College Tuition Increased Less Than Inflation Again This Year

College tuition costs increased less than inflation at U.S. public colleges and universities this year, according to the College Board’s just-released Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid annual report.

In 2024-25, the average published tuition and fees at public two-year and public four-year institutions increased less than the general inflation rate of 3.1%, continuing a trend that began during the Covid-19 pandemic. Between 2023-24 and 2024-25, percentage increases in average tuition and fees were less than 3% at public institutions for in-district and in-state students and 3.9% at private, nonprofit four-year institutions.

In 2024-25, the average published (sticker) tuition and fees for full-time undergraduate students were:

• $11,610 at public four-year institutions for resident students, $300 higher than in 2023-24 (2.7% before adjusting for inflation).
• $30,780 for out-of-state students attending public four-year schools, $940 higher than in 2023-24 (3.2% before adjusting for inflation).
• $4,050 for in-district students at public two-year colleges, $100 higher than in 2023-24 (2.5% before adjusting for inflation).
• $43,350 at private, nonprofit colleges and universities, $1,610 higher than in 2023-24 (3.9% before adjusting for inflation).

“Several public college and university systems continued tuition freezes in 2024-25,” Jennifer Ma, an executive research scientist at the College Board, wrote in a statement. “After adjusting for inflation, the average published tuition and fees in all three major sectors are lower in 2024-25 than in 2019-20, before the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Over the decade between 2014-15 and 2024-25, average inflation-adjusted tuition and fees declined by 9% for public two-year in-district students and 4% for public four-year in-state students. Inflation-adjusted tuition increased by 4% for private, nonprofit four-year students across the same time period.

Although outsized published “sticker” tuition prices — now approaching $100,000 at some universities— continue to receive the most public attention, the net tuition that students actually pay after receiving institutional and other financial aid grants is far lower and has decreased over the past ten years, after adjudging for inflation. For example, net tuition for first-time, full-time students decreased:

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• from $18,680 in 2014-2015 to $16,510 for the 2024-25 academic year (adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars), a decline of $2,170 for students at private, nonprofit colleges;
• from $4,140 in 2014-2015 to $2,480 in 2024-2025, a decline of $1,660 at public four-year institutions.

Entering students at two-year public colleges received $170 more in grant aid than the average cost of tuition in 2014-2015, In 2024-2025, that “surplus” had increased to $710 in inflation-adjusted dollars.

State Differences

Published tuition and fees for full-time students at two-year public colleges ranged from $1,440 in California and $2,200 in New Mexico to $8,660 in Vermont. Published prices didn’t increase for public two-year colleges in nine states, according to the College Board.

Tuition and fees for in-state students at pubic universities ranged from $6,360 in Florida and $6,960 in Wyoming to $17,490 in Vermont and $17,360 in New Hampshire.

Student Aid, Borrowing and Debt

In 2023-24, undergraduate and graduate students received a total of $256.7 billion in student aid in the form of grants, federal work study, federal loans, and federal tax benefits. Undergraduate students received an average of $16,360 per full-time equivalent student in financial aid: $11,610 in grants, $3,900 in federal loans, $760 in education tax benefits and $90 in work study.

Total Pell Grant expenditures peaked in 2010-11 at $49.9 billion (in 2023 dollars) and declined by 37% to $31.4 billion in 2023-24. ƒThe average Pell Grant per recipient was $4,930 (in 2023 dollars) in 2023-2024, down from its peak of $5,360 in 2010-11.

According to the report, 2023-2024 marked the 13th consecutive year of decline in total annual borrowing nationwide. Last year, undergraduate and graduate students borrowed $99.0 billion in federal and nonfederal loans, down from a peak of $159.2 billion (in 2023 dollars) in 2010-11.

Federal loans per FTE undergraduate student declined to $3,900 in 2023-24, from a peak of $7,250 (in 2023 dollars) in 2010-11. Between 2013-14 and 2023-24, total annual federal loans to undergraduate students declined by 47% (from $84.7 billion to $45.3 billion in 2023 dollars).

As of March 2024, 32% of student borrowers owed less than $10,000 and another 21% owed between $10,000 and $20,000 in federal loan debt.

In 2022-23, 47% of bachelor’s degree recipients from public four-year institutions graduated with federal loans with an average debt of $20,100 per borrower; 52% of bachelor’s degree recipients from private nonprofit four-year institutions graduated with federal loans that averaged $22,500.