The most expensive public colleges and universities in each state in 2022

Tuition fees never seem to stop rising year after year. And believe it or not, it’s not private college tuition that’s increased the most over the years, but public colleges. According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the average tuition and required fees for a four-year public institution have increased 159.3% over the past 30 years, from $3,605 over the past for the 1989-1990 academic year at $9,349. to the 2019-2020 academic year; and this increase takes inflation into account as dollar figures are in constant 2019-2020 dollars.

Since public colleges and universities hold the majority of undergraduate students nationwide, BrokeScholar decided to conduct a study of the most expensive colleges in each state. Based on the compilation of all private, nonprofit four-year colleges and public four-year colleges offering bachelor’s degrees in each state, the study determined which colleges were the most expensive in terms of tuition fees. tuition and fees required. Here we are going to focus on the most expensive public schools in each state.

Read on to find out which is the most expensive public college or university in each state.

The most expensive public colleges and universities in each state

There is an important point to make about the cost of tuition at public colleges and universities: the cost varies depending on whether the student lives in the state where the institution is located or if they are out of state. State. Out-of-state public school tuition is invariably more expensive than in-state tuition. In general, if a public college’s in-state tuition is the highest in the state, the corresponding out-of-state tuition is usually the highest in the state. Now let’s take a look at the most expensive public colleges and universities in each of the 50 US states. All dollar figures are from NCES College Navigator and represent the 2021-2022 academic year.

Below is a list of the most expensive public colleges and universities in 20 of the 50 states, ranked in order of highest average cost of in-state and out-of-state tuition:

1. Virginia’s Most Expensive Public College

Public college or university: University of Virginia Main Campus

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $19,244

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $53,626

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $36,435

2. Michigan’s Most Expensive Public College

Public college or university: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $16,178

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $53,232

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $34,705

3. The most expensive public college in Vermont

Public college or university: University of Vermont

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $19,002

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $43,890

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $31,446

4. The most expensive public university in Colorado

Public college or university: Colorado School of Mines

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $19,538

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $40,838

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $30,188

5. Connecticut’s Most Expensive Public College

Public college or university: University of Connecticut

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $18,524

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $41,192

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $29,858

6. The most expensive public college in California

Public college or university: University of California-San Diego

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $14,700

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $44,454

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $29,577

7. Most Expensive Public College in New Hampshire

Public college or university: University of New Hampshire Main Campus

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $18,962

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $37,202

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $28,082

8. The most expensive public college in Pennsylvania

Public college or university: Pennsylvania State University

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $18,898

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $36,476

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $27,687

9. Most Expensive Public University in Oregon

Public college or university: University of Oregon

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $14,421

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $40,464

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $27,443

10. Most Expensive Public College in Ohio

Public college or university: University of Miami-Oxford

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $16,704

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $37,379

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $27,042

11. Most Expensive Public College in South Carolina

Public college or university: Clemson University

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $15,558

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $38,550

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $27,054

12. Most Expensive Public College in Massachusetts

Public college or university: Massachusetts College of Art and Design

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $14,200

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $39,800

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $27,000

13. Most Expensive Public College in Maryland

Public college or university: University of Maryland, Baltimore

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $11,899

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $41,275

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $26,587

14. The most expensive public college in Washington

Public college or university: University of Washington-Tacoma Campus

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $12,196

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $40,026

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $26,111

15. Most Expensive Public College in Texas

Public college or university: The University of Texas at Austin

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $11,752

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $40,996

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $26,374

16. Most Expensive Public College in New Jersey

Public college or university: New Jersey Institute of Technology

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $18,016

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $34,034

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $26,025

17. Delaware’s Most Expensive Public College

Public college or university: University of Delaware

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $15,020

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $36,880

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $25,950

18. Indiana’s Most Expensive Public College

Public college or university: Indiana University-Bloomington

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $11,333

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $38,352

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $24,843

19. Most Expensive Public College in Minnesota

Public college or university: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $15,254

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $33,818

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $24,536

20. Rhode Island’s Most Expensive Public College

Public college or university: University of Rhode Island

In-State Tuition and Required Fees: $15,332

Out-of-State Tuition and Required Fees: $33,354

In-State and Out-of-State Average: $24,343

Three of these public colleges are more specifically focused on their academics, namely the Colorado School of Mines in Colorado; the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Massachusetts; and the New Jersey Institute of Technology in New Jersey. The rest of these public schools tend to rank among the top colleges in terms of their academics and graduation rates. For example, the University of Virginia (UVA) has a 94% graduation rate. And the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor has a 93% graduation rate.

For a full breakdown of the most expensive colleges, private and public, in all 50 states, check out BrokeScholar’s full study.