Most-Expensive 4-Year Private Nonprofit Institutions, 2017-18

The 100 colleges that had the greatest overall cost for tuition, fees, and room and board, were scattered among 23 states. Many of the most-expensive colleges were in the more-populous states that also rank in the top half in the country for per capita income. New York had 21 colleges on the list, Massachusetts had 18, Pennsylvania had 13, and California had 12. But Texas, the second-most populous state in the nation, has only one: Southern Methodist University. Texas ranks 31st in the country for per capita income. Louisiana, which ranks 47th for per capita income, had one college on the list, and so did New Mexico, which ranks 48th on that income measure. Louisiana is home to Tulane University, and New Mexico to St. John’s College.

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Note: The figures represent charges to first-time, full-time undergraduates based, typically, on a nine-month academic year of 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours. The data do not reflect the lowered cost of attendance at an institution for some students after grants and other student aid are considered. Room-and-board fees charged by colleges may represent differing numbers of meals per week and so may not be comparable among institutions. Data are drawn from a College Board survey of more than 3,000 colleges. Tied institutions are listed alphabetically. More data can be found here. Questions or comments on the Almanac should be sent to the Almanac editor.

Source: “Annual Survey of Colleges 2017,” © 2017, the College Board. This material may not be copied, published, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.</small></p>