Here’s How Much Tuition Has Gone Up At The 30 Most Expensive Colleges In The United States

The cost of a four-year bachelor’s degree is growing pricier by the year, with more than half of the 30 most expensive exceeding $70,000 a year in tuition alone for 2025-2026 academic year, according to a recent analysis.

The report from The College Investor analyzed tuition rates published by U.S. colleges and universities. 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.

Nationally, a four-year bachelor’s degree costs between $40,000 to $80,000, depending on the major, The College Investor previously reported.

Tuition alone at the most expensive of the institutions, Vassar College, a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, would cost 73,275 a year — or $293,100 over the four years typically required to obtain a bachelor’s degree, assuming the student paid full tuition rates and tuition costs don’t rise in future years.

Vassar, which was founded in 1861, started as a women’s college but allowed men to apply in 1969. A relatively small school with just over 2,500 students across 51 different majors, the school raised its tuition by about 4.6 percent last year.

• Related: Forbes Names 20 Colleges The ‘New Ivies,’ Notes Employers Prefer Them

The least expensive of the 30 schools still costs more than $69,000 in tuition. That’s the University of Rochester, an upstate New York school, whose $69,030 tuition rate represents a 4.8 percent increase from 2024. Founded in 1850, it currently has an enrollment of 12,000. The school has more than 200 academic programs, including those in art and music, engineering, sciences, medicine and dentistry, business, and education.

The List: 30 Most Expensive Schools

Importantly, most U.S. college students whose families have moderate incomes don’t pay the full sticker price, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

• Related: Hardest U.S. College To Get Into Is Not An Exclusive Ivy League School

Some private schools are offering merit-based scholarships and tuition discounts to more affluent families who can afford to pay the full tuition but are reluctant to do so, the National Association of College and University Business Officers said in a report titled in part, “Ignore The Sticker Price.” Its analysis shows private nonprofit colleges cut tuition by more than half for first-time undergraduates in the 2022-2023 academic year.

Below are 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.

1. Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, $73,275, up 4.6 percent
2. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, $73,260, up 4.8 percent
3. Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, $73,206, up 4.75 percent
4. Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts, $73,140, up 4.75 percent
5. Colorado College, Colorado Springs $73,038, up 4 percent
6. Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, $72,438, up 4 percent
7. Boston College, $72,180, up 4 percent
8. Tulane University, New Orleans, $71,997, up 4.8 percent
9. Kenyon College, Gambler, Ohio, $71,870, up 0.95 percent
10. Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, California $71,700, up 5.5 percent
11. Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, $71,700, up 4.5 percent
12. Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, $71,607, up 4.6 percent
13. Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, $71,266, up 4.2 percent
14. Columbia University, New York City, $70,170, up 4 percent**
15. Macalester College, Saint Paul, Minnesota, $70,632, up 4 percent
16. Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, $70,556, up 3 percent **
17. Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont, $70,120, up 4.5 percent
18. Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, $70,265, up 6 percent
19. Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, $69,900, up 3.9 percent
20. Boston University, $69,870, up 4.8 percent
21. Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania, $69,844, up 8.75 percent **
22. Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts, $69,800, up 4.3 percent
23. George Washington University, Washington, D.C., $69,780, up 3.5 percent
24. Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York, $69,608, up 5 percent
25. Colby College, Waterville, Maine, $66,670, up 4 percent **
26. Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, $69,207, up 4.6 percent
27. Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, $69,146, up 4.2 percent
28. Pepperdine University, Malibu, California,$69,130, up 5 percent **
29. Reed College, Portland, Oregon, $69,040, up 7 percent **
30. 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.

• News you can use: Get The Latest Local News (For Free!) With One Quick Tap