The average sticker price for in-state public schools is about one-quarter what's charged by private colleges, U.S. News found.
The cost of earning a college degree remains a significant financial challenge for many families.
The average college sticker price increased in the 2024-2025 academic year over the prior year across both public and private schools, according to U.S. News data based on an annual survey.
A college's sticker price is the amount advertised as the full rate for tuition and fees before financial need, scholarships and other aid are factored in. Net price is the amount that a family pays after aid and scholarships are applied and offset the sticker price.
The average tuition and fees at private ranked colleges has climbed by about 5.5% over the last year, according to data for the 2024-2025 school year submitted to U.S. News in an annual survey. At ranked public schools, tuition and fees rose 2.2% for in-state students and about 2.4% for out-of-staters. Schools reported this data in spring and summer of 2024.
Considering inflation, however, the year-over-year numbers look a little different. For private ranked colleges, tuition and fees increased by 2.5%. But for public ranked schools, there was a decline: about 0.6% for in-state students and about 0.5% for out-of-state students.
Many families are unprepared to pay for college. According to a 2024 College Ave survey, fewer than half of parents with a child in college – 44% – felt ready to pay their child's first tuition bill.
The average in-state cost of tuition and fees to attend a ranked public college is nearly 75% less than the average sticker price at a private college, at $11,011 for the 2024-2025 year compared with $43,505, respectively, U.S. News data shows. The average cost for out-of-state students at public colleges comes to $24,513 for the same year.
In addition to tuition and fees, students must also pay other expenses, such as housing, food and textbooks, which can run thousands of dollars a year.
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