See How Much More Tuition Costs for Gen Z Than It Did for Gen X at 30 Popular Colleges

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See How Much More Tuition Costs for Gen Z Than It Did for Gen X at 30 Popular Colleges

If it seems like college keeps getting more and more expensive, it’s because it truly is — and the price hikes are outpacing inflation by a long shot. When Gen X began attending college in the ’80s, it was possible to pay less than $1,000 for in-state tuition — or in the case of the University of Texas, less than $500. Even adjusted for inflation, many public universities charged tuition prices of $3,500 or less, and private university tuition topped out at about $25,000.
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For Gen X parents who are now sending or preparing to send their Gen Z kids off to college, there may be some sticker shock. In-state public college tuition costs about $6,000 on the low end, while private universities can have tuition costs of $60,000 (or more). Even when adjusted for inflation, the cost of tuition has more than doubled at many schools — and in the case of one university, it now costs eight times more than it did when Gen X attended.
To make it clear just how much more expensive college has become, GOBankingRates looked at the tuition at 30 colleges and universities at a time when Gen X began attending (1983-1989) and adjusted these costs to 2021 dollars. Next, we gathered the current tuition at these same schools to show what Gen Z is now paying and calculated how much costs have increased.
See how much more this new generation of college kids is paying for school compared to Gen X.
Baylor University
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $7,530
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $50,232
- Percent increase in cost: 567%
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Boston College
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $18,372
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $60,530
- Percent increase in cost: 229%
Brigham Young University
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $3,452
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $6,120
- Percent increase in cost: 77%
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Brown University
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $22,737
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $60,944
- Percent increase in cost: 168%
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Fairleigh Dickinson University
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $12,602
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $32,000
- Percent increase in cost: 154%
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Harvard University
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $23,833
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $51,904
- Percent increase in cost: 118%
Howard University
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $7,507
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $28,450
- Percent increase in cost: 279%
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Kansas State University
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $2,492
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $9,489
- Percent increase in cost: 281%
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Louisiana State University
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $2,161
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $11,962
- Percent increase in cost: 454%
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Montana State University
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $2,055
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $7,528
- Percent increase in cost: 266%
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Northwestern University
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $21,814
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $60,276
- Percent increase in cost: 176%
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Oberlin College
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $23,708
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $59,384
- Percent increase in cost: 150%
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Ohio State University
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $4,117
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $11,936
- Percent increase in cost: 190%
Princeton University
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $25,148
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $56,010
- Percent increase in cost: 123%
Stanford University
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $18,097
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $55,473
- Percent increase in cost: 207%
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University of California, Los Angeles
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $3,519
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $13,258
- Percent increase in cost: 277%
University of Florida
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $2,154
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $6,380
- Percent increase in cost: 196%
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University of Georgia
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $4,014
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $12,080
- Percent increase in cost: 201%
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University of Hawaii
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $2,667
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $11,304
- Percent increase in cost: 324%
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $4,236
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $12,254
- Percent increase in cost: 189%
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University of Maryland, College Park
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $3,197
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $9,000
- Percent increase in cost: 181%
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University of Michigan
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $6,414
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $16,178
- Percent increase in cost: 152%
University of Mississippi
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $4,037
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $8,934
- Percent increase in cost: 121%
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University of Missouri
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $3,341
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $13,128
- Percent increase in cost: 293%
University of Notre Dame
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $16,727
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $58,843
- Percent increase in cost: 252%
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University of Southern California
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $22,077
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $60,446
- Percent increase in cost: 174%
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University of Texas
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $1,192
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $10,858
- Percent increase in cost: 811%
University of Virginia
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $5,366
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $14,188
- Percent increase in cost: 164%
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University of Wisconsin, Madison
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $3,094
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $10,766
- Percent increase in cost: 248%
Yale University
- Tuition cost for Gen X (adjusted to 2021 dollars): $19,843
- Tuition cost for Gen Z: $59,950
- Percent increase in cost: 202%
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Methodology: GOBankingRates used National Center for Education Statistics: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System data as well as IPEDS data sourced through Demo.org’s “When Congress Went to College” piece to find (1) tuition at 30 colleges and universities for Gen X, which was limited to the years 1983-1989. Next, GOBankingRates found the (2) tuition for Gen X adjusted to 2021 dollars using the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI inflation calculator. GOBankingRates also found (3) tuition for Gen Z (2021-2022) from each university or college’s own website, as well as the nominal and percentage tuition difference between factors (1) and (3), as well as factors (2) and (3). All data was collected and is up to date as of Aug. 9, 2021. All tuition data was sourced for the lowest possible bar for entry, thus all public colleges and universities have their in-state tuition represented.
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