For the most part, college costs continue to rise, along with the amount students borrow to cover the tab. However, there is an exception.
Overall, college tuition has jumped by 5.6% annually, on average, since 1983, significantly outpacing other household expenses, according to a study by J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
But when broken down by institution type, the differences are striking: For the 2025-26 school year, tuition and fees for four-year private colleges averaged $45,000, according to newly released data from the College Board. At four-year, in-state public colleges, it was $11,950.
Over the decade from 2015-16 to 2025-26, average inflation-adjusted tuition and fees rose by 2% for private nonprofit four-year students and fell by 7% for public four-year in-state students.
More than half of students earning bachelor’s degrees from public colleges and universities graduate without student debt. The average debt among those who do borrow is $27,420, down nearly 20% over the last decade.
By comparison, bachelor’s degree recipients from private institutions graduate with an average debt of roughly $34,420 per borrower, the College Board found.
“Public universities provide the most affordable path to a high-quality college education,” said Waded Cruzado, the president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. “There has been even more progress on net tuition and fees, what students actually pay,” he said.
In fact, few families pay the school’s sticker cost. Altogether, nearly 75% of all undergraduates receive some type of financial aid, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
‘College affordability is a huge concern’
Still, with the price at some schools nearing six figures a year, cost can be a major deterrent. “College affordability is a huge concern,” said Robert Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review.
For a majority of students and their families, financial aid is the most important factor in decisions about choosing where to attend school and how to pay for it. The amount of aid offered matters, as does the breakdown between grants, scholarships, work-study opportunities and student loans.
“What matters to parents and students shopping for colleges is the sticker prices of the schools they are considering, not how those prices compare to those of previous years — or even decades ago,” Franek said.
To that end, it may be a mistake to rule out private colleges based on cost alone, according to Franek.
When it comes to offering aid, private schools typically have more money to spend, and many schools are giving out substantial aid packages — often in the form of merit aid, or “free money,” he said.
At the end of the day, “It’s not the sticker price that matters most but what the family will need to pay, based on — hopefully — the financial aid the student gets.”