On March 4, the University of Southern California announced its tuition for the 2016-2017 school year will surpass $50,000 for the first time in school history. This makes it one of the most expensive universities in the nation and is indicative of a growing trend: Colleges nationwide are getting increasingly expensive.
Though private colleges are dominating the headlines when it comes to tuition hikes, public schools are quietly raising their prices at a higher rate. What were once eminently affordable schools are now putting more of a financial strain on current students.
Using the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics, StartClass found the 25 colleges with the biggest tuition increases over the past 10 years. All tuition amounts reported are inflation-adjusted for 2015 dollars. A school from the Beehive State comes in at No. 2, scroll down to see the tuition data for Dixie State University in southern Utah.
For this list, we used the reported in-state tuition for each college. We also only included schools with at least 5,000 undergraduate students. Colleges are sorted by their 10-year in-state tuition percentage increase, and the data reflects the change from the 2004-2005 school year to the 2014-2015 school year.
Of the 25 schools listed, 16 saw their in-state tuition double over the past decade. The school on the list with the highest 2014 in-state tuition — the College of William and Mary — cost $17,674 this past year.
#25. Colorado State University-Pueblo
2004 in-state tuition: $3,998
2014 in-state tuition: $7,842
Percentage increase: 96.15 percent
Total undergraduate students: 5,192
Acceptance rate: 92.8 percent
#24. California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
2004 in-state tuition: $3,523
2014 in-state tuition: $6,911
Percentage increase: 96.17 percent
Total undergraduate students: 22,395
Acceptance rate: 51.9 percent
#23. Northeastern Illinois University
2004 in-state tuition: $4,507
2014 in-state tuition: $8,877
Percentage increase: 96.96 percent
Total undergraduate students: 8,412
Acceptance rate: 57.6 percent
#22. The University of West Florida
2004 in-state tuition: $3,226
2014 in-state tuition: $6,366
Percentage increase: 97.33 percent
Total undergraduate students: 10,072
Acceptance rate: 41.7 percent
#21. San Jose State University
2004 in-state tuition: $3,707
2014 in-state tuition: $7,330
Percentage increase: 97.73 percent
Total undergraduate students: 26,664
Acceptance rate: 59.8 percent
#20. University of Colorado Boulder
2004 in-state tuition: $5,440
2014 in-state tuition: $10,800
Percentage increase: 98.53 percent
Total undergraduate students: 26,557
Acceptance rate: 84.2 percent
#19. College of William and Mary
2004 in-state tuition: $8,803
2014 in-state tuition: $17,674
Percentage increase: 98.74 percent
Total undergraduate students: 6,299
Acceptance rate: 33 percent
#18. Arizona State University-Tempe
2004 in-state tuition: $5,093
2014 in-state tuition: $10,167
Percentage increase: 99.63 percent
Total undergraduate students: 39,961
Acceptance rate: 84.3 percent
#17. The University of Tennessee-Knoxville
2004 in-state tuition: $5,951
2014 in-state tuition: $11,888
Percentage increase: 99.76 percent
Total undergraduate students: 21,664
Acceptance rate: 74.8 percent
#16. Humboldt State University
2004 in-state tuition: $3,588
2014 in-state tuition: $7,178
Percentage increase: 100.06 percent
Total undergraduate students: 7,983
Acceptance rate: 76.6 percent
#15. The University of Texas at San Antonio
2004 in-state tuition: $3,730
2014 in-state tuition: $7,464
Percentage increase: 100.11 percent
Total undergraduate students: 24,285
Acceptance rate: 75.9 percent
#14. California State University-Bakersfield
2004 in-state tuition: $3,393
2014 in-state tuition: $6,799
Percentage increase: 100.38 percent
Total undergraduate students: 7,635
Acceptance rate: 70.6 percent
#13. University of Georgia
2004 in-state tuition: $5,354
2014 in-state tuition: $10,847
Percentage increase: 102.60 percent
Total undergraduate students: 26,882
Acceptance rate: 55.7 percent
#12. University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras
2004 in-state tuition: $990
2014 in-state tuition: $2,021
Percentage increase: 104.14 percent
Total undergraduate students: 12,362
Acceptance rate: 28.2 percent
#11. Midwestern State University
2004 in-state tuition: $3,780
2014 in-state tuition: $7,761
Percentage increase: 105.32 percent
Total undergraduate students: 5,874
Acceptance rate: 61.6 percent
#10. University of North Florida
2004 in-state tuition: $3,109
2014 in-state tuition: $6,391
Percentage increase: 105.56
Total undergraduate students: 14,121
Acceptance rate: 60.6 percent
#9. Wayne State University
2004 in-state tuition: $5,558
2014 in-state tuition: $11,460
Percentage increase: 106.19 percent
Total undergraduate students: 18,347
Acceptance rate: 77.3 percent
#8. California State University-San Marcos
2004 in-state tuition: $3,479
2014 in-state tuition: $7,176
Percentage increase: 106.27 percent
Total undergraduate students: 11,559
Acceptance rate: 61.8 percent
#7. Colorado State University-Fort Collins
2004 in-state tuition: $4,750
2014 in-state tuition: $9,907
Percentage increase: 108.57 percent
Total undergraduate students: 23,598
Acceptance rate: 80.5 percent
#6. Colorado Mesa University
2004 in-state tuition: $3,414
2014 in-state tuition: $7,123
Percentage increase: 108.64 percent
Total undergraduate students: 9,003
Acceptance rate: 82.3 percent
#5. Georgia Institute of Technology
2004 in-state tuition: $5,361
2014 in-state tuition: $11,405
Percentage increase: 112.74 percent
Total undergraduate students: 14,682
Acceptance rate: 33.4 percent
#4. University of Arizona
2004 in-state tuition: $5,136
2014 in-state tuition: $10,968
Percentage increase: 113.55 percent
Total undergraduate students: 32,987
Acceptance rate: 74.6 percent
#3. University of Northern Colorado
2004 in-state tuition: $3,572
2014 in-state tuition: $7,741
Percentage increase: 116.71 percent
Total undergraduate students: 9,469
Acceptance rate: 70.9 percent
#2. Dixie State University
2004 in-state tuition: $1,910
2014 in-state tuition: $4,460
Percentage increase: 133.51 percent
Total undergraduate students: 8,570
Acceptance rate: Not available
#1. University of Hawaii at Manoa
2004 in-state tuition: $4,487
2014 in-state tuition: $10,631
Percentage increase: 136.93 percent
Total undergraduate students: 14,126
Acceptance rate: 78.8 percent
