How much does college cost?

For 2024–2025: in-state public university tuition+fees+room+board averages around $30,000/year ($120,000 total). Out-of-state public: ~$50,000/year. Mid-tier private: ~$60–75K/year. Elite private: $85–100K/year. These are sticker prices; actual cost is often lower after grants and aid.

What is the tuition inflation rate?

College tuition has historically increased 4–6% per year, roughly double the general inflation rate (CPI). The exact rate varies by year and institution type. Public school inflation has averaged ~4–5%; private school inflation 4–6%. Use 5% as a conservative planning baseline.

Should I use a 529 plan?

For dedicated college savings, yes — almost always. 529 plans offer tax-free growth and withdrawals for qualified education expenses. Most states also provide an income tax deduction or credit for contributions to the in-state plan. SECURE 2.0 added the ability to roll up to $35,000 lifetime of unused 529 funds into a Roth IRA for the beneficiary.

How much should I save per month?

It depends on your timeline and target. As a rough guide: $200–$300/month from birth typically funds about half of an in-state public university. $500/month from birth gets closer to full in-state funding. $800+/month from birth approaches full out-of-state public or partial private funding. Use the calculator with your specific target.

What if my child gets a scholarship?

You can withdraw an amount equal to the scholarship from a 529 plan penalty-free (you still owe income tax on the earnings portion). Or you can change the beneficiary to a sibling or other family member, or save the funds for graduate school. Under SECURE 2.0, leftover funds can also be rolled into a Roth IRA (up to $35K lifetime, subject to conditions).

College Cost Calculator

Estimate the total cost of college accounting for tuition inflation. Enter current annual costs, years until enrollment, and your savings plan to see projected total costs, savings shortfall, and the monthly contribution needed to fully fund college.

College costs in the United States have grown at roughly twice the rate of general inflation for several decades, and projections suggest this gap will persist or widen. A four-year public university that costs around $115,000 today (in-state, tuition and fees plus room and board) may cost $190,000–$220,000 for a newborn enrolling 18 years from now. Elite private institutions, currently around $300,000–$340,000 for four years, can easily reach $500,000 or more by the same horizon. The numbers are large enough that funding college from cash flow during the college years is rarely feasible.

The funding strategy that works is the same one that works for retirement: start early and compound. A monthly contribution started at the child's birth has nearly 18 years of growth before tuition starts; the same monthly contribution started when the child is 10 has only 8 years and produces dramatically less. Time is the dominant variable, more important than contribution rate or investment return.

This calculator projects future college costs at your chosen tuition inflation rate, then compares them to what your current savings and ongoing contributions will produce at your expected return rate. The output shows projected total cost, projected savings, the funding gap (if any), and the monthly contribution needed to fully close the gap. The "right" target is rarely 100% funding — most families fund a portion via savings, the rest through current cash flow during the college years, scholarships, grants, and student loans.

Inputs

Current Annual Cost

Years Until College

Years in College

Tuition Inflation Rate

Current Savings

Monthly Contribution

Investment Return Rate

Results

Total Projected Cost

$175,518

Savings at College Start

$65,359

Shortfall

$110,159

Monthly Needed to Fund

$672

Savings Growth Over Time

Year-by-Year Projection

Year	College Cost	Savings Balance
1	$0.00	$14,200.00
2	$0.00	$18,652.00
3	$0.00	$23,371.12
4	$0.00	$28,373.39
5	$0.00	$33,675.79
6	$0.00	$39,296.34
7	$0.00	$45,254.12
8	$0.00	$51,569.37
9	$0.00	$58,263.53
10	$0.00	$65,359.34
11	$40,722.37	$28,558.53
12	$42,758.48	$0.00

Last updated: May 25, 2026Reviewed by the CalcMountain editorial team

Formula

Future cost per college year: For each college year t (from 0 to Years_in_College − 1): Cost(t) = Current Annual Cost × (1 + tuition inflation)^(Years_Until_College + t) Total future cost: Total_Cost = Σ Cost(t) Projected savings at college start (assuming contributions stop or continue during college): If contributions stop when college starts: Future_Savings = Current_Savings × (1 + r)^n + (Monthly × 12) × [(1+r)^n − 1] / r Where: r = Annual investment return (decimal) n = Years until college Funding gap: Gap = max(0, Total_Cost − Future_Savings) Monthly contribution needed to fully fund (solving for required monthly): Required_Monthly = [(Total_Cost − Current_Savings × (1+r)^n) × r / 12] / [(1+r)^n − 1] (With contributions continuing during the college years, the math gets more involved but the principles are the same.) Example: $25,000 current annual cost, 10 years until college, 4 years in college, 5% tuition inflation, $10,000 current savings, $300/mo contributions, 6% return. Cost per year 10: $25,000 × 1.05^10 ≈ $40,720 Cost per year 11: $25,000 × 1.05^11 ≈ $42,760 Cost per year 12: $25,000 × 1.05^12 ≈ $44,900 Cost per year 13: $25,000 × 1.05^13 ≈ $47,140 4-year total: ≈ $175,520 Future savings: $10,000 × 1.06^10 + 3,600 × [(1.06^10 − 1)/0.06] ≈ $17,910 + $47,460 ≈ $65,370 Gap: $175,520 − $65,370 = $110,150 A meaningful shortfall. Closing it would require raising contributions to about $1,025/mo for the remaining 10 years.

How to use this calculator

Enter the current annual cost of the target college (or college type). Common reference points: $30K for in-state public with room and board, $50K for out-of-state public, $75K for mid-tier private, $90K+ for elite private. These are 2024–2025 numbers; check the school's actual cost.
Enter years until college begins. Age 0 to age 18 = 18 years; age 5 to age 18 = 13 years.
Enter years in college. Four years is standard for an undergraduate degree; some programs are five (engineering, architecture); graduate study adds more.
Set tuition inflation rate. Historical college inflation runs 4–6% annually. For conservative planning use 5%; for aggressive 6–7%.
Enter current savings dedicated to college (typically the balance of a 529 plan or other education account).
Enter your current monthly contribution to college savings.
Enter expected investment return. For an age-based portfolio that becomes more conservative as college approaches, 5–7% is a defensible long-term assumption.
Compare projected total college cost to projected savings. The gap is what needs to be funded from other sources: parental cash flow during college, scholarships, financial aid, work-study, or student loans.
Run with different monthly contributions to find the level needed to fully fund. Even partial funding helps — every dollar saved is a dollar that doesn't need to be borrowed at 6–8% student loan interest rates.

Worked examples

Newborn target in-state public university

Current cost: $30,000/year. Years to college: 18. 4 years in college. Tuition inflation: 5%. Current savings: $0. Monthly: $400. Return: 6%. Projected total cost (4 years): ≈ $310,000 Projected savings at year 18: ≈ $155,000 Gap: ~$155,000 (50% funded) Closing the gap requires about $800/month from birth. Or accepting that half will be funded from cash flow during the college years (often feasible for dual-income households) or from loans/grants.

Late start — child is 10

Current cost: $40,000/year (mid-tier private target). Years to college: 8. 4 years in college. Tuition inflation: 5%. Current savings: $20,000. Monthly: $500. Return: 6%. Projected total cost: ≈ $245,000 Projected savings: $20K × 1.06^8 + $6K × [(1.06^8 − 1)/0.06] ≈ $31,900 + $59,400 ≈ $91,300 Gap: $153,700 (37% funded) Starting at age 10, even aggressive saving struggles to fully fund. Increasing to $1,500/mo for 8 years gets to about 70% funded. Most late-starting families plan around partial savings + cash flow + financial aid.

Elite private target — start early or scale back expectations

Current cost: $85,000/year. Years to college: 15. 4 years. Tuition inflation: 5%. Current savings: $30,000. Monthly: $800. Return: 6%. Projected total cost: ≈ $760,000 Projected savings: $30K × 1.06^15 + $9.6K × [(1.06^15 − 1)/0.06] ≈ $71,900 + $223,500 ≈ $295,400 Gap: $464,600 (39% funded) Fully funding an elite private from a 529 alone is extremely difficult. Practical strategies: lean on need-based aid (most elite privates meet 100% of demonstrated need for qualifying families), target merit-aid-friendly alternatives, fund partially and accept the rest from cash flow or loans.

When to use this calculator

Use this calculator at major life milestones — when a child is born, when starting kindergarten, before each annual contribution decision. Re-running every year captures both your changing situation and updated cost data, and reveals whether you're tracking toward your funding goal or drifting away from it.

For prospective parents and grandparents, run the calculator to size what a meaningful contribution would actually be at different starting ages. The difference between starting at birth vs. starting at age 5 is significant — about 30% more contributions needed to reach the same balance.

Pair this with the 529-calculator (the dedicated tool for 529-plan-specific analysis including state tax benefits), the savings-goal calculator (general-purpose goal funding), and the compound-interest calculator (to see how raising contributions affects the outcome).

A reality check most college-cost calculators don't emphasize: the "sticker price" you see on a college's website is the gross cost. Actual cost — after institutional grants, need-based aid, merit scholarships, and federal aid — is often 30–60% lower for many families. Run two scenarios: one targeting the gross cost (conservative) and one targeting 50–60% of gross (realistic for many families with moderate income). The realistic target is often achievable; the gross target rarely is.

Coordination with financial aid is also worth noting. Parent-owned 529 plans count as parental assets on FAFSA (assessed at maximum 5.64% per year) — much friendlier than student-owned assets (assessed at 20%). Grandparent-owned 529 plans, under the simplified post-2024 FAFSA, no longer harm the student's aid eligibility at all. This makes grandparent contributions particularly attractive.

Common mistakes to avoid

Using too low a tuition inflation rate. Historical college inflation has been 4–6% per year — well above CPI. Using 3% (general inflation rate) substantially underestimates future cost.
Treating the sticker price as the cost. For many families, especially those with demonstrated financial need or strong students at merit-aid-friendly schools, actual cost is far lower than the listed price. Both gross and net cost matter, but plan to a realistic net target.
Ignoring the role of financial aid. Federal aid alone (Pell grants, work-study, subsidized loans) can cover meaningful portions of cost for qualifying families. The "savings target" should reflect the family's actual contribution capacity, not the entire college bill.
Funding college at the expense of retirement. There are loans for college; there are no loans for retirement. If you have to choose, prioritize retirement savings (especially employer match and tax-advantaged contributions) over college savings.
Underestimating the value of state schools. The average state flagship university costs about 40% of an average private. A high-achieving student at a top state school usually has equivalent earning outcomes to a graduate of a more expensive private, with dramatically less debt.
Saving aggressively without a 529. Taxable brokerage accounts are taxed annually on dividends and at capital gains rates on withdrawals. 529 plans grow tax-free and most states offer income tax deductions for contributions. For dedicated college funds, 529s are almost always the right account type.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources & further reading

Federal Student Aid — official college cost data — U.S. Department of Education
College Scorecard — cost and outcome data by school — U.S. Department of Education
Publication 970 — Tax Benefits for Education — U.S. Internal Revenue Service

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