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Accessible EducationHigher Education, Clearly Explained

Data & Trends · Updated

Tuition and net price

What a degree actually costs after aid — and how to compare colleges on that basis.

Sample data — verify before publication. Figures on this page are illustrative and have not yet been checked against the primary source.

Average annual cost of attendance, AY 2024–25

5 categories

≈ $11,600In-state, public four-year (tuition & fees)≈ $30,300Out-of-state, public four-year (tuition & fees)≈ $41,000Private non-profit four-year (tuition & fees)≈ $11,000Public four-year, average net price (all students)≈ $5,700Public two-year, average annual cost
Annual tuition and fees: in-state public four-year about $11,600; out-of-state public four-year about $30,300; private non-profit four-year about $41,000. Average net price at public four-year institutions is about $11,000 after typical federal and institutional aid. Public two-year cost is about $5,700 annually. Source: NCES — Average Price and Discounted Price · as of 2025-09-18.

Methodology

Sticker price is the published cost of attendance before aid. Net price is the amount a student or family actually pays after typical aid. The gap matters: an advertised tuition of $40,000 at a private institution can translate to a $15,000 net price for a middle-income family. Net price figures on this page are institution averages, not individual offers.

Source

NCES — Average Price and Discounted Price

https://nces.ed.gov/collegedataAccessed .

Averaged across all public institutions; individual institutions vary widely.

How we handle this kind of number — source selection, second review, and corrections — is set out in our sourcing standards and corrections policy.

College enrollment in the United States

How degree-granting enrollment has changed since 2010 — with the post-pandemic period spelled out.

U.S. Department of Education, NCES

Student loan balances in the U.S.

What the national balance looks like, who holds it, and how payments behave.

New York Fed

Graduation rates

What completion actually looks like, by type of institution and degree level.

NCES