Data from the National Center on Education Statistics illustrate the current total cost of attendance (COA) at a four-year university in the United States. Charges for public, in-state students was $27,182; $37,694 for public, out-of-state students; and $51,270 for private, not-for-profit students. These figures are for full-time, first-time degree-seeking undergraduates at Title IV institutions.
Most of these charges are predicated on tuition and fee charges, which are much higher for private, not-for-profit institutions ($33,665) versus public, in-state institutions ($9,022).
Please note: these are not net costs. Institutional and other aid are not applied in this analysis which would reduce the affordability gap between private non-profits and public institutions.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS, Winter 2024–25, Cost component (provisional data).