College Tuition and Fees Rise Much Faster than Family Incomes

A report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education indicates that U.S. college tuition and fees are increasing at a much higher rate than family incomes, which could make higher education unaffordable for most Americans. The report, Measuring Up 2008, is available here. You can read about the report in today's New York Times.

According to the report, the Times states, "published college tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007 while median family income rose 147 percent. Student borrowing has more than doubled in the last decade, and students from lower-income families, on average, get smaller grants from the colleges they attend than students from more affluent families."

Want to do your own comparison of higher education statistics? You can search the U.S. Census Bureau's 2008 Statistical Abstract for a wide variety of education statistics. Note that the sources for these statistics are stated at the bottom of all tables and charts, and you can often just click on the URLS in these Source lines to access websites with additional information. Another good resource for educational statistics is the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics.

You can learn more about these and other education resources in our guide to the topic.