You may not need to borrow as much to pay for college. Here’s why.

Despite the public perception that college costs are soaring, new national data shows tuition at many of the nation’s colleges and universities has been flat or declining.

Sticker prices topping six figures at a handful of universities belie a far more nuanced picture of trends in college pricing and student aid. An annual report released last week by the College Board reveals that net tuition prices — what students pay after federal, state and institutional grant aid is applied — have fallen within the last 15 years. Even when you add in books, housing and other personal expenses, the net cost of attendance is pretty flat.

That’s not to say that college is inexpensive, but schools, states and the federal government have poured more resources into controlling costs in recent years.

The trend may not last, as analysts predict state budgets will contract in the coming years and federal support for higher education has become a polarizing issue on Capitol Hill. Still, colleges are under pressure to hold the line on tuition and may have to cut operational expenses rather than raise prices to compete for a shrinking pool of high school graduates.

Here are several dynamics in college pricing and student aid trends that could make college more affordable for your family.

Net tuition is falling or flat

When colleges contended with higher labor and supply costs amid soaring inflation two years ago, a number of them imposed hefty increases on their sticker price. As inflation has fallen, so too have some of those costs.

After adjusting for the 3.1% inflation between the first eight months of 2023 and 2024, the College Board found average published tuition and fees at community colleges, public four-year and private nonprofit institutions are lower in 2024-2025 than in 2019-2020. More importantly, students are paying less on average after accounting for financial aid.

Accounting for inflation, the average net price at private nonprofit universities fell from $19,330 in 2006-2007 to an estimated $16,510 in 2024-2025. Meanwhile, community college freshmen continue to receive enough grant aid to cover tuition and fees.

At public four-year universities, the average net tuition and fees for in-state students entering their freshman year were $2,480 in 2024-2025, down from the peak of $4,340 in 2012-2013, adjusted for inflation, according to the report.

Those costs have declined partly because state legislatures have become more generous with appropriations to public colleges and universities. According to the latest data from the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, education appropriations per full-time college student recovered and surpassed 2008 levels in half of all states, after decades of state disinvestment. Some of the reversal can be attributed to federal stimulus dollars, but many states have upped their contributions without relying on that funding.

“A lot of the decline in net prices at state colleges is because they’ve been getting more funding and they are under pressure from their state legislatures to hold stable tuition and fees,” said Jennifer Ma, executive research scientist at College Board and co-author of the report.

State spending in fiscal 2025, however, is expected to decline as surplus funds dry up, according to an analysis from the National Association of State Budget Officers. Public colleges have historically increased tuition to offset lower state appropriations but may hold off to remain competitive, turning instead to cutting their operational costs.

Net cost of attendance is flat

Any parent paying for college will tell you that tuition is only one part of the overall cost. Housing, food and transportation costs can collectively eclipse what students pay for tuition. The total cost of attendance across the three major higher education segments fell during the pandemic years and has yet to fully rebound.

The College Board found the net cost of attendance in 2024-2025 vs. the previous year is up 1.4% at private universities to $36,150, by less than 1% at public four-year institutions to $20,780, and by less than 1% at community colleges to $15,810 on average.

Federal and state grant aid is up

One of the biggest drivers of the decline in net prices is the increase in state and federal student aid.

Between 2010 and 2023, fewer students used the Pell Grant — a form of federal aid for undergraduates with exceptional financial need — as enrollment fell. That trend reversed this past year because the maximum Pell award and enrollment both went up, resulting in a 6% jump in recipients and an 11% rise in expenditures, according to the College Board.

Data released last week from the Education Department shows that, for the 2024-2025 academic year, 10% more are on track to receive Pell Grants because of changes to the formula.

At the same time, the amount of grant aid that states are providing to undergraduates has risen from $870 in 2012-2013 to $1,180 in 2022-2023.

Institutional grants, the College Board said, have also grown by 30% between 2013-2014 and 2023-2024. Endowment returns, especially in the last year, have helped bolster the amount schools spend on financial aid, according to the latest data from the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

“Institutional efforts to control costs, combined with many states’ efforts to increase investments in public universities and federal investment in the Pell Grant, have increased college affordability and enabled significant progress on tackling student debt,” said Mark Becker, president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.

Indeed, additional state, federal and institutional aid is helping to drive down undergraduate borrowing for the 13th consecutive year. Dwindling enrollment is also playing a part in that trend, but the amount that individual families are borrowing is also declining, according to the College Board.

Undergraduate students and their parents borrowed $99 billion in federal and private loans in 2023-2024, down from a peak of $159.2 billion in 2010-2011, adjusted for inflation. Federal loans per full-time undergrad fell from $7,250 to $3,900 during that time.

Becker noted that the portion of students graduating with debt at public four-year universities has declined from 59% to 49% over the past decade, while students who took out loans graduated with 17% less than 10 years ago.