Over the past 30 years, in constant-dollar terms, the median income for recent college graduates has remained stagnant, while the price of the average four-year college has nearly doubled.
In 1990, the median wage for recent college graduates was $45,739, when the average price of tuition, fees, room and board for all four-year institutions was around $14,376. In 2018, median wages fell to $44,798 for recent graduates, while the average price of college in the 2018-19 academic year had jumped to $28,123.
Private colleges are more than double the price of public ones, but their prices have increased similarly. The average total cost for a four-year public school was $9,915 in 1990-91 and $20,598 in 2018-19. The average total cost for a four-year private school was $25,035 in 1990-91 and $44,662 in 2018-19.