What Is the Average College Tuition? +++ Updated For 2025

Report Highlights

The highest-cost schools are in the Northeast.
The lowest-cost schools are in the Plains and South.
In-state tuition at public colleges is $11,260 per year.
Private college tuition averages $43,350 per year.
Out-of-state public college tuition is $29,150 per year.

More statistics: Average Private School Tuition – Number of Schools in the US.

Average Private College Tuition

The average (nationwide) private 4-year college tuition, including required fees, in the 2019-2020 school year was $32,769.
This was $886 more than the average private 4-year college tuition and required fees from the 2018-2019 school year, which was $31,883.
Adding in room ($7,401 on average) and board ($5,761 on average) for the 2019-2020 school year, the total cost per year for private 4-year college was $45,932 per year.
This was an increase of $1,261 over the total tuition, required fees, plus room and board for private 4-year colleges for the 2018-2019 school year.

Average Public College Tuition

Nationwide, on average, public school tuition and required fees for a 4-year college in 2019-2020 was $9,349, for an in-state student.
In the same year, the average out-of-state student would pay $17,674 more, for a total of $27,023.
If the in-state student also needed to pay room ($6,655 on average) and board ($5,031 on average), then their total for the 2019-2020 school year would have been $21,035.
The tuition and required fees for an in-state student at a public 4-year college were only $138 more in 2019-2020 than in 2018-2019, when they totaled $9,212.
Adding in room and board brings the increase to $438, from the in-state 4-year college 2018-2019 total of $20,597.
Public 2-year colleges including required fees were much less expensive per year, with 2019-2020 averaging only $3,377 per year.
This was a very modest increase of only $65 over the 2018-2019 cost of $3,312 per year.
The average out-of-state student, however, would pay $8,126 per year in 2019-2020 for a public 2-year college education, including required fees.

Average College Tuition In-State Versus Out-of-State

In 2019-2020, the average cost of a year of out-of-state student tuition and required fees at a 4-year public school was $27,023 versus $9,349 that an in-state student would pay.
That was a difference of $17,674 more that an out-of-state student would pay compared to an in-state student, on average, for a year of public college education at a 4-year college.
In 2019-2020, out-of-state tuition and required fees for a year at a public 2-year college, on average, nationwide, was $8,126 versus only $3,377 for an in-state student.
The difference between the nationwide average for in-state and out-of-state tuition at a public 2-year college for the 2019-2020 school year was $4,749.
There was no noted difference between the average in-state versus out-of-state cost for private 4-year colleges.

Average College Tuition by State

The following statistics take into account information for full-time and full-time-equivalent students for the entire academic year. The data was compiled from the 2019-2020 school year before the COVID-19 pandemic and so does not include any changes that may have been made as a result of any refunds or other adjustments that may or may not have been instituted.

The least expensive 2-year colleges (tuition and fees), on average, are in California at $1,270 per year, followed by New Mexico at $1,724 per year.
The most expensive 2-year colleges (tuition and fees), again, on average, are in Tennessee at $16,937 per year, and then New Hampshire at $15,335 per year.
On average, the least expensive 4-year college tuition and fees are for public in-state students in Florida, at $4,463 per year.
A close second is Wyoming for 4-year public college tuition and fees for in-state students at $4,747.
The most expensive public 4-year schools for in-state students are in Vermont at $17,083 per year, followed by New Hampshire at $16,679 per year.
The least expensive public 4-year colleges for out-of-state students were in the District of Columbia at $12,704 per year, on average, followed by North Dakota at $13,936 per year.
On the other hand, the most expensive public 4-year colleges for out-of-state students were in Vermont, at $41,057 per year, followed by Michigan at $36,832 per year.
Meanwhile, the least expensive private 4-year colleges were in Idaho ($6,429 per year) followed by Utah ($7,600 per year).
The most expensive average college tuition and fees, overall, were at private 4-year colleges in Massachusetts at $47,980 per year, followed closely by Vermont at $46,445 per year.

Average College Tuition by State (2019-2020) (Table)

State	Public 4-year College, In-state	Public 4-year College, Out-of-State	Private 4-year College	Public 2-year College, In-state	Public 2-year College, Out-of-State
Alabama	$10,323	$26,517	$16,743	$4,854	$9,700
Alaska	8,297	26,767	19,682	n/a	n/a
Arizona	11,072	27,417	12,895	2,151	7,640
Arkansas	8,689	21,460	23,875	3,398	4,680
California	8,192	32,177	37,009	1,270	8,190
Colorado	9,144	30,773	23,791	3,355	7,100
Connecticut	13,886	35,197	43,242	4,516	13,490
Delaware	11,091	31,582	14,858	n/a	n/a
District of Columbia	6,020	12,704	44,134	n/a	n/a
Florida	4,463	18,514	27,381	2,506	9,110
Georgia	7,457	23,167	29,752	3,156	8,390
Hawaii	10,109	31,774	17,977	3,225	8,390
Idaho	7,518	24,845	6,429	3,335	8,290
Illinois	14,445	29,515	35,570	4,035	11,450
Indiana	9,268	29,533	34,263	4,500	8,660
Iowa	9,373	27,346	35,019	5,306	6,660
Kansas	9,088	23,745	24,179	3,542	4,690
Kentucky	10,888	26,048	26,928	4,395	14,820
Louisiana	9,571	22,128	39,482	4,166	8,280
Maine	10,103	28,523	40,353	3,778	6,640
Maryland	9,714	27,984	44,048	4,330	10,300
Massachusetts	13,729	31,894	47,980	5,336	10,690
Michigan	13,315	36,832	29,405	3,703	6,560
Minnesota	11,748	24,442	34,321	5,566	6,150
Mississippi	8,604	19,402	18,612	3,432	5,830
Missouri	8,992	20,877	26,377	3,545	6,790
Montana	6,967	25,239	31,724	3,871	8,590
Nebraska	8,582	22,152	25,313	3,103	3,960
Nevada	6,023	21,678	26,284	n/a	n/a
New Hampshire	16,679	30,594	33,446	7,130	15,330
New Jersey	14,360	29,435	38,652	4,779	8,090
New Mexico	7,152	19,181	25,363	1,724	6,620
New York	8,467	22,669	41,404	5,476	9,220
North Carolina	7,228	23,357	35,379	2,494	8,650
North Dakota	8,628	13,936	15,732	5,073	6,030
Ohio	9,902	24,830	34,009	4,330	7,520
Oklahoma	8,009	21,695	29,429	4,150	9,480
Oregon	10,813	32,068	42,202	4,881	8640
Pennsylvania	15,565	30,222	42,812	5,348	13,480
Rhode Island	13,105	30,871	43,919	4,700	12,540
South Carolina	12,497	32,853	26,270	4,916	10,200
South Dakota	8,978	12,866	25,353	6,469	6,040
Tennessee	10,164	24,786	29,200	4,379	16,930
Texas	8,598	24,889	36,014	2,380	6,370
Utah	6,700	21,273	7,600	3,929	12,460
Vermont	17,083	41,057	46,445	6,654	13,390
Virginia	13,655	35,831	23,493	5,237	11,520
Washington	7,168	30,155	39,791	4,468	6,500
West Virginia	8,195	22,242	12,673	4,344	9,970
Wisconsin	8,764	25,522	35,554	4,476	6,500
Wyoming	4,747	14,803	n/a	4,136	10,100
Average	9,349	27,023	32,769	3,377	8,120

Source: See Reference 4, for illustration purposes only

Average College Tuition over Time

In 1963, the total cost of a 4-year college education (for the total of all four years, including room and board plus tuition and required fees) was $5,144.
Accounting for inflation, this would be equivalent to approximately $42,220 in today’s dollars.
The tuition and required fees for a year of college were only $508, on average, in 1963.
Adjusted for inflation, this would still only be about $4,239.
In 2020, the cost was $101,584 for the total of all four years of a 4-year college degree.
In the 10 years between the 2008-2009 school year and the 2018-2019 school year, the cost of an undergraduate education (per year) increased by 28 percent at public colleges and by 29 percent at private non-profit colleges, adjusting for inflation.
On the other hand, during this same time period, the cost of at private for-profit colleges actually decreased by 6 percent when accounting for inflation.
The average cost of a year of school (including tuition, fees, room, and board) in 1985 was $4,885.
When adjusted for inflation, this would be approximately $11,369.
In 1985, a year at a public 2-year college (including tuition, fees, room, and board) would have cost $2,981, which would be $6,938 when adjusted for inflation.
That same year, the cost for a year at a public 4-year college, all in, would have cost $3,859, or $8981 accounting for inflation.
Also in 1985, a year at a private 4-year college would have cost $9,228, or $21,478 adjusting for inflation, and including tuition, fees, room, and board.

Average College Tuition for Graduate and Professional Degrees

The first year for which information is available for the cost of graduate school tuition and required fees at degree-granting postsecondary schools was 1989. Beginning in the 1999-2000 school year, percentiles started to be recorded, as well as a breakdown between non-profit and for-profit private schools.

In 1989, the average cost of graduate school tuition and required fees was $4,135 per year.
Adjusting for inflation, the average cost of one year of graduate school tuition in 1989 would equal approximately $8,377 per year in today’s dollars.
The average cost for a year of graduate school at a public school that year was $1,999, or about $4050 in today’s dollars.
The same year, the cost for graduate school at a private school was $7,881 per year, or about $15,966 if accounting for inflation.
Ten years later, in 1999, the average cost of one year of graduate school was $8,069, on average, or about $12,261 in today’s dollars.
That same year, the average year at public graduate school was $4,042, or $6,142 in today’s dollars.
In 1999, private schools on average were $13,821 per year of graduate school, which is approximately $21,000 in today’s dollars.
Non-profits private schools were actually significantly more expensive than for-profits, with the average cost of a year of graduate school at a non-profit being $14,123 in 1999 versus $9,611 at a for-profit school, or $21,460 versus $14,603 in today’s dollars.
In 1999, a year at a private non-profit graduate school was $4,512 (in 1999 dollars) more than a year at a private for-profit graduate school.
So in 1999, private non-profit graduate schools cost an average of 46.9% more than a private for-profit graduate school.
Most recently, as of the 2019-2020 school year, the average year at graduate school costs $19,792.
At a public school, the cost per year now averages $12,410.
The average cost at a private graduate school is now $26,597 per year.
The average cost per year is actually still higher at private non-profits at $28,430 per year, versus $14,289 per year at private for-profits.
Private non-profit graduate schools currently cost an average of $14,141 more than private for-profit graduate schools.
In other words, a year at a private non-profit graduate school currently costs approximately 98% more per year than a year at a private for-profit graduate school.