Fast Facts

Tuition costs of colleges and universities

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

Response:
For the 2010–11 academic year, annual current dollar prices for undergraduate tuition, room, and board were estimated to be $13,600 at public institutions, $36,300 at private not-for-profit institutions, and $23,500 at private for-profit institutions. Between 2000–01 and 2010–11, prices for undergraduate tuition, room, and board at public institutions rose 42 percent, and prices at private not-for-profit institutions rose 31 percent, after adjustment for inflation. The inflation-adjusted price for undergraduate tuition, room, and board at private for-profit institutions was 5 percent higher in 2010–11 than in 2000–01.

SOURCE:U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). Digest of Education Statistics, 2011 (NCES 2012-001), Chapter 3 .

Year and control of institution	Constant 2009–10 dollars¹			Current dollars
Total tuition, room and board rates charged for full-time undergraduate students in degree-granting institutions, by type and control of institution: Selected years, 1980–81 to 2010–11
Year and control of institution	All institutions	4-year institutions	2-year institutions	All institutions	4-year institutions	2-year institutions
All institutions
1980–81	$7,759	$8,756	$5,580	$3,101	$3,499	$2,230
1990–91	10,620	12,303	6,361	6,562	7,602	3,930
2000–01	13,393	15,996	6,766	10,820	12,922	5,466
2001–02	13,842	16,589	6,955	11,380	13,639	5,718
2002–03	14,298	17,185	7,441	12,014	14,439	6,252
2003–04	15,086	18,059	7,809	12,953	15,505	6,705
2004–05	15,595	18,666	8,022	13,793	16,510	7,095
2005–06	15,939	19,007	7,881	14,634	17,451	7,236
2006–07	16,438	19,611	7,926	15,483	18,471	7,466
2007–08	16,617	19,823	7,819	16,231	19,363	7,637
2008–09	17,257	20,606	8,318	17,092	20,409	8,238
2009–10	17,649	21,093	8,533	17,649	21,093	8,533
2010–11	18,133	21,657	8,734	18,497	22,092	8,909
Public institutions
1980–81	$5,938	$6,381	$5,072	$2,373	$2,550	$2,027
1990–91	7,699	8,485	5,612	4,757	5,243	3,467
2000–01	9,390	10,711	5,990	7,586	8,653	4,839
2001–02	9,757	11,185	6,249	8,022	9,196	5,137
2002–03	10,118	11,648	6,666	8,502	9,787	5,601
2003–04	10,769	12,432	7,002	9,247	10,674	6,012
2004–05	11,153	12,918	7,208	9,864	11,426	6,375
2005–06	11,386	13,188	7,071	10,454	12,108	6,492
2006–07	11,731	13,587	7,235	11,049	12,797	6,815
2007–08	11,848	13,748	7,141	11,573	13,429	6,975
2008–09	12,375	14,400	7,641	12,256	14,262	7,568
2009–10	12,804	15,014	7,703	12,804	15,014	7,703
2010–11	13,297	15,605	7,925	13,564	15,918	8,085
Private not-for-profit and for-profit institutions
1980–81	$13,686	$13,995	$10,766	$5,470	$5,594	$4,303
1990–91	20,894	21,423	15,055	12,910	13,237	9,302
2000–01	26,456	27,054	18,453	21,373	21,856	14,907
2001–02	27,261	27, 848	19,248	22,413	22,896	15,825
2002–03	22,778	28,310	21,129	23,340	23,787	17,753
2003–04	28,679	29,198	22,779	24,624	25,070	19,558
2004–05	29,189	29,690	22,949	25,817	26,260	20,297
2005–06	29,307	29,770	23,312	26,908	27,333	21,404
2006–07	30,194	30,703	21,535	28,439	28,919	20,284
2007–08	30,475	30,945	22,200	29,767	30,226	21,685
2008–09	31,102	31,576	22,946	30,804	31,273	22,726
2009–10	31,023	31,488	24,483	31,023	31,488	24,483
2010–11	31,395	31,975	23,401	32,026	32,617	23,871

¹Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index, prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis.

NOTE: Data are for the entire academic year and are average total charges for full-time attendance. Tuition and fees were weighted by the number of full-time-equivalent undergarduates, but were not adjusted to reflect student residency. Room and board were 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.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). Digest of Education Statistics, 2011 (NCES 2012-001), Table 349.

Related Tables and Figures: (Listed by Release Date)

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National Center for Education Statistics - http://nces.ed.gov
U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Education
Institute of Education Sciences
National Center for Education Statistics