The Most Expensive College in Every State

College has not been “cheap” for the most part for a long time, but it’s undoubtedly getting even more expensive. Even families who open college savings plans for their kids may find that it’s getting increasingly harder to afford paying for one child, let alone more than one’s college without some aggressive savings strategies. And in each state, there’s at least one college so expensive that parents might be wishing they could win the lottery to pay for four years.

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GOBankingRates set out to find the most expensive college in every state using the U.S. News & World Report’s College Rankings and Niche.com’s College List. For each school, a number of factors were found including school name, location, undergraduate enrollment, tuition and fees cost, room and board cost, and the average student debt each graduate has.

Results vary dramatically from state to state. Although Alaska University, for instance, costs comparatively little — $29,060 including room and board — Illinois’ Northwestern University tops out at a whopping $86,331. Variances in total cost are not just based on tuition, however. The costs for room and board are all over the map, as well, with the University of Miami at  $21,580 while the University of Wyoming asks for just $3,420. Take a look at the costs.

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $38,144
• Annual cost of room and board: $12,160
• Total cost: $50,304

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $20,760
• Annual cost of room and board: $8,300
• Total cost: $29,060

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $42,204
• Annual cost of room and board: $14,102
• Total cost: $56,306

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $36,650
• Annual cost of room and board: $14,300
• Total cost: $50,950

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $68,237
• Annual cost of room and board: $19,198
• Total cost: $87,435

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $65,028
• Annual cost of room and board: $14,376
• Total cost: $79,404

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $67,420
• Annual cost of room and board: $17,990
• Total cost: $85,410

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $13,050
• Annual cost of room and board: $11,600
• Total cost: $24,650

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $65,082
• Annual cost of room and board: $20,458
• Total cost: $85,540

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $59,926
• Annual cost of room and board: $21,580
• Total cost: $81,506

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $60,774
• Annual cost of room and board: $18,972
• Total cost: $79,746

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $31,940
• Annual cost of room and board: $15,278
• Total cost: $47,218

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $39,370
• Annual cost of room and board: $11,550
• Total cost: $50,920

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $65,997
• Annual cost of room and board: $20,334
• Total cost: $86,331

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $62,693
• Annual cost of room and board: $17,378
• Total cost: $80,071

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $64,862
• Annual cost of room and board: $15,878
• Total cost: $80,740

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $38,480
• Annual cost of room and board: $9,850
• Total cost: $48,330

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $50,550
• Annual cost of room and board: $13,040
• Total cost: $63,590

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $65,538
• Annual cost of room and board: $18,088
• Total cost: $83,626

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $66,600
• Annual cost of room and board: $17,120
• Total cost: $83,720

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $63,340
• Annual cost of room and board: $19,840
• Total cost: $83,180

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $67,844
• Annual cost of room and board: $17,660
• Total cost: $85,504

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $56,562
• Annual cost of room and board: $11,340
• Total cost: $67,902

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $65,457
• Annual cost of room and board: $16,710
• Total cost: $82,167

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $29,195
• Annual cost of room and board: $9,400
• Total cost: $38,595

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $62,982
• Annual cost of room and board: $20,778
• Total cost: $83,760

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: Carroll College
• Annual cost of room and board: $40,352
• Total cost: $11,212

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $47,000
• Annual cost of room and board: $12,790
• Total cost: $59,790

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $41,667
• Annual cost of room and board: N/A
• Total cost: $41,667

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $65,511
• Annual cost of room and board: $18,759
• Total cost: $84,270

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $60,952
• Annual cost of room and board: $18,650
• Total cost: $79,602

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $39,356
• Annual cost of room and board: $15,468
• Total cost: $54,824

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $67,805
• Annual cost of room and board: $17,415
• Total cost: $85,220

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $66,172
• Annual cost of room and board: $19,066
• Total cost: $85,238

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $24,200
• Annual cost of room and board: $8,560
• Total cost: $32,760

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $69,330
• Annual cost of room and board: $14,410
• Total cost: $83,740

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $48,102
• Annual cost of room and board: $12,876
• Total cost: $60,978

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $64,760
• Annual cost of room and board: $15,950
• Total cost: $80,710

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $68,380
• Annual cost of room and board: $15,568
• Total cost: $83,948

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $68,230
• Annual cost of room and board: $16,598
• Total cost: $84,828

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $58,312
• Annual cost of room and board: $15,868
• Total cost: $74,180

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $39,190
• Annual cost of room and board: $9,470
• Total cost: $48,660

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $63,946
• Annual cost of room and board: $20,978
• Total cost: $84,924

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $64,460
• Annual cost of room and board: $18,230
• Total cost: $82,690

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $41,936
• Annual cost of room and board: $11,770
• Total cost: $53,706

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $65,280
• Annual cost of room and board: $18,600
• Total cost: $83,880

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $64,525
• Annual cost of room and board: $17,685
• Total cost: $82,210

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $61,492
• Annual cost of room and board: $14,640
• Total cost: $76,132

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $33,494
• Annual cost of room and board: $11,010
• Total cost: $44,504

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $58,554
• Annual cost of room and board: $10,740
• Total cost: $69,294

• Annual cost of tuition and fees: $27,437
• Annual cost of room and board: $3,420
• Total cost: $30,857

Bob Haegele and Jordan Rosenfeld contributed to the reporting for this article.

Photos are just for illustration purposes; they may not all accurately reflect the college listed.

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed each state to find the most expensive private college in every state. First GOBankingRates found the most expensive colleges in each state by using the U.S. News & World Report’s College Rankings and Niche.com’s College List. For each school, a number of factors were found including; school name, location, undergraduate enrollment, tuition & fees cost, room & board cost, and the average student debt each graduate has. The states were sorted from the most to least expensive average total. All data was collected on and is up to date as of May 7, 2024. Wyoming did not have a private 4-year college with data available so a private 2-year college was substituted.