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Americans love to complain about the rising cost of college tuition. But consider this: Currently, the average student at an in-state public university pays just $2,480 a year in net tuition and fees.
Of course, tuition is just one item on the list of college costs. Room and board costs may be higher. But when adjusted for inflation, the full cost of attending a public university has fallen, not risen.
The average net price of tuition and fees for students at four-year public universities in the state plummeted 40% in 10 years after inflation, from $4,140 in 2014-15 to an estimated $2,480 in 2024-25. . New report from College Board.
“The idea that college costs are out of control is not accurate,” said Mark Becker, president of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. “The College Board data shows that.”
This figure represents the average net price of college tuition and fees for first-time students, after subtracting grants, scholarships, and other discounts and accounting for inflation.
(The College Board takes financial aid and inflation into account to show the real change in prices over time.) If you ignore both inflation and aid, college tuition costs have been rising slowly. has been shown in other reports).
The full cost of attending a public university is also falling, although not as rapidly. According to a study by the College Board, the net cost of attending in-state, including room, board and other expenses, will increase from $23,050 in 2014 to $20,780 in 2024, after taking into account subsidies and inflation. decreased to US$. In fact, room and board costs account for the majority of in-state students’ annual expenses.
Prices are falling across academia
Financial experts say prices are falling across the higher education sector as the industry grapples with declining enrollment and cost-conscious customers.
But falling college tuition costs aren’t the trend that dominates most of the headlines. Every time someone creates a new list of most expensive colleges, applicants swoon. It is a college with annual tuition and fees of $70,000 or more, or a total cost of $400,000 or more over four years.
But these are “sticker” prices, and research shows that most students don’t pay them. Elite universities are often committed to meeting the financial needs of all students. Universities regularly offer discounted rates to attract deserving students.
Even at private, nonprofit colleges, average tuition and fees have decreased from $18,680 in 2014 to an estimated $16,510 in 2024 after accounting for inflation and aid.
At public two-year colleges, net tuition has fallen into negative territory. The average student in 2024 receives enough aid to cover full tuition and fees, leaving $710 for other costs.
This number comes from the College Board’s annual report, “Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid.”
University prices are falling
The decline in tuition at public universities reflects two economic trends, both of which are beneficial to consumers, the College Board reports.
University prices are falling. The average published tuition and fees for in-state students at four-year public universities in 2024 was $11,610, down from a peak of $12,830 in 2019, after inflation.
Flagship public universities in 45 states will have lower tuition and fees in 2024 than in 2019, after inflation.
And support for students is also increasing. Per-student grant aid for students at public four-year colleges in the state increased from $8,000 in 2014 to $9,130 in 2024, adjusted for inflation.
The total amount of aid provided by universities and their states has increased over the past decade, the College Board said.
About half of students at public universities will earn their degrees debt-free in 2022-23, compared with about two-fifths of students a decade ago.
Nicholas Hillman, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an expert on higher education finance, said that “state governments have spent the past decade reinvesting in higher education” after repeated deep cuts during the Great Recession. Ta.
Americans expect college tuition to rise
Falling prices and falling debt fly in the face of popular opinion. About half of Americans expect public college tuition to go up next year, while only 9% expect it to go down, according to survey data from the New York Fed.
Public opinion is not completely wrong. University tuition fees are slowly rising across the country, but inflation is accelerating.
Out-of-pocket tuition for American families has increased less than 9% since 2019, according to an analysis by the Chronicle of Higher Education. In contrast, overall prices rose more than 22%.
Jason Delisle, a nonresident senior fellow at the Urban Institute’s Education Data and Policy Center, said public skepticism is causing many universities to hold back on tuition increases.
“People are becoming more price-sensitive. They’re questioning whether they should go to college at all,” Delisle said. “They’re wondering whether they should take on the debt.”
University enrollment has been declining for the past decade, but there are signs of recovery. A shortage of students is forcing universities to compete for business.
Universities are “not in the driver’s seat”
Universities are “in kind of a buyer’s market,” Delisle said. “They’re not in the driver’s seat.”
Higher education experts say college pricing is complex and admissions officers have a hard time explaining the formula to prospective students and their families.
Many universities effectively charge fees based on students’ ability to pay. In this equation, sticker price is just the starting point. Students pay tuition fees at a variety of rates, and this concept is not fully conveyed by the amount displayed on a university’s website.
“Just like with airplanes, there’s no one price that everyone pays,” Hillman said.
Tuition fees also vary widely by state. The College Board reports that the least expensive state is Florida, where the average published tuition and fees for in-state students is $6,360. The most expensive state is Vermont, with an average of $17,490.
But in nearly every state, rates in 2024 will be lower than in 2019, after inflation. Public universities subsidize in-state students by charging out-of-state students a premium. On average, those students pay about $30,000 more.
“It’s hard to make a blanket statement for all 50 states,” Becker said. “But nationally, the net effect is increased investment in higher education.”
