In 2028, today's 5-year-old will be starting his or her freshman year of college. How much would you need to save between now and then to pay for it?
To get an idea of the cost of college in the future, we looked at the U.S. Department of Education's college affordability data and projected* the average net price for a full year of undergraduate education for each state (plus D.C.).
(We used "average net price" because it takes into account extra expenses like books and supplies, as well as the average amount of federal, state/local government, or institutional grant or scholarship aid for incoming freshmen.)
Below are the projected 2028 costs for both a 4-year private not-for-profit institution and a 4-year public institution.
| State | 2012-13 | 2028 | 2012-13 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CT | $26,697 | $53,569 | $12,598 | $32,683 |
| DC | $25,588 | $45,697 | N/A | N/A |
| DE | $18,849 | $33,360 | $13,556 | $25,860 |
| MA | $27,351 | $50,426 | $14,415 | $34,650 |
| MD | $24,110 | $49,304 | $13,918 | $32,585 |
| ME | $23,159 | $47,210 | $13,213 | $27,365 |
| NH | $24,928 | $49,126 | $18,050 | $54,325 |
| NJ | $20,559 | $35,318 | $14,176 | $29,950 |
| NY | $19,531 | $45,167 | $11,557 | $23,072 |
| PA | $24,553 | $54,533 | $16,450 | $43,389 |
| RI | $29,972 | $61,912 | $12,892 | $33,377 |
| VA | $21,745 | $38,544 | $14,773 | $39,613 |
| VT | $24,956 | $48,811 | $14,955 | $33,046 |
| State | 2012-13 | 2028 | 2012-13 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IA | $19,601 | $40,925 | $14,787 | $28,448 |
| IL | $21,819 | $47,320 | $14,811 | $46,009 |
| IN | $21,155 | $45,002 | $11,100 | $22,540 |
| KS | $18,386 | $35,244 | $11,236 | $24,054 |
| MI | $17,668 | $33,684 | $13,094 | $21,989 |
| MN | $22,316 | $39,657 | $13,919 | $31,210 |
| MO | $19,257 | $62,772 | $12,491 | $26,405 |
| ND | $11,895 | $35,997 | $10,238 | $18,873 |
| NE | $19,975 | $47,736 | $11,822 | $29,760 |
| OH | $22,331 | $43,889 | $12,821 | $26,762 |
| SD | $19,100 | $50,760 | $12,570 | $32,465 |
| WI | $21,495 | $37,937 | $12,601 | $33,944 |
| State | 2012-13 | 2028 | 2012-13 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AK | $32,131 | $95,982 | $8,238 | $6,406 |
| AZ | $19,763 | $44,353 | $12,296 | $34,037 |
| CA | $25,449 | $47,340 | $10,993 | $25,212 |
| CO | $20,332 | $34,799 | $15,903 | $36,787 |
| HI | $17,566 | $44,607 | $8,374 | $17,680 |
| ID | $16,135 | $39,761 | $13,579 | $25,871 |
| MT | $17,615 | $52,648 | $12,000 | $18,544 |
| NM | $22,535 | $50,995 | $9,842 | $21,362 |
| NV | $29,512 | $79,457 | $10,913 | $25,517 |
| OR | $25,704 | $53,902 | $14,179 | $30,798 |
| UT | $14,638 | $15,490 | $11,255 | $25,362 |
| WA | $25,732 | $64,187 | $9,982 | $17,286 |
| WY | N/A | N/A | $11,484 | $23,425 |
| State | 2012-13 | 2028 | 2012-13 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL | $17,293 | $43,822 | $13,034 | $42,299 |
| AR | $15,633 | $32,125 | $8,800 | $14,572 |
| FL | $21,070 | $51,345 | $9,943 | $27,536 |
| GA | $20,126 | $48,137 | $12,939 | $48,855 |
| KY | $18,376 | $55,621 | $11,407 | $26,743 |
| LA | $18,771 | $58,529 | $9,783 | $26,491 |
| MS | $13,353 | $27,925 | $12,211 | $31,124 |
| NC | $20,556 | $43,608 | $9,613 | $26,448 |
| OK | $19,394 | $45,216 | $8,999 | $23,045 |
| SC | $18,088 | $44,468 | $14,816 | $33,881 |
| TN | $18,336 | $52,936 | $10,793 | $30,479 |
| TX | $19,656 | $52,131 | $10,036 | $22,634 |
| WV | $16,018 | $30,356 | $9,314 | $16,765 |
To determine 2028's average net price, we calculated an average yearly increase for each state based on 6 years of data between academic years 2007-08 to 2012-13 and assumed a 2 percent annual rate of inflation.
Illustration credit: James Vaughan
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