Find Out Which States Offer the Most Affordable In-State College Tuition
Key Takeaways
- College has gotten more expensive over the decades, but there are still several U.S. states where the average in-state tuition at public colleges is below $10,000 per year.
- In Florida, North Carolina, Utah, and Wyoming, the cost of tuition to attend a public college was $8,000 or lower in the 2024-25 school year.
- On the opposite end of the spectrum, four Northeastern states—Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Vermont—had an average in-state tuition of over $17,000 per year.
Though you probably know that it’s cheaper to attend a four-year public college than a private one, you might be unaware of just how much of a difference there is state by state.
What's more, there's a significant difference between in-state tuition and out-of-state tuition—that is, students who are residents of the state where their public college is get to pay less for tuition than students who come from out of state.
According to 2024-2025 school year data compiled by the College Board, Florida, North Carolina, Utah, and Wyoming offered the most affordable in-state tuition, with an average cost of $6,360 to $8,000 per year.
Meanwhile, the four states with the most expensive in-state tuition topped $17,000 per year: Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Vermont.
What Does In-State Tuition Cost?
Nationally, in-state tuition for a four-year public university cost $11,610 a year on average in 2024-2025, down 10% from five years ago, according to College Board data.
After adjusting for inflation, average in-state tuition has risen in only five states since 2019-2020. Most states posted declines in tuition costs. The state that dropped the most, at 21%, was Georgia. And 18 states saw their in-state tuition costs fall by at least 10%.
Tip
Experts recommend that parents start saving for their child’s future education as early as possible, taking advantage of, say, a 529 plan. Every little bit counts.
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What Does Out-of-State Tuition Cost?
Nationally, out-of-state tuition for a four-year public university cost $30,780 a year on average in 2024-2025.
So on a national level, on average, out-of-state tuition at four-year public universities costs almost three times as much as in-state tuition.
Michigan has the most expensive out-of-state tuition, at an average of $42,280 per year. It also has the second largest out-of-state premium—that is, an out-of-state student must pay $26,360 more per year to attend a public college than an in-state student. California has the single largest out-of-state premium at $26,820.
In North Dakota and South Dakota, however, the difference between the average in-state tuition and out-of-state tuition is quite low, at $4,320 per year and $3,550 per year, respectively. So in these two states, out-of-state students pay about the same (give or take a few thousand dollars per year) as in-state students. These states are also the most affordable for out-of-state students nationwide, at an average of $14,790 (North Dakota) and $12,740 (South Dakota).