Trends in Postsecondary Education - Tuition Isn't Even The Half Of It

The pie chart shows estimated costs that would have been borne by students and their families if the student attended a relatively high-priced public college in 1998-99. "Other expenses" includes the cost of books and computers. "Transportation/other" includes entertainment. The total cost for a year at this hypothetical college: nearly $12,000. This is the equivalent of the mean annual earnings of a waiter or waitress working full-time that year.

These total costs are probably what parents have in mind when they lament the high cost of college today. However, it could be argued that about half of this $12,000 annual cost is not college costs but simply ordinary living costs, such as room and board.

Estimated Average Cost For a Year at a Public 4-Year College: 1985 to 2000

Year	Tuition/fees	Board	Dorm charges	Total
1985	971	1,241	1,196	3,408
1990	1,356	1,635	1,513	4,504
1994	1,942	1,880	1,873	5,677
1996	2,179	2,020	2,057	6,256
1998	2,360	2,228	2,225	6,813
2000	2,507	2,361	2,434	7,302

The table tracks changes in the average cost of a year at a public institution (which most students attend) over a 15-year period. Transportation and entertainment are excluded. The average total charges for a year at college in 1985 were $3,408. In 2000 the year cost $7,302, a 114% increase.

The median household income in 1985 was $23,618. A year at college for a member of the household would have consumed 14% of the family's income. The median household income in 2000 was $42,100. College costs would have consumed 17%. Of course, for the half of all households whose income is below the median, the share for college would be higher.

The New York Times reported the results of a study of college costs for the year 2000. The study, called "Losing Ground," found that on average, poor families spent 25% of their annual income for their children to attend a public four-year college, compared to 13% in 1980. For middle-class families, the figures went from 4% to 7%. There was no increase for wealthy families from the 2% they spent in 1980 — wealthy families enjoyed a healthy increase in overall income (see Work & Leisure, Chapter 4 , " Income").

The next two panels look at trends in the financing of a college education in an attempt to answer the question: Is college affordable?

Sources: Chart: U.S. Department of Education, Study of College Costs and Prices, 1988-89 to 1997-98, Volume 2: Commissioned Papers, NCES 2002-158; estimates by D. Bruce Johnstone. Online. Available: http://www.nces.gov. March 1, 2002; Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2001, Table 278: "Institutions of Higher Education — Charges: 1985 to 2000; NCES. Digest of Education Statistics. Steinberg, Jacques. "More Family Income Committed to College." New York Times, 2 May 2002. Online. Available: http://www.nytimes.com. May 2, 2002.