Fast Facts: Tuition costs of colleges and universities (76)

Tuition costs of colleges and universities

Question:
What are the trends in the cost of college education?

Response:

For the 2017–18 academic year, annual current dollar prices for undergraduate tuition, fees, room, and board were estimated to be $17,797 at public institutions, $46,014 at private nonprofit institutions, and $26,261 at private for-profit institutions. Between 2007–08 and 2017–18, prices for undergraduate tuition, fees, room, and board at public institutions rose 31 percent, and prices at private nonprofit institutions rose 23 percent, after adjustment for inflation. The price for undergraduate tuition, fees, room, and board at private for-profit institutions decreased 9 percent between 2007–08 and 2017–18, after adjustment for inflation.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2019). Digest of Education Statistics, 2018 (NCES 2020-009), Chapter 3.

Year and control of institution	Constant 2017–18 dollars¹			Current dollars
Average total tuition, fees, room and board rates charged for full-time undergraduate students in degree-granting institutions, by level and control of institution: Selected years, 1985–86 to 2017–18
Year and control of institution	All institutions	4-year institutions	2-year institutions	All institutions	4-year institutions	2-year institutions
All institutions
1985–86²	$11,138	$12,551	$7,677	$4,885	$5,504	$3,367
1995–96	14,133	16,590	7,588	8,800	10,330	4,725
2000–01	15,333	18,313	7,746	10,820	12,922	5,466
2001–02	15,847	18,992	7,962	11,380	13,639	5,718
2002–03	16,369	19,674	8,519	12,014	14,439	6,252
2003–04	17,272	20,674	8,940	12,953	15,505	6,705
2004–05	17,854	21,370	9,184	13,793	16,510	7,095
2005–06	18,247	21,760	9,022	14,634	17,451	7,236
2006–07	18,822	22,453	9,076	15,486	18,473	7,467
2007–08	19,019	22,696	8,951	16,227	19,364	7,637
2008–09	19,703	23,536	9,500	17,045	20,361	8,219
2009–10	20,206	24,186	9,778	17,650	21,126	8,541
2010–11	20,735	24,773	9,953	18,475	22,074	8,868
2011–12	21,154	25,090	10,191	19,401	23,011	9,347
2012–13	21,700	25,601	10,267	20,233	23,871	9,573
2013–14	22,171	26,084	10,445	20,995	24,701	9,891
2014–15	22,780	26,638	10,644	21,729	25,409	10,153
2015–16	23,367	27,213	10,838	22,439	26,132	10,407
2016–17	23,612	27,192	10,836	23,091	26,592	10,597
2017–18	23,835	27,357	10,704	23,835	27,357	10,704
Public institutions
1985–86²	$8,143	$8,798	$6,797	$3,571	$3,859	$2,981
1995–96	10,047	11,264	6,772	6,256	7,014	4,217
2000–01	10,751	12,263	6,857	7,586	8,653	4,839
2001–02	11,170	12,805	7,154	8,022	9,196	5,137
2002–03	11,583	13,336	7,632	8,502	9,787	5,601
2003–04	12,329	14,233	8,016	9,247	10,674	6,012
2004–05	12,769	14,789	8,252	9,864	11,426	6,375
2005–06	13,036	15,098	8,095	10,454	12,108	6,492
2006–07	13,433	15,557	8,284	11,051	12,799	6,815
2007–08	13,561	15,739	8,178	11,570	13,429	6,977
2008–09	14,112	16,428	8,725	12,209	14,212	7,549
2009–10	14,676	17,214	8,824	12,819	15,036	7,708
2010–11	15,225	17,866	9,067	13,566	15,919	8,079
2011–12	15,656	18,303	9,396	14,359	16,787	8,617
2012–13	16,110	18,742	9,575	15,021	17,475	8,927
2013–14	16,504	19,113	9,803	15,628	18,100	9,283
2014–15	16,971	19,533	10,049	16,188	18,632	9,585
2015–16	17,459	19,998	10,324	16,766	19,204	9,914
2016–17	17,627	19,928	10,318	17,238	19,488	10,090
2017–18	17,797	20,050	10,281	17,797	20,050	10,281
Private nonprofit and for-profit institutions
1985–86²	$20,259	$21,042	$14,849	$8,885	$9,228	$6,512
1995–96	27,637	28,284	18,571	17,208	17,612	11,563
2000–01	30,288	30,973	21,125	21,373	21,856	14,907
2001–02	31,210	31,882	22,036	22,413	22,896	15,825
2002–03	31,802	32,411	24,189	23,340	23,787	17,753
2003–04	32,832	33,427	26,078	24,624	25,070	19,558
2004–05	33,417	33,991	26,273	25,817	26,260	20,297
2005–06	33,552	34,082	26,689	26,908	27,333	21,404
2006–07	34,568	35,151	24,655	28,440	28,919	20,284
2007–08	34,890	35,426	25,417	29,768	30,226	21,686
2008–09	35,561	36,102	26,266	30,764	31,232	22,723
2009–10	35,880	36,459	28,006	31,341	31,847	24,463
2010–11	35,773	36,494	25,926	31,875	32,517	23,101
2011–12	36,045	36,720	25,737	33,058	33,677	23,605
2012–13	36,983	37,614	25,048	34,483	35,071	23,355
2013–14	38,011	38,649	25,207	35,995	36,599	23,870
2014–15	39,232	39,825	25,504	37,422	37,988	24,327
2015–16	40,630	41,168	25,383	39,016	39,534	24,375
2016–17	41,845	42,400	25,449	40,922	41,465	24,888
2017–18	42,681	43,139	25,596	42,681	43,139	25,596

¹Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index, prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to an academic-year basis.
²Room and board data are estimated.

NOTE: Data are for the entire academic year and are average charges for full-time students. Tuition and fees were weighted by the number of full-time-equivalent undergraduates, but were not adjusted to reflect student residency. Room and board are based on full-time students. Data through 1995–96 are for institutions of higher education, while later data are for degree-granting institutions. Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. The degree-granting classification is very similar to the earlier higher education classification, but it includes more 2-year colleges and excludes a few higher education institutions that did not grant degrees. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2019). Digest of Education Statistics, 2018 (NCES 2020-009), Table 330.10.

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