The price tag to attend some U.S. colleges has reached new highs–and prospective students may feel the pressure.

A 2024 report from Gallup and the Lumina Foundation found that college costs are among the most significant barriers for young adults aged 18 to 25 who have not yet earned a post-secondary degree. Nationally, that cost continues to climb.

According to the Education Data Initiative, tuition at public 4-year colleges increased 36.7% between 2010 and 2023. Several reasons have been proposed to explain the rise, among them are:

• More students are receiving financial aid, so colleges feel comfortable charging more.
• Many institutions assume students and families will pay whatever it takes.
• Some students don’t compare costs, assuming any degree is worth it.
• High regulation of the higher education system

“The sector continues to fight against that narrative that it’s out of reach from a financial perspective and that it’s not worth it from a value perspective,” Emily Wadhwani, a senior director at Fitch working on higher education, told The Hechinger Report.

“The only thing then that will promote stability in the sector again is a renewed sentiment that it’s worth it.”

Despite concerns about the affordability and accessibility of higher education, college tuition continues to rise.

College Investor recently ranked the most expensive colleges in the U.S. based on tuition for a single year. Here’s what they found:

1. Vassar College, $73,275
2. University of Southern California, $73,260
3. Colgate University, $73,206
4. Amherst College, $73,140
5. Colorado College, $73,038
6. Wesleyan University, $72,438
7. Boston College, $72,180
8. Tulane, $71,997
9. Kenyon College, $71,870
10. Claremont McKenna College, $71,700
11. Brown, $71,700
12. Carleton College, $71,607
13. Cornell, $71,266
14. Columbia, $71,170
15. Macalester, $70,632
16. Franklin & Marshall, $70,556
17. Duke University, $70,265
18. Middlebury College, $70,120
19. Yale, $69,900
20. Boston University, $69,879
21. Haverford College, $69,844
22. Wellesley College, $69,800
23. George Washington University, $69,780
24. Sarah Lawrence College, $69,608
25. Colby College, $66,670
26. Dartmouth, $69,207
27. Tufts, $69,146
28. Pepperdine, $69,130
29. Reed College, $69,040
30. University of Rochester, $69,030

How does Alabama compare against the most expensive colleges?

The average in-state annual tuition for 2025-2026 at the University of Alabama is $11,684 and $13,384 at Auburn University. Costs for room and board drive those expenses up, however, to roughly $34,608 a year for Alabama and $25,749 for Auburn.