Families Spent $34,019 On College Last Year, Up 10%

American families spent an average of $34,019 on college during the 2025-26 academic year, a 10% increase from $30,837 the year before, according to the annual Salie Mae and Ipsos study How America Pays for College 2026.

The increase far outpaced published tuition increases, yet families are not backing away from higher education: 91% call college a valuable investment in their student's future, and 84% say they are confident they made the right financial decisions to pay for it.

The 19th edition of the study, based on online surveys of 1,000 undergraduate students and 1,000 parents, arrives at a turning point for college finance. New federal borrowing caps began phasing in for new borrowers this summer, and the survey suggests most families have no idea what's happening with these higher ed reforms.