College Prices & Family Income, Growth Over Time

College prices have grown too fast for earnings to keep up. This chart shows the cumulative growth at public and private four-year colleges over the past 25 years.

Private colleges

Public, 4-year colleges

Median family income

Private colleges

Public, 4-year colleges

Median family income

Graph shows the percentage growth in average net prices compared with prices in 1993. Net price is the average tuition, fees, room and board charges minus average financial aid. Data is from the College Board and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Calculations by MONEY.