Sticker price vs. net price by state
The published cost of attendance and the price families pay are far apart. Across 856 private nonprofit 4-year colleges the median cost of attendance is $53,343 a year but the median net price is $23,860, a gap of 55%. Across 648 public 4-year colleges the median is $23,598 against a net price of $13,381, a gap of 43%.
Among private nonprofit colleges the gap is widest in Maine (67%) and narrowest in Florida (43%). Among public colleges it is widest in New Mexico (58%) and narrowest in South Dakota (19%).
What the numbers mean: the sticker price is the cost of attendance (tuition and fees, housing and food, books and other expenses, 2023-24). The net price is that cost minus grants and scholarships, averaged over students who received federal financial aid (2023-24); for public colleges it is the price for in-state students. Students who receive no aid pay closer to the sticker price, so this is not what every student pays.
Private nonprofit 4-year colleges, by state
| 1 | Maine | 67% | $61,514 | $20,055 | 8 |
| 2 | Maryland | 67% | $67,919 | $22,563 | 10 |
| 3 | West Virginia | 60% | $46,470 | $18,605 | 5 |
| 4 | Illinois | 59% | $50,091 | $20,729 | 37 |
| 5 | Oregon | 58% | $67,501 | $28,210 | 9 |
| 6 | Virginia | 58% | $52,854 | $22,400 | 23 |
| 7 | Washington | 58% | $62,459 | $26,534 | 11 |
| 8 | North Carolina | 57% | $49,507 | $21,072 | 32 |
| 9 | Mississippi | 57% | $39,793 | $17,043 | 5 |
| 10 | Michigan | 57% | $47,069 | $20,301 | 23 |
| 11 | Massachusetts | 57% | $68,432 | $29,618 | 47 |
| 12 | California | 57% | $69,788 | $30,237 | 50 |
| 13 | Indiana | 57% | $52,590 | $22,866 | 27 |
| 14 | Minnesota | 56% | $58,340 | $25,540 | 22 |
| 15 | Kentucky | 56% | $46,203 | $20,311 | 17 |
| 16 | Iowa | 55% | $51,733 | $23,097 | 25 |
| 17 | Vermont | 55% | $69,079 | $30,947 | 5 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | 55% | $52,001 | $23,323 | 18 |
| 19 | New Jersey | 55% | $54,073 | $24,280 | 13 |
| 20 | Ohio | 55% | $49,298 | $22,205 | 46 |
| 21 | Pennsylvania | 55% | $57,769 | $26,222 | 70 |
| 22 | Arkansas | 54% | $44,710 | $20,397 | 7 |
| 23 | South Carolina | 54% | $42,540 | $19,509 | 18 |
| 24 | Nebraska | 54% | $52,357 | $24,209 | 10 |
| 25 | Oklahoma | 53% | $46,856 | $21,978 | 8 |
| 26 | New Hampshire | 53% | $59,350 | $28,082 | 7 |
| 27 | Texas | 52% | $47,437 | $22,693 | 38 |
| 28 | Georgia | 52% | $46,801 | $22,585 | 23 |
| 29 | Tennessee | 52% | $42,453 | $20,510 | 26 |
| 30 | District of Columbia | 52% | $75,481 | $36,586 | 7 |
| 31 | Connecticut | 51% | $69,289 | $34,028 | 13 |
| 32 | New York | 50% | $57,358 | $28,671 | 78 |
| 33 | Missouri | 50% | $43,635 | $21,983 | 23 |
| 34 | Louisiana | 49% | $39,818 | $20,323 | 8 |
| 35 | Rhode Island | 47% | $70,297 | $37,483 | 8 |
| 36 | Kansas | 46% | $50,918 | $27,686 | 13 |
| 37 | Alabama | 44% | $40,056 | $22,234 | 10 |
| 38 | Florida | 43% | $51,097 | $29,040 | 30 |
Public 4-year colleges, by state
| 1 | New Mexico | 58% | $21,259 | $8,889 | 7 |
| 2 | Kentucky | 56% | $23,610 | $10,392 | 8 |
| 3 | Illinois | 54% | $28,292 | $13,117 | 12 |
| 4 | California | 54% | $22,018 | $10,229 | 51 |
| 5 | Michigan | 53% | $27,252 | $12,794 | 18 |
| 6 | Arizona | 52% | $29,423 | $14,158 | 5 |
| 7 | Indiana | 51% | $19,774 | $9,763 | 12 |
| 8 | Wyoming | 50% | $16,895 | $8,405 | 6 |
| 9 | Washington | 49% | $19,670 | $10,051 | 32 |
| 10 | Texas | 48% | $21,945 | $11,454 | 54 |
| 11 | Florida | 47% | $14,657 | $7,781 | 33 |
| 12 | West Virginia | 47% | $21,137 | $11,251 | 10 |
| 13 | Mississippi | 47% | $25,159 | $13,427 | 8 |
| 14 | South Carolina | 46% | $28,646 | $15,353 | 12 |
| 15 | Tennessee | 46% | $25,329 | $13,803 | 10 |
| 16 | Louisiana | 45% | $24,093 | $13,310 | 14 |
| 17 | Oklahoma | 44% | $20,662 | $11,504 | 17 |
| 18 | Arkansas | 44% | $24,951 | $14,027 | 9 |
| 19 | Idaho | 43% | $21,527 | $12,193 | 7 |
| 20 | Maine | 43% | $23,717 | $13,596 | 7 |
| 21 | Ohio | 42% | $25,329 | $14,573 | 18 |
| 22 | Missouri | 42% | $24,945 | $14,462 | 15 |
| 23 | North Carolina | 42% | $23,079 | $13,397 | 16 |
| 24 | Utah | 42% | $17,726 | $10,360 | 6 |
| 25 | Georgia | 41% | $20,484 | $12,019 | 27 |
| 26 | New Jersey | 41% | $31,171 | $18,459 | 10 |
| 27 | Virginia | 40% | $31,735 | $19,066 | 15 |
| 28 | New York | 40% | $25,385 | $15,268 | 39 |
| 29 | Massachusetts | 39% | $27,970 | $16,924 | 14 |
| 30 | North Dakota | 38% | $20,567 | $12,703 | 7 |
| 31 | Maryland | 38% | $26,731 | $16,591 | 12 |
| 32 | Oregon | 37% | $25,890 | $16,219 | 10 |
| 33 | Nevada | 37% | $20,248 | $12,732 | 5 |
| 34 | Colorado | 36% | $24,622 | $15,788 | 15 |
| 35 | Minnesota | 36% | $24,965 | $16,035 | 12 |
| 36 | Nebraska | 36% | $22,403 | $14,401 | 6 |
| 37 | Alabama | 31% | $25,476 | $17,648 | 13 |
| 38 | Connecticut | 29% | $27,275 | $19,231 | 6 |
| 39 | Kansas | 29% | $21,874 | $15,532 | 8 |
| 40 | Pennsylvania | 27% | $28,394 | $20,787 | 15 |
| 41 | Wisconsin | 27% | $19,860 | $14,559 | 13 |
| 42 | Montana | 23% | $21,403 | $16,524 | 7 |
| 43 | South Dakota | 19% | $24,422 | $19,841 | 7 |
How the numbers are built
How the table is built: main campuses with at least 500 undergraduates and mostly complete data, 4-year level. A state appears in a sector only with at least 5 colleges. Each state figure is the median of its colleges. The gap is the median sticker price minus the median net price, divided by the median sticker price.
Frequently asked questions
Is the net price what I will pay?
Not exactly. It is an average for students who received federal aid. Your own net price depends on your family income, the aid you qualify for and your housing choice. Use each college's net price calculator for an estimate.
Why is the gap bigger at private colleges?
Private nonprofit colleges set higher sticker prices and give larger institutional grants. In this data the median private college discounts its sticker price by 55%, against 43% at public colleges.
Which sticker price should I compare?
Compare net prices, not sticker prices, and look at the net price for your own income bracket on each college page.