College can be a life-changing choice … and a lifelong investment.
When deciding where to apply to college, students have to contend with a factor beyond the prospect of education and careers: the sometimes astronomical cost of college tuition.
Today, over 42.8 million Americans owe a balance on their student loans, and the outstanding federal student loan balance totals nearly $1.7 trillion, according to the Education Data Initiative.
While some Americans are pushing back on the rising costs of higher education, others are coughing up more money — or taking out more loans — to attend some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges.
Last year, the College Board reported that the average price of tuition and fees for undergraduate students at private nonprofit four-year institutions was $45,000 for the 2025-2026 school year, while the average price at a public four-year in-state school was $11,950.
That’s just the start, however. When including housing and food costs, full-time students who live on campus at private four-year universities and colleges pay $60,920 a year. Adding the costs of books, transportation, and additional expenses increases that number to an average of $65,470, the College Board reported.
We’ve listed the most expensive colleges in the US, from small liberal arts schools to Ivy League universities, and ranked them based on the annual cost of tuition, fees, room, and board, as reported by the institutions.
The totals do not include other potential costs, such as books, transportation, and health insurance.
The costs of housing and food can look different for students who live at home with family or in off-campus housing, but they help provide a full picture of what college expenses can be, especially for first-year students, who are sometimes required to live on campus and opt into a school meal plan.
In creating this list, we used rankings from US News & World Report, The College Investor, and Best Colleges, which we confirmed using each school’s official tuition listings for the 2026-2027 school year.
Columbia University, which ranked 12th in 2025, was excluded from this ranking because the school has not released its official cost of attendance as of May 27.
See how much it costs to attend the 30 most expensive schools in the US in 2026.
30. Hamilton College
Location: Clinton, New York
Tuition and fees: $75,960
Room and board: $19,290
29. Colby College
Location: Waterville, Maine
Tuition and fees: $75,790
Room and board: $19,480
28. Boston University
Location: Boston
Tuition and fees: $74,594
Room and board: $20,740
27. Bowdoin College
Location: Brunswick, Maine
Tuition and fees: $74,968
Room and board: $20,432
26. Pomona College
Location: Claremont, California
Tuition and fees: $72,080
Room and board: $23,590
25. Pepperdine University
Location: Malibu, California
Tuition and fees: $75,202
Room and board: $20,490
24. Swarthmore College
Location: Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Tuition and fees: $73,204
Room and board: $22,566
23. Dartmouth College
Location: Hanover, New Hampshire
Tuition and fees: $74,123
Room and board: $21,778
22. Williams College
Location: Williamstown, Massachusetts
Tuition and fees: $76,640
Room and board: $19,320
21. Northwestern University
Location: Evanston, Illinois
Tuition and fees: $73,062
Room and board: $22,941
20. Wellesley College
Location: Wellesley, Massachusetts
Tuition and fees: $72,930
Room and board: $23,206
19. Cornell University
Location: Ithaca, New York
Tuition and fees: $74,970
Room and board: $21,348
18. Amherst College
Location: Amherst, Massachusetts
Tuition and fees: $76,040
Room and board: $20,320
17. Haverford College
Location: Haverford, Pennsylvania
Tuition and fees: $75,482
Room and board: $20,959
16. Boston College
Location: Newton, Massachusetts
Tuition and fees: $77,644
Room and board: $18,834
15. Trinity College
Location: Hartford, Connecticut
Tuition and fees: $76,150
Room and board: $20,330
14. Duke University
Location: Durham, North Carolina
Tuition: $73,740
Fees, room, and board: $22,857
13. Colgate University
Location: Hamilton, New York
Tuition and fees: $77,290
Room and board: $19,356
12. Vanderbilt University
Location: Nashville
Tuition and fees: $73,206
Room and board: $23,690
11. Georgetown University
Location: Washington, DC
Tuition and fees: $74,732
Room and board: $22,180
10. Vassar College
Location: Poughkeepsie, New York
Tuition and fees: $77,160
Room and board: $19,800
9. Washington University in St. Louis
Location: St. Louis
Tuition and fees: $72,722
Room and board: $24,272
8. Brown University
Location: Providence, Rhode Island
Tuition and fees: $77,552
Room and board: $19,464
7. Tufts University
Location: Medford, Massachusetts
Tuition and fees: $76,558
Room and board: $20,594
6. Wesleyan University
Location: Middletown, Connecticut
Tuition and fees: $76,620
Room and board: $21,660
5. Barnard College
Location: New York City
Tuition and fees: $75,592
Room and board: $23,258
4. Claremont McKenna College
Location: Claremont, California
Tuition and fees: $75,720
Room and board: $23,270
3. University of Southern California
Location: Los Angeles
Tuition and fees: $77,336
Room and board: $21,952
2. University of Chicago
Location: Chicago
Tuition and fees: $79,395
Room and board: $21,414
1. Harvey Mudd College
Location: Claremont, California
Tuition and fees: $77,530
Room and board: $24,782
Editor’s note: This story was originally published in November 2025. It was most recently updated in May 2026 to reflect pricing for the 2026-2027 school year.
