Will Borrowers Incur More Student Loan Debt Based On
Region They Attend College?
In this edition of Credible Insights, we examine if the region in which a student attends college
affects how much they can expect to spend in tuition, room and board, and fees, which can
have a direct impact on the amount of student loan debt a student graduates with. To provide
these insights, Credible analyzed the recent College Board report Trends In College Pricing.
Key Insights
● Tuition of both four-year public and private colleges vary greatly based on the region.
● The cost of attending private colleges more than double four-year public colleges in
every region except the Western States.
● New England and the Middle States have both the most expensive four-year public and
private colleges, while the South and Southwest States are the most affordable.
● Tuition has increased dramatically in the last 10 years, likely in part due to states cutting
funding to public universities.
By Region*
*College Board defined the regions as follows: Middle States: Washington, D.C., Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania, and Puerto Rico. Midwest: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North
Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and West Virginia; New England: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire,
Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee and Virginia; Southwest: Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado,
Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
The Variations
Many of the country’s most prestigious colleges and universities are in New England, so it’s no
surprise to find that the region’s public and private colleges are the most expensive in the
country.
Though New England is home to many leading institutions that add to its lure, other areas are
quickly catching up in cost.
Cost increases at public institutions have outstripped those at private schools. While private
universities across all regions have seen costs rise by 28 percent during the last decade, public
universities saw costs climb by a staggering 42 percent.
Mind you, these cost increases are adjusted for inflation over that period of time. Public
universities in the West and South saw tuition and fees grow by more than 50 percent during
the last 10 years.
The underlying reason for the dramatic increase in the cost of public universities is often
attributed to cutbacks in state funding implemented during the Great Recession - this may well
be the most alarming trend, as public schools have long been seen as the institutions accessible
to a broader base of students.
Should Region Be Considered When Attending College?
Anything that can increase your potential debt load as a student borrower should be
considered when assessing your options. There are clearly trends of cost of college attendance
by region, with the most significant being increased cost of college often far outpacing inflation.
But beyond the overarching trends, student loan borrowers should try to focus more acutely on
specific schools and degrees. Both of these will determine student loan debt load as well as a
borrower’s ability to pay back those loans more so than any region.
In our Credible Insights piece Which Type of College Gives Student Loan Borrowers the Biggest
Bang for Their Buck?, prestigious colleges in expensive regions leave student with minimal
student loan debt compared to their peers, and a good ability to pay it back: Harvard University
students graduate with an average of $6,000 in total student loan debt and an early career
salary of over $61,000. Wellesley College graduates typically have about $8,000 in student loan
debt with an early career salary of $49,000.