9,798	$32,476	$27,474
Connecticut	$4,758	$14,176	$15,763	$37,907	$44,931
Delaware	N/A	N/A	$11,922	$33,812	$12,154
District of Columbia	N/A	N/A	$6,152	$13,004	$47,066
Florida	N/A	$9,111	$4,540	$17,831	$30,928
Georgia	$3,134	$8,259	$7,075	$24,331	$32,114
Hawaii	$3,227	$8,400	$10,484	$32,769	$21,851
Idaho	$3,361	$8,243	$7,640	$25,404	$6,970
Illinois	$4,249	$11,693	$14,921	$30,027	$37,646
Indiana	$4,637	$8,927	$9,886	$30,448	$37,987
Iowa	$5,583	$6,897	$10,121	$29,072	$37,623
Kansas	$3,645	$4,826	$9,274	$23,713	$31,116
Kentucky	$4,588	$15,502	$11,299	$26,640	$28,001
Louisiana	$4,367	$5,085	$9,843	$23,573	$44,485
Maine	$3,779	$6,658	$10,813	$30,244	$38,972
Maryland	$4,408	$9,878	$10,041	$26,721	$48,240
Massachusetts	$5,564	$10,635	$14,345	$34,245	$53,789
Michigan	$3,963	$7,493	$14,718	$41,324	$33,385
Minnesota	$6,049	$6,790	$12,873	$26,719	$35,914
Mississippi	$3,688	$6,233	$9,120	$21,531	$20,042
Missouri	$4,077	$7,613	$9,926	$23,932	$30,660
Montana	$3,950	$9,726	$7,299	$28,682	$31,464
Nebraska	$3,408	$4,308	$8,862	$21,539	$26,002
Nevada	N/A	N/A	$6,723	$24,443	$24,246
New Hampshire	$7,108	$15,348	$17,019	$33,850	$19,557
New Jersey	$4,981	$8,558	$15,265	$30,271	$40,366
New Mexico	$1,923	$6,612	$7,526	$21,842	$27,340
New York	$5,755	$9,145	$8,575	$20,637	$46,280
North Carolina	$2,527	$8,522	$7,327	$23,155	$40,176
North Dakota	$5,610	$6,642	$9,728	$14,687	$16,990
Ohio	$4,630	$8,297	$10,922	$27,441	$37,610
Oklahoma	$4,413	$9,919	$8,519	$22,928	$31,140
Oregon	$5,376	$9,154	$12,424	$35,960	$47,224
Pennsylvania	$5,717	$13,177	$16,217	$31,844	$47,222
Rhode Island	$5,090	$13,552	$14,744	$33,879	$49,792
South Carolina	$4,987	$10,498	$12,604	$33,346	$28,730
South Dakota	$7,412	$7,257	$9,079	$12,987	$28,687
Tennessee	$4,440	$17,258	$10,437	$24,920	$31,885
Texas	$2,931	$7,863	$8,195	$24,743	$40,142
Utah	$4,257	$13,701	$7,215	$23,108	$8,123
Vermont	$6,920	$13,640	$17,600	$41,900	$50,094
Virginia	$5,220	$11,511	$14,825	$37,730	$24,043
Washington	$4,623	$8,295	$8,006	$30,444	$42,339
West Virginia	$4,600	$10,776	$8,715	$23,521	$12,133
Wisconsin	$4,656	$6,686	$8,974	$29,256	$37,686
Wyoming	$4,192	$9,990	$5,100	$15,215	N/A
					Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Average cost of college by university

The school that you attend is the biggest factor in determining how much student loan debt you could end up with. Generally, the more prestigious and well-known the university, the more expensive it will be. The following tables show the cost of college of well-known and flagship universities, respectively.

Learn more: How parents are covering rising education costs

Average cost of college at prestigious universities 2023-2024

University	Location	Cost of undergraduate tuition (in-state)	Total expected costs (in-state)
University of California, Berkeley	Berkeley, California	$15,602	$46,168
Yale University	New Haven, Connecticut	$64,700	$83,880
Princeton University	Princeton, New Jersey	$59,710	$83,140
Stanford University	Stanford, California	$61,731	$87,833
Columbia University	New York City, New York	$68,400	$89,587
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Cambridge, Massachusetts	$59,750	$82,730
Harvard University	Cambridge, Massachusetts	$54,269	$82,950
University of California, Los Angeles	Los Angeles, California	$14,487	$38,517
University of Pennsylvania	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$58,620	$89,028
Northwestern University	Evanston, Illinois	$64,887	$91,290

Average cost of college at flagship universities 2022-2023

University	Estimated in-state undergraduate cost of attendance	Estimated out-of-state undergraduate cost of attendance
University of Alaska Fairbanks	$20,520–$21,450	$38,190–$39,120
University of Alabama	$32,054	$53,364
University of Arkansas	$28,300	$46,054
University of Arizona	$31,650	$58,050
University of California: Berkeley	$49,304	$80,330
University of Colorado at Boulder	$33,466	$61,312
University of Connecticut	$38,670	$61,750
University of Delaware	$32,444	$54,964
University of Florida	$21,810	$44,088
University of Georgia	$27,542	$47,416
University of Hawaii at Manoa	$30,331	$52,363
University of Iowa	$26,883	$48,846
University of Idaho	$22,846	$42,082
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	$33,558–$38,744	$51,870–$59,556
Indiana University: Bloomington	$27,456	$55,128
University of Kansas	$27,086	$44,290
University of Kentucky	$33,150	$53,546
Louisiana State University	$33,982	$50,659
University of Massachusetts: Amherst	$31,728	$52,948
University of Maryland: College Park	$29,636	$57,872
University of Maine	$27,412	$49,552
University of Michigan	$33,555–$35,655	$72,153–$76,031
University of Minnesota: Twin Cities	$31,348	$52,088
University of Missouri: Columbia	$29,636	$48,808
University of Mississippi	$27,910	$45,130
University of Montana	$25,534	$48,936
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	$25,258	$54,352
University of North Dakota	$10,951 (tuition and fees only)	$15,570 (tuition and fees only)
University of Nebraska: Lincoln	$27,064	$44,194
University of New Hampshire	$35,350	$55,010
Rutgers University: New Brunswick Campus	$36,271	$54,483
University of New Mexico	$27,471	$43,777
University of Nevada: Reno	$28,136	$44,678
State University of New York at Buffalo	$27,294	$37,204
Ohio State University: Columbus Campus	$26,451 (tuition and room and board only)	$50,688 (tuition and room and board only)
University of Oklahoma	$33,250	$49,817
University of Oregon	$33,639	$61,275
Pennsylvania State University Park	$34,659.48	$53,475.48
University of Rhode Island	$29,464 (tuition, fees, room and board only)	$47,946 (tuition, fees, room and board only)
University of South Carolina	$34,700	$55,940
University of South Dakota	$18,856	$22,366
University of Tennessee: Knoxville	$32,678	$51,098
University of Texas at Austin	$29,406–$32,346	$57,420–$65,268
University of Utah	$27,386	$40,034
University of Virginia	$36,098–$47,994	$72,250–$86,050
University of Vermont	$35,806	$61,132
University of Washington	$32,464	$60,962
University of Wisconsin: Madison	$27,920	$57,052
West Virginia University	$21,002 (tuition, fees, room and board only)	$38,186 (tuition, fees, room and board only)
University of Wyoming	$23,266	$38,416

Bottom line

Since the cost of college has shot up in recent decades, research what grants and scholarships may be available to help you offset costs. If after exhausting all your financial aid options you find that you still need aid, research private student loan options.

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Written by

Dori Zinn

Contributor, Personal Finance

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