Charts, maps and infographics

Academic inflation

Higher education

Sep 2nd 2010, 11:22 by The Economist online

Galloping inflation in American college fees

FOR decades, college fees have risen faster than Americans’ ability to pay them. Median household income has grown by a factor of 6.5 in the past 40 years, but the cost of attending a state college has increased by a factor of 15 for in-state students and 24 for out-of-state students. The cost of attending a private college has increased by a factor of more than 13 (a year in the Ivy League will set you back $38,000, excluding bed and board). Academic inflation makes most other kinds look modest by comparison. Students may not be getting a good deal in return (see story).

Readers' comments

The Economist welcomes your views. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers. Review our comments policy.

Sort:

About Graphic detail

On this blog we publish a new chart or map every working day, highlight our interactive-data features and provide links to interesting sources of data around the web. The Big Mac index, house-price index and other regular features can be found on our Markets & data page