Few Americans say college degrees are priced fairly as of late, a latest study shows, and the increasing cost of attendance continues to maintain many highschool graduates from continuing their education.
Only 18% of Americans who have not earned a level say that four-year colleges charge fair prices, in response to the annual State of Higher Education Study released this week by Gallup and Lumina, the next education nonprofit foundation. Fifty-nine percent of respondents said prices at four-year colleges weren’t fair, while 22% responded they were unsure.
Respondents had a rather less grim view of community colleges, nevertheless, with 40% stating that two-year colleges are priced fairly.
Lumina’s vp of impact and planning, Courtney Brown, says that the findings underscore “a growing frustration with the affordability of upper education.”
“This isn’t only a perception issue,” she adds. “It reflects real challenges students and families face when attempting to finance a level.”
The annual study, which launched in the course of the pandemic, surveyed over 14,000 U.S. adults with at the least a high-school diploma or equivalent this 12 months. Most respondents had some college experience — being either currently or previously enrolled — and about 3,000 had never enrolled in the next education program. None of them held a level when the survey was fielded in October 2024.
College costs are a core barrier
Over the past couple many years, college costs have soared, far outpacing inflation and wage gains, in response to a Money evaluation of wage and college cost data from the Departments of Labor and Education.
Since 2000, as an example, sticker price of tuition, room and board at four-year institutions has spiked 140%, while community college costs jumped 125%. Overall inflation during that very same period rose 76%, and wages for all staff (including degree holders) increased 83%.
Due to these trends, “too many individuals feel priced out of the opportunities that higher education provides,” Brown says.
Separate Gallup and Lumina surveys in recent years consistently show college costs as the highest reason Americans aren’t pursuing (or completing) the next education program. At the identical time, the groups’ most up-to-date survey shows that the majority Americans do see college as a pathway to a better-paying job and future, with a majority saying they imagine a school degree pays off inside five to 10 years.
And the earnings data backs that up. A February study from Georgetown University analyzed median incomes for attendees of 4,600 different institutions, finding that the everyday student had a return on investment of $174,000 after 10 years (and $1.5 million after 40 years).
Attending to that time could be a leap of religion. Within the minds of potential college students, it’s a continuing cost-benefit evaluation.
“The general public isn’t questioning whether higher education matters, but somewhat whether or not they can afford it,” Brown says. “That distinction is critical.”
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