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Chapter 8. State Indicators

Higher Education


Average Undergraduate Charge at Public 4-Year Institutions as Share of Disposable Personal Income


Quartiles

Average undergraduate charge at public 4-year institutions as share of disposable personal income: 2008 (Percent)
 
1st quartile
(52.8% – 43.8%)		 2nd quartile
(43.4% – 37.4%)		 3rd quartile
(36.7% – 34.8%)		 4th quartile
(34.5% – 23.1%)		 No Data
 
Delaware‡ Arizona Alabama‡ Alaska‡ District of Columbia
Illinois Arkansas‡ Colorado Florida
Indiana California Connecticut Hawaii‡
Kentucky‡ Iowa Georgia Idaho‡
Maine‡ Maryland Nebraska‡ Kansas‡
Michigan Massachusetts New Mexico‡ Louisiana‡
New Hampshire‡ Minnesota New York Nevada‡
New Jersey Mississippi‡ North Carolina North Dakota‡
Ohio Missouri Tennessee Oklahoma‡
Oregon Montana‡ Texas South Dakota‡
Pennsylvania Rhode Island‡ Utah Wyoming‡
South Carolina‡ Virginia Washington
Vermont‡ West Virginia‡ Wisconsin
 
‡ EPSCoR state

SOURCES: National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System; and Bureau of Economic Analysis, State and Local Personal Income data. See Data Table.



Findings

  • In 2008, a year of undergraduate education at a state institution would have consumed, on average, 38.4% of a resident's disposable income, an increase from the 32.9% it would have consumed a decade earlier.
  • The cost of a year of undergraduate education at a public institution was equivalent to one-quarter to one-half of the per capita disposable income for residents of most states in 2008.
  • Although a year of undergraduate education at a public institution became more expensive for residents in most states within the past decade, affordability improved in one state during the past decade as its per capita disposable personal income rose appreciably.
  • Residents in six states experienced major increases in the cost of a year of undergraduate education relative to their purchasing power (in excess of 10% of their per capita disposable income) between 1998 and 2008.


Description

This indicator provides a broad measure of how affordable higher education at a public institution is for the average resident. It is calculated by dividing the average undergraduate charge at all public 4-year institutions in the state by the per capita disposable personal income of state residents. The average undergraduate charge includes standard in-state tuition, room, board, and required fees for a student who is a resident of the state. The year is the end date of the academic year. For example, data for 2008 represent costs for the 2007–08 academic year.

Disposable personal income is the income available to state residents for spending or saving. It is calculated as personal income minus personal current taxes paid to federal, state, and local governments.

High values indicate that a year of undergraduate education consumes a high percentage of the disposable personal income of state residents. However, the data in this indicator do not include any adjustment for financial aid that a student might receive.

Data Table

Table 8-23
Average undergraduate charge at public 4-year institutions as share of disposable personal income, by state: 1998, 2003, and 2008
 
  Average undergraduate charge ($)   Per capita disposable personal income ($)   Undergraduate charge/disposable personal income (%)
State 1998 2003 2008   1998 2003 2008   1998 2003 2008
 
United States 7,628 9,828 13,424   23,163 28,028 34,949   32.9 35.1 38.4
Alabama 6,354 7,931 11,035   19,500 23,969 30,297   32.6 33.1 36.4
Alaska 7,131 9,457 11,719   24,401 29,748 39,458   29.2 31.8 29.7
Arizona 6,669 8,797 12,289   20,250 24,368 29,391   32.9 36.1 41.8
Arkansas 5,890 7,791 10,598   18,146 22,214 28,270   32.5 35.1 37.5
California 8,491 10,849 14,893   24,258 29,457 37,041   35.0 36.8 40.2
Colorado 7,552 9,179 13,314   24,565 30,331 37,039   30.7 30.3 35.9
Connecticut 9,652 11,805 16,263   30,068 36,379 46,775   32.1 32.5 34.8
Delaware 9,165 11,523 16,165   23,933 29,605 35,880   38.3 38.9 45.1
District of Columbia NA NA NA   30,608 40,583 56,245   NA NA NA
Florida 6,890 8,762 10,709   22,728 27,495 34,880   30.3 31.9 30.7
Georgia 6,924 8,749 10,984   21,792 25,581 30,082   31.8 34.2 36.5
Hawaii NA 8,242 12,202   22,967 27,168 35,939   NA 30.3 34.0
Idaho 6,074 7,585 9,871   19,192 23,111 28,638   31.6 32.8 34.5
Illinois 8,537 11,027 16,795   25,103 30,025 37,298   34.0 36.7 45.0
Indiana 8,494 10,655 14,096   21,572 25,950 30,437   39.4 41.1 46.3
Iowa 6,426 9,185 13,191   21,725 25,866 32,919   29.6 35.5 40.1
Kansas 6,098 7,791 11,338   22,171 26,803 33,642   27.5 29.1 33.7
Kentucky 5,662 7,691 12,641   19,218 23,137 28,424   29.5 33.2 44.5
Louisiana 5,710 6,922 9,479   19,385 23,647 32,651   29.5 29.3 29.0
Maine 8,576 10,329 14,791   20,576 25,791 31,593   41.7 40.0 46.8
Maryland 9,717 12,332 15,644   25,610 32,470 41,325   37.9 38.0 37.9
Massachusetts 8,894 10,818 16,159   26,916 34,112 43,134   33.0 31.7 37.5
Michigan 8,947 11,408 16,003   23,077 27,936 31,719   38.8 40.8 50.5
Minnesota 7,617 9,983 14,188   24,649 30,169 37,300   30.9 33.1 38.0
Mississippi 5,534 8,039 10,776   17,593 21,281 27,077   31.5 37.8 39.8
Missouri 7,520 9,395 13,385   21,683 26,159 31,339   34.7 35.9 42.7
Montana 6,855 8,966 11,609   18,738 23,965 30,627   36.6 37.4 37.9
Nebraska 6,100 8,408 11,852   22,392 27,866 33,678   27.2 30.2 35.2
Nevada 7,295 9,001 12,168   24,576 28,473 35,768   29.7 31.6 34.0
New Hampshire 9,846 9,415 18,293   25,403 31,090 38,304   38.8 30.3 47.8
New Jersey 10,235 13,937 19,548   28,914 34,714 43,921   35.4 40.1 44.5
New Mexico 5,459 7,979 10,610   18,382 22,631 28,922   29.7 35.3 36.7
New York 9,460 10,984 14,140   26,461 31,053 40,254   35.8 35.4 35.1
North Carolina 5,919 8,350 10,889   21,400 24,935 30,311   27.7 33.5 35.9
North Dakota 6,264 7,388 11,134   20,620 26,469 35,824   30.4 27.9 31.1
Ohio 9,022 12,260 16,354   22,405 26,477 31,370   40.3 46.3 52.1
Oklahoma 5,301 6,832 10,600   19,161 23,950 33,143   27.7 28.5 32.0
Oregon 8,394 10,548 13,868   21,951 26,218 31,643   38.2 40.2 43.8
Pennsylvania 9,769 12,944 17,187   23,301 28,433 35,413   41.9 45.5 48.5
Rhode Island 9,962 12,266 15,775   23,111 29,022 36,336   43.1 42.3 43.4
South Carolina 7,160 11,139 15,089   19,440 23,449 28,556   36.8 47.5 52.8
South Dakota 5,993 7,724 10,522   21,251 27,253 34,216   28.2 28.3 30.8
Tennessee 5,788 8,349 11,340   21,452 26,133 31,327   27.0 31.9 36.2
Texas 6,313 8,661 12,367   22,282 26,865 34,850   28.3 32.2 35.5
Utah 5,953 7,410 9,706   18,937 22,742 26,641   31.4 32.6 36.4
Vermont 11,469 14,016 18,245   21,515 27,250 34,634   53.3 51.4 52.7
Virginia 8,627 9,538 13,928   23,662 29,787 37,194   36.5 32.0 37.4
Washington 7,704 10,816 13,478   24,615 29,992 38,009   31.3 36.1 35.5
West Virginia 6,558 8,175 11,426   18,068 22,117 27,926   36.3 37.0 40.9
Wisconsin 6,409 8,204 11,747   22,382 27,318 32,835   28.6 30.0 35.8
Wyoming 6,450 7,977 10,068   21,613 29,691 43,607   29.8 26.9 23.1
                       
Puerto Rico NA NA NA   NA NA NA   NA NA NA
 

NA = not available

NOTES: National average undergraduate charge for United States from Digest of Education Statistics data tables. Average charges for entire academic year (reported in current dollars). Tuition and fees weighted by number of full-time-equivalent undergraduates but not adjusted to reflect student residency. Room and board based on full-time students. National value for disposable personal income is value reported by Bureau of Economic Analysis.

SOURCES: National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (various years); and Bureau of Economic Analysis, State and Local Personal Income data.

Science and Engineering Indicators 2010
Source Data
 

Science and Engineering Indicators 2010   Arlington, VA (NSB 10-01) | January 2010