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

Over the decades, the price tag of getting a college degree has skyrocketed.

Several factors can make your college education more or less expensive. Knowing them can help you plan your education.

We’ve collected facts and figures about the cost of college, from average yearly tuition rates to pricing for textbooks and dorms, plus how expenses differ across states and school types.

According to Peterson’s Data, the average cost of tuition and fees across all public and private nonprofit colleges was roughly $21,130 in the 2022-2023 academic year.^{Note Reference [1]}

Private for-profit colleges tend to be more expensive than public colleges but less costly than nonprofit schools. The most recently available data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that the average annual tuition at for-profit colleges was $15,870 at four-year schools and $16,440 at two-year schools.^{Note Reference [4]}

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.

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 averages $36,440, or about $146,000 over four years. Two-year schools cost on-campus students an average of $16,780 per year or roughly $34,000 over two years.^{Note Reference [2]}

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.

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 colleges and universities receive funding from state taxpayers. This funding allows public colleges to charge 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 about 2.5 times that of in-state tuition.^{Note Reference [1]}

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 82% of students attending private nonprofit schools receive an institutional grant, compared to just 25% of students at private for-profit schools.^{Note Reference [6]}

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.

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.

There are 65 degree-conferring distance-learning-only institutions in the NCES College Navigator database.^{Note Reference [7]}

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:

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 [5]}

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

In 2022-2023, the average total cost for room and board for one college student for one year was:^{Note Reference [1]}

In 2022-2023, the average cost for a year of books and supplies that schools estimated was $1,290.^{Note Reference [1]} However, students reported to the National Association of College Stores that they spend less than $300 a year on textbooks, on average.

Students can save money on textbooks by renting books or buying them used.

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

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.