Tuition Increase

Over the past decade, tuition has increased by between 40 and 50 percent, for an average annual increase of 3.2%. In the 2022-2023 academic year, most colleges and universities increased their tuition by between 3 and 5%. Some of the highest percentage increases among schools were at the University of Southern California (5% at $63k), William and Mary (4.9% at $44k) and Pomona by (4.5% at $59k). Some of the lowest percentage increases occurred at Rutgers University (3% at $16k), and Princeton (2.5% at $57k). Purdue’s tuition remains $44k; the University has not raised its tuition in 12 years. Within the UC system, the highest percent increase was 4.1% at both UC Davis ($15k) and UCLA ($14k).

Costs of room-board have increased unevenly across colleges. Two of the most costly schools in considering room and board are now Northwestern and University of Southern California. Room and board now ranges from roughly $20,000 to $32,000/year at all colleges on the list. In the UC system, Berkeley charges the most for room and board at $36,000/year. Despite these increases, the UC university system still offers the most affordable education on the list to students of California.