Rutgers Tuition Will Go Up 5 Percent Next Year For In-State Students

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Rutgers tuition is going up five percent for in-state students and six percent for out of state.

At their meeting Tuesday, the Rutgers Board of Governors approved a $5.9 billion operating budget for the '25-'26 academic year, which brings with it a five-percent tuition increase for in-state students and a six-percent increase for out-of-state students.

This means tuition for a typical full-time arts and sciences undergrad, who is a New Jersey resident, will increase on average $711, from $14,222 to $14,933.

Tuition for out-of-state students will rise from $33,734 to $35,758.

Rutgers said they prepared this budget "amid federal uncertainty and rising costs." President Donald Trump has withheld hundreds of millions in federal funding from many top American universities. So far, Rutgers has not been affected with threats of funding cuts from the Trump White House.

But, as it does every year, Rutgers is seeing a rise in operating costs: Rutgers said its biggest cost increases come from salary increases for professors, plus professors' fringe benefits such as their health insurance and retirement plans. Rutgers is also dealing with inflationary increases, including rising inflation costs in technology, supplies, services and capital construction.

Rutgers did say it made a four percent cut to central office budgets for the upcoming year.

Here is a breakdown of how Rutgers spends its budget:

• Educating students, financial aid, scholarships; public service and patient care, research and related programs – 76%
• Administration, operations and maintenance – 16%
• Student housing, student dining and parking operations – 5%
• Division I athletics – 3%

Here is how Rutgers funds its budget:

• Tuition and fees (27.7%)
• The state of New Jersey (18%)
• Patient care at Rutgers medical school (20.4%)
• Sponsored research (14.1%)
• Miscellaneous sources, including housing, dining, parking services, student aid, athletics, gifts and donations, and endowment and investment income (19.8%).

Rutgers is also committed to making college affordable for all: Students who come from families with adjusted gross income (AGI) up to $65,000 pay zero for tuition and mandatory fees. Rutgers funds this through programs such as the Scarlet Guarantee in New Brunswick, RU-N to the TOP in Newark and Bridging the Gap in Camden.

For new students with higher family AGI, Rutgers will cover tuition gaps that are no longer covered through the state Garden State Guarantee (GSG) program. With Rutgers’ contributions, new students with family AGI of $65,001-$80,000 will pay no more than $3,000 in annual tuition and fees, and for AGI of $80,001-$100,000, students will pay no more than $5,000 in tuition and fees in the 2025-2026 academic year.

New Rutgers President William Tate, who just started on the job July 1, said providing student aid is a priority for his administration.

"My colleagues developed a budget that sustains Rutgers’ momentum as an engine of social mobility by prioritizing to deliver student financial aid at scale,” said Tate. "This budget achieves this goal despite uncertainty and intense cost-increase pressure."

About 75% of Rutgers undergraduates received some form of student financial aid.

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