By Hank Russell
A recent report found that New York has put the “higher” in higher education, with Empire State residents paying the third-highest college costs, using more than two-thirds of their income to pay for college.
According to WalletHub, higher education comprises 68.33% of the median annual household income in New York. (The state’s median household income is $84,578.) The most expensive state for a college education was Pennsylvania, with Keystone State residents using 72.48% of their income, which is $76,081. Rhode Island was second at 71.16%. (The state’s median household income is $86,372 a year.)
Utah was the cheapest state for college, with only the cost of college comprising 27.69% of the median household income.
Data was compiled from the National Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The report also found that it costs $57,788 a year for in-state tuition, room and board and other expenses. In Pennsylvania, college costs are at $76,081 annually, and in Rhode Island, residents pay $61,458 a year.
But it’s not just those three states. According to WalletHub, the cost of attending a four-year college has gone up by an average of 30% just over the past 20 years.
“College education is getting more and more difficult to afford, with cost increases well outpacing inflation,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “As a result, people have been forced to take out more and more loans, with the average student loan debt now standing at nearly $42,000. The good news is that living in certain states and attending a school with in-state tuition can greatly defray the cost of undergraduate education, minimizing the amount students need to borrow.”