How much does college cost in 2026?

College Board’s 2025-26 averages are $11,610 a year in-state at a public four-year college, $29,910 out-of-state, and $46,730 at a private nonprofit — tuition, fees, room and board. Those are published prices; the average family pays less after grant aid.

How much should I save each month for college?

Enter the numbers above and read the last line: it solves for the monthly amount that reaches the full cost by the first day, given what is already saved. For a newborn and an in-state public degree it is typically $250-400 a month; for a private one, three times that.

What inflation rate should I use for college costs?

Published tuition rose about 5% a year over the long run but under 3% in most of the last five years, and net prices after aid have been roughly flat. 4% is a reasonable middle; run it again at 3% and 6% to see how much the answer depends on the assumption.

Is a 529 plan worth it?

Growth is tax-free if spent on qualified education, which over fifteen years is worth roughly a quarter of the gains at typical rates, and most states add a deduction on contributions. The catch is that non-qualified withdrawals pay income tax plus a 10% penalty on the earnings.

College Cost Calculator

With cost a year today 29910 usd, years until they start 10 years, years of study 4 years, college inflation 4 percent and 3 more fields, college cost comes to $188,008 — total cost of the degree. It is reached in 8 steps, the last of which is 44274.107 * (pow(1.04, 4) - 1) / (1.04 - 1), and each one is printed on the page with its numbers filled in. The formula is the one published by College Board, not an approximation fitted to it.

What a degree will cost by the time a child starts, what current savings will have grown to, and the monthly contribution that closes the gap between them.

Formula and sources checked 2 September 2026 · How we check

Cost a year today 29910, Years until they start 10 years, Years of study 4 years, College inflation 4

$188,008

Total cost of the degree for the example below. Editing a field recomputes the calculator below; this figure holds the answer the page was loaded with.

It is written into the HTML rather than drawn by a script, so a search engine reading this page without running JavaScript still finds an answer.

Cost a year todayusdTuition, fees, room and board. College Board put the 2025-26 average at $11,610 in-state public, $29,910 out-of-state public and $46,730 private.Years until they startyearsYears of studyyearsCollege inflationpercentPublished tuition has risen faster than general inflation for four decades, though the last few years have been closer to it. 4% is a middle assumption.Saved so farusdSaving a monthusdReturn on savingspercentA 529 portfolio glides from equities into bonds as the start date nears, so the long-run figure is lower than a pure stock return.

Total cost of the degree

$188,008

Cost of the first year: 29910 * pow(1.04, 10)$44,274
Total cost of the degree: 44274.107 * (pow(1.04, 4) - 1) / (1.04 - 1)$188,008
What today’s savings become: 15000 * pow(1 + 0.005, 120)$27,291
What the monthly saving becomes: 300 * (pow(1 + 0.005, 120) - 1) / 0.005$49,164
Saved by the first day: 27290.951 + 49163.804$76,455
Shortfall: max(0, 188008.4 - 76454.755)$111,554
Share of the cost covered: min(100, 76454.755 / 188008.4 * 100)40.666
Monthly saving to cover it all: max(0, 188008.4 - 27290.951) * 0.005 / (pow(1 + 0.005, 120) - 1)$980.71

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Worked example

At 4% a year, an out-of-state public year costing $29,910 today costs $44,274 in ten years, and four rising years total $188,008. Meanwhile $15,000 growing at 6% becomes $27,291 and $300 a month becomes $49,164 — $76,455 in all, 41% of the bill. Closing the rest would take $981 a month rather than $300.

How to work it out yourself

1.Use the published price for the kind of college in question, not a national average across all of them. In-state public, out-of-state public and private differ by a factor of four, and the sticker price is what a family with no aid pays.
2.Count all four years at their own prices. Each year costs more than the last, so a four-year degree is not four times the first year — on 4% inflation it is about 4.25 times.
3.Set the return below a pure stock figure. A 529 age-based portfolio moves into bonds as the start date approaches, which is the point of it: the last thing a college fund can afford is a 30% drawdown in the final year.
4.Treat the shortfall as information, not a verdict. Grants, scholarships, work and in-state tuition all move the number, and most families pay well under the sticker price. The figure to plan against is the gap, not the total.

The formula

Cost of the first year29910 * pow(1.04, 10)
Total cost of the degree44274.107 * (pow(1.04, 4) - 1) / (1.04 - 1)
What today’s savings become15000 * pow(1 + 0.005, 120)
What the monthly saving becomes300 * (pow(1 + 0.005, 120) - 1) / 0.005
Saved by the first day27290.951 + 49163.804
Shortfallmax(0, 188008.4 - 76454.755)
Share of the cost coveredmin(100, 76454.755 / 188008.4 * 100)
Monthly saving to cover it allmax(0, 188008.4 - 27290.951) * 0.005 / (pow(1 + 0.005, 120) - 1)

Source: College Board — trends in college pricing and student aid 2025, NCES — digest of education statistics, average undergraduate charges, SEC investor.gov — an introduction to 529 plans

Questions people actually ask

How much does college cost in 2026?: College Board’s 2025-26 averages are $11,610 a year in-state at a public four-year college, $29,910 out-of-state, and $46,730 at a private nonprofit — tuition, fees, room and board. Those are published prices; the average family pays less after grant aid.
How much should I save each month for college?: Enter the numbers above and read the last line: it solves for the monthly amount that reaches the full cost by the first day, given what is already saved. For a newborn and an in-state public degree it is typically $250-400 a month; for a private one, three times that.
What inflation rate should I use for college costs?: Published tuition rose about 5% a year over the long run but under 3% in most of the last five years, and net prices after aid have been roughly flat. 4% is a reasonable middle; run it again at 3% and 6% to see how much the answer depends on the assumption.
Is a 529 plan worth it?: Growth is tax-free if spent on qualified education, which over fifteen years is worth roughly a quarter of the gains at typical rates, and most states add a deduction on contributions. The catch is that non-qualified withdrawals pay income tax plus a 10% penalty on the earnings.

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