# The middle-income squeeze: what families earning $75,000 to $110,000 pay over the bracket below

> The average net price for aided students from families earning $75,001–$110,000 against those earning $48,001–$75,000, college by college and state by state. U.S. College Scorecard data year 2025.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/data/middle-income-net-price-jump
- Data (CSV): https://www.collegesref.com/data/middle-income-net-price-jump.csv
- Source reporting year: 2025
- Snapshot updated: November 15, 2026

**Editor's data check.** These are federal figures from the College Scorecard release CollegesRef dates to 2025, which describe students who enrolled before that release. Several colleges have since announced free tuition or larger grants for families below set incomes, some as high as $200,000, so a college's price for your family today may be well below the figure here. Check each college's own net price calculator before relying on a single row.

## Key findings

1. At the median of 1,335 four-year public and private nonprofit colleges, aided students from families earning $75,001–$110,000 pay $3,809 a year more than those from families earning $48,001–$75,000 ($20,601 against $16,497).
2. At 418 colleges (31%) the step up is $5,000 a year or more; at 65 colleges the higher-income bracket pays the same or less.
3. The median jump is $3,879 at public colleges (in-state students, 548 colleges) and $3,754 at private nonprofit colleges (787 colleges).
4. Vermont has the largest median jump, $7,705 across 7 colleges; Mississippi has the smallest, $1,414 across 12 colleges.
5. The largest single jump in the federal data is at University of Richmond (VA): $16,251 to $44,118, or $27,867 more a year.

## State by state

Each figure is the median across a state's colleges; the jump is the median of each college's own jump. Public colleges report in-state students.

| State | Colleges | $48–75k | $75–110k | Median jump |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Vermont | 7 | $18,990 | $25,366 | $7,705 |
| Oregon | 16 | $19,950 | $24,026 | $6,112 |
| New Jersey | 25 | $17,480 | $24,156 | $5,487 |
| Minnesota | 31 | $15,531 | $20,277 | $5,358 |
| Oklahoma | 21 | $13,660 | $18,262 | $5,328 |
| Indiana | 41 | $14,108 | $19,591 | $5,323 |
| Rhode Island | 10 | $27,808 | $34,452 | $5,239 |
| Wisconsin | 31 | $15,274 | $18,824 | $5,129 |
| Maryland | 20 | $17,391 | $21,626 | $4,848 |
| Colorado | 17 | $13,798 | $19,030 | $4,846 |
| Kentucky | 22 | $13,170 | $17,550 | $4,421 |
| Ohio | 60 | $17,098 | $21,035 | $4,387 |
| Pennsylvania | 83 | $19,053 | $23,355 | $4,324 |
| North Carolina | 47 | $16,701 | $19,979 | $4,273 |
| Maine | 15 | $13,468 | $18,513 | $4,189 |
| Illinois | 46 | $13,868 | $19,407 | $4,151 |
| Massachusetts | 54 | $19,092 | $23,623 | $4,119 |
| Michigan | 35 | $13,146 | $16,398 | $4,006 |
| District of Columbia | 8 | $21,093 | $28,097 | $3,981 |
| Tennessee | 35 | $16,319 | $19,673 | $3,875 |
| North Dakota | 8 | $11,687 | $15,048 | $3,863 |
| Virginia | 37 | $17,823 | $21,880 | $3,843 |
| Idaho | 7 | $11,914 | $16,420 | $3,809 |
| New Hampshire | 11 | $20,270 | $24,529 | $3,774 |
| Washington | 25 | $17,543 | $21,340 | $3,742 |
| Iowa | 24 | $17,798 | $21,613 | $3,707 |
| Louisiana | 20 | $12,490 | $16,259 | $3,694 |
| Missouri | 34 | $15,402 | $19,278 | $3,667 |
| New York | 104 | $18,732 | $22,366 | $3,657 |
| Utah | 8 | $13,392 | $16,187 | $3,640 |
| California | 70 | $16,521 | $20,836 | $3,611 |
| Montana | 9 | $18,641 | $23,224 | $3,533 |
| West Virginia | 14 | $12,463 | $15,930 | $3,513 |
| South Dakota | 10 | $17,645 | $21,173 | $3,492 |
| Arkansas | 16 | $15,934 | $18,780 | $3,489 |
| Florida | 55 | $13,802 | $16,774 | $3,428 |
| Georgia | 47 | $14,662 | $17,033 | $3,423 |
| Kansas | 20 | $20,114 | $23,307 | $3,418 |
| Texas | 70 | $15,203 | $18,060 | $3,366 |
| South Carolina | 29 | $17,357 | $20,496 | $3,354 |
| Nebraska | 13 | $15,626 | $18,858 | $3,308 |
| Connecticut | 17 | $22,908 | $26,207 | $3,203 |
| Arizona | 6 | $24,657 | $27,326 | $3,157 |
| New Mexico | 5 | $5,768 | $8,855 | $3,087 |
| Hawaii | 5 | $9,674 | $12,579 | $2,816 |
| Alabama | 23 | $17,545 | $20,124 | $2,651 |
| Mississippi | 12 | $16,956 | $17,118 | $1,414 |
| **All reported colleges** | 1,335 | $16,497 | $20,601 | $3,809 |

Too few colleges to report (fewer than 5): Alaska (3), Delaware (4), Nevada (4), Wyoming (1).

## Largest jumps

| College | State and type | $48–75k | $75–110k | Jump |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [University of Richmond](https://www.collegesref.com/college/university-of-richmond-3026) | Virginia · Private nonprofit | $16,251 | $44,118 | $27,867 |
| [California Institute of Technology CalTech](https://www.collegesref.com/college/california-institute-of-technology-caltech-356) | California · Private nonprofit | $4,144 | $29,762 | $25,618 |
| [Felician University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/felician-university-948) | New Jersey · Private nonprofit | $5,878 | $24,584 | $18,706 |
| [Boston University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/boston-university-286) | Massachusetts · Private nonprofit | $52,880 | $70,352 | $17,472 |
| [Barnard College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/barnard-college-181) | New York · Private nonprofit | $9,628 | $26,883 | $17,255 |
| [Kenyon College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/kenyon-college-1389) | Ohio · Private nonprofit | $15,184 | $31,525 | $16,341 |
| [Santa Clara University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/santa-clara-university-2371) | California · Private nonprofit | $25,352 | $40,238 | $14,886 |
| [Brown University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/brown-university-314) | Rhode Island · Private nonprofit | $10,079 | $24,827 | $14,748 |
| [Suffolk University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/suffolk-university-2629) | Massachusetts · Private nonprofit | $30,454 | $44,993 | $14,539 |
| [Colorado College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/colorado-college-638) | Colorado · Private nonprofit | $13,798 | $28,292 | $14,494 |
| [Texas Christian University TCU](https://www.collegesref.com/college/texas-christian-university-tcu-2701) | Texas · Private nonprofit | $19,790 | $34,094 | $14,304 |
| [Saint Francis University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/saint-francis-university-2301) | Pennsylvania · Private nonprofit | $21,010 | $35,281 | $14,271 |
| [Lafayette College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/lafayette-college-1414) | Pennsylvania · Private nonprofit | $16,456 | $30,704 | $14,248 |
| [Oberlin College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/oberlin-college-1987) | Ohio · Private nonprofit | $18,356 | $32,410 | $14,054 |
| [Boston College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/boston-college-285) | Massachusetts · Private nonprofit | $9,615 | $23,616 | $14,001 |
| [University of Pennsylvania UPENN](https://www.collegesref.com/college/university-of-pennsylvania-upenn-3009) | Pennsylvania · Private nonprofit | $12,421 | $25,263 | $12,842 |
| [Macalester College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/macalester-college-1563) | Minnesota · Private nonprofit | $15,825 | $28,539 | $12,714 |
| [Providence College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/providence-college-2158) | Rhode Island · Private nonprofit | $24,571 | $37,259 | $12,688 |
| [Tufts University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/tufts-university-2826) | Massachusetts · Private nonprofit | $16,897 | $29,497 | $12,600 |
| [Gallaudet University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/gallaudet-university-1047) | District of Columbia · Private nonprofit | $20,848 | $33,269 | $12,421 |
| [Claremont McKenna College CMC](https://www.collegesref.com/college/claremont-mckenna-college-cmc-557) | California · Private nonprofit | $19,127 | $31,487 | $12,360 |
| [Berklee College of Music](https://www.collegesref.com/college/berklee-college-of-music-227) | Massachusetts · Private nonprofit | $32,977 | $45,303 | $12,326 |
| [Duke University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/duke-university-837) | North Carolina · Private nonprofit | $4,608 | $16,813 | $12,205 |
| [Loyola Marymount University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/loyola-marymount-university-1550) | California · Private nonprofit | $33,201 | $45,169 | $11,968 |
| [Colgate University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/colgate-university-601) | New York · Private nonprofit | $15,150 | $26,968 | $11,818 |

## Methodology

- **Colleges counted.** Every college published on CollegesRef that is public or private nonprofit, in a four-year Carnegie class (doctoral, master's or baccalaureate), in the 50 states or D.C., with at least 500 undergraduates and both figures reported in the College Scorecard.
- **Exclusions.** For-profit colleges, two-year colleges, special-focus institutions, colleges with fewer undergraduates than the minimum, U.S. territories and colleges missing either figure are left out.
- **Reporting threshold.** A state is reported only when at least 5 colleges qualify; states below it are listed under the table and still count in the national figures.
- **Net price by income.** Average net price for aided first-time, full-time students by family income (College Scorecard NPT43 for $48,001–$75,000 and NPT44 for $75,001–$110,000). Public colleges report in-state students only.
- **The jump.** The $75,001–$110,000 price minus the $48,001–$75,000 price at the same college. A negative jump means the higher bracket paid less on average, which can happen with small groups of students.
- **Data year.** Figures describe the federal reporting year shown in the sources and do not reflect aid policies announced after it.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which income brackets are compared?

Families earning $48,001–$75,000 and $75,001–$110,000, the two federal brackets around the U.S. middle. At the median of 1,335 colleges the higher bracket pays $3,809 more a year.

### Why might a college charge my family less than this page shows?

The College Scorecard lags policy by a few years. Colleges that later introduced free tuition or no-loan aid for middle-income families still show their older prices here. A college's own net price calculator reflects its current aid.

### Do public colleges show in-state or out-of-state prices?

In-state. Federal net price by income at public colleges covers in-state students only, so out-of-state families usually pay more.

## Sources

- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/
- IPEDS (National Center for Education Statistics): https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/
- The federal source data is a U.S. government work in the public domain (https://www.usa.gov/government-copyright).
- CollegesRef methodology: https://www.collegesref.com/methodology

## How to cite

CollegesRef, "The middle-income squeeze: what families earning $75,000 to $110,000 pay over the bracket below," analysis of U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data (data year 2025), updated November 15, 2026. https://www.collegesref.com/data/middle-income-net-price-jump

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Source: CollegesRef, https://www.collegesref.com/data/middle-income-net-price-jump.