Schools
It Could Cost You $100K A Year To Attend These MN Colleges
Two of the 30 most expensive colleges in the country are located in Minnesota, according to a recent analysis.
MINNESOTA — Two of the 30 most expensive colleges in the country are located in Minnesota, according to a recent analysis.
More than half of the 30 most expensive colleges have tuition costs of more than $70,000 a year in the 2025-2026 academic year, according to the report from The College Investor, a personal finance website.
The costs represent tuition only, but room and board, and textbook costs, which the personal finance website could cause the costs to soar over $100,000 a year.
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Nationally, the cost of a four-year bachelor’s degree is much lower — between $40,000 to $80,000 a year, depending on the major, The College Investor previously reported.
Here’s where Minnesota colleges landed on the list:
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Carleton College, Northfield — $71,607 annually
Macalester College, St. Paul — $70,632 annually
Full list: 30 Most Expensive Schools
Below is the full list of the 30 most expensive U.S. colleges per The College Investor (tuition costs increased by an average of 4.5 percent from 2024 at the 30 colleges).
- Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, $73,275, up 4.6 percent
- University of Southern California, Los Angeles, $73,260, up 4.8 percent
- Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, $73,206, up 4.75 percent
- Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts, $73,140, up 4.75 percent
- Colorado College, Colorado Springs $73,038, up 4 percent
- Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, $72,438, up 4 percent
- Boston College, $72,180, up 4 percent
- Tulane University, New Orleans, $71,997, up 4.8 percent
- Kenyon College, Gambler, Ohio, $71,870, up 0.95 percent
- Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, California $71,700, up 5.5 percent
- Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, $71,700, up 4.5 percent
- Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, $71,607, up 4.6 percent
- Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, $71,266, up 4.2 percent
- Columbia University, New York City, $70,170, up 4 percent**
- Macalester College, Saint Paul, Minnesota, $70,632, up 4 percent
- Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, $70,556, up 3 percent **
- Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont, $70,120, up 4.5 percent
- Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, $70,265, up 6 percent
- Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, $69,900, up 3.9 percent
- Boston University, $69,870, up 4.8 percent
- Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania, $69,844, up 8.75 percent **
- Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts, $69,800, up 4.3 percent
- George Washington University, Washington, D.C., $69,780, up 3.5 percent
- Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York, $69,608, up 5 percent
- Colby College, Waterville, Maine, $66,670, up 4 percent **
- Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, $69,207, up 4.6 percent
- Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, $69,146, up 4.2 percent
- Pepperdine University, Malibu, California,$69,130, up 5 percent **
- Reed College, Portland, Oregon, $69,040, up 7 percent **
- University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, $69,030, up 4.8 percent
** Most recent data available for colleges that have not announced their 2025-2026 tuition rates.
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