A breakdown of college costs finds Utah’s institutions of higher education among the most affordable in the nation.
Wall Street 24/7 looked at in-state tuition rates for public colleges and universities as well as other factors including household income and the number of adults with college degrees.
Wyoming topped the list of most affordable, followed by Alaska, Utah, New Mexico and Montana.
Why did Utah rank #3?
3. Utah
> Average tuition and fees:Â $5,906
> Pct. 5 year change:Â 30.1% (15th highest)
> Pct. students in-state:Â 76% (18th lowest)
> Cost of out of state: $18,416 (13th lowest)Tuition and fees at a public four-year university cost less than $6,000 on average in Utah, just one of four states in which this is the case. However, the flagship University of Utah is slightly more expensive, averaging close to $7,500. In addition to carrying a low sticker price, Utah’s universities have not saddled their students with a considerable amount of debt. In the class of 2011, less than half of all graduates carried debt, and the average debt per graduate was the lowest reported in the nation. Not only is a public education affordable for in-state residents, but private schools in the state cost an average of just $6,300. This figure may have been pushed downward by the low tuition at Brigham Young University, which is subsidized by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for tithe-paying members. Members of the church accounted for nearly 99% of the student body last year.
The states with the least affordable colleges were New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Illinois.
