Tuition & Fees in Public Higher Education in the West, 2025-26. Detailed Data Tables
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| Title: | Tuition & Fees in Public Higher Education in the West, 2025-26. Detailed Data Tables |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), Policy Analysis and Research Unit |
| Source: | Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. 2025. |
| Availability: | Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. P.O. Box 9752, Boulder, CO 80301-9752. Tel: 303-541-0200; Fax: 303-541-0291; Web site: http://wiche.edu |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 81 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Numerical/Quantitative Data Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education Two Year Colleges |
| Descriptors: | Higher Education, Public Colleges, Tuition, Fees, Foreign Countries, Out of State Students, In State Students, Economic Climate, Two Year Colleges, Undergraduate Study, Graduate Study, Classification, Institutional Characteristics |
| Geographic Terms: | Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Marshall Islands, Palau, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming |
| Abstract: | This report provides comprehensive data about the tuition and fee prices published by public higher education institutions in the West for academic year (AY) 2025-26, including changes in tuition and fee rates over the past one-, five-, and 10-year periods. Since 1980, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) has collected tuition and fees data annually from public four- and two-year institutions in its member states and territories through a survey. The 2025-26 survey was emailed to state and institutional staff in June 2025. WICHE used the 2021 "Basic Classifications" of The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education for breakdowns by institutional type in this edition. After adjusting for inflation there was a small increase (0.9%) in resident tuition and fees at public four-year institutions in the West for AY 2025-26. Although modest, this increase is notable as it marks the second consecutive year in which tuition growth outpaced inflation, following four years of no increases since AY 2019-20. The increase is in part driven by a 5.3% increase in California, which enrolls 46% of undergraduate students in the region. Although both the University of California and California State University systems reported average increases, the California State University System reported a tuition rate increase for the second consecutive year after a decade of flat tuition rates, which resulted in an average increase of 7.3% across the system in the past year. There was no overall increase in tuition and fees after controlling for inflation when California institutions of higher education were excluded. At public two-year institutions, non-resident rates increased at a rate lower than inflation. After removing California public two-year institutions, resident tuition and fees increased at 0.1%. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | ED678868 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This report provides comprehensive data about the tuition and fee prices published by public higher education institutions in the West for academic year (AY) 2025-26, including changes in tuition and fee rates over the past one-, five-, and 10-year periods. Since 1980, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) has collected tuition and fees data annually from public four- and two-year institutions in its member states and territories through a survey. The 2025-26 survey was emailed to state and institutional staff in June 2025. WICHE used the 2021 "Basic Classifications" of The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education for breakdowns by institutional type in this edition. After adjusting for inflation there was a small increase (0.9%) in resident tuition and fees at public four-year institutions in the West for AY 2025-26. Although modest, this increase is notable as it marks the second consecutive year in which tuition growth outpaced inflation, following four years of no increases since AY 2019-20. The increase is in part driven by a 5.3% increase in California, which enrolls 46% of undergraduate students in the region. Although both the University of California and California State University systems reported average increases, the California State University System reported a tuition rate increase for the second consecutive year after a decade of flat tuition rates, which resulted in an average increase of 7.3% across the system in the past year. There was no overall increase in tuition and fees after controlling for inflation when California institutions of higher education were excluded. At public two-year institutions, non-resident rates increased at a rate lower than inflation. After removing California public two-year institutions, resident tuition and fees increased at 0.1%. |
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