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- Tuition at private US colleges is on the rise, reaching an average annual cost of $43,350 in 2024.
- The yearly cost of attending some private colleges and universities is nearly six-figures.
- The University of Southern California’s tuition and fees are the most expensive, at $75,162.
While some Americans are pushing back on higher education, others are coughing up more money than ever 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 $43,350 for the 2024-2025 school year, while the average price at a public four-year in-state school was $11,610.
That’s just the start, however. When including the costs of housing and food, full-time students who live on-campus at private four-year universities and colleges pay $58,600 a year. Adding the costs of books, transportation, and additional expenses increases that number to an average of $62,990, the College Board reported.
We’ve listed the most expensive colleges in the US, from small liberal arts schools to Ivy League universities.
We ranked them based on the annual cost of tuition and fees.
We also included the estimated cost of housing and food listed by each school, although this total is not factored in to the ranking because it can often look different for students who live at home with family or in off-campus housing.
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 school year 2025-2026.
See how much it costs to attend the 25 most expensive schools in the US in 2025.
25. Reed College
Location: Portland, Oregon
Tuition and fees: $71,770
Room and board: $18,228
24. Tulane University
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Tuition and fees: $71,998
Room and board: $19,630
23. Carleton College
Location: Northfield, Minnesota
Tuition and fees: $72,069
Room and board: $18,393
22. Claremont McKenna College
Location: Claremont, California
Tuition and fees: $72,120
Room and board: $22,190
21. Kenyon College
Location: Gambier, Ohio
Tuition and fees: $72,220
Room and board: $17,380
20. Cornell University
Location: Ithaca, New York
Tuition and fees: $72,270
Room and board: $20,574
19. Pepperdine University
Location: Malibu, California
Tuition and fees: $72,672
Room and board: $22,480
18. Colby College
Location: Waterville, Maine
Tuition and fees: $72,910
Room and board: $18,740
17. Barnard College
Location: New York City
Tuition and fees: $73,033
Room and board: $22,691
16. Wesleyan College
Location: Middletown, Connecticut
Tuition and fees: $73,128
Room and board: $20,668
15. Duke University
Location: Durham, North Carolina
Tuition and fees: $73,172
Room and board: $20,985
14. Franklin and Marshall College
Location: Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Tuition and fees: $73,210
Room and board: $16,936
13. Harvey Mudd College
Location: Claremont, California
Tuition and fees: $73,350
Room and board: $23,434
12. Columbia University
Location: New York City
Tuition and fees: $73,450
Room and board: $18,680
11. Colorado College
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Tuition and fees: $73,566
Room and board: $16,664
10. Haverford College
Location: Haverford, Pennsylvania
Tuition and fees: $73,568
Room and board: $20,032
9. Trinity College
Location: Hartford, Connecticut
Tuition and fees: $73,590
Room and board: $19,650
8. Tufts University
Location: Medford, Massachusetts
Tuition and fees: $73,616
Room and board: $19,566
7. Colgate University
Location: Hamilton, New York
Tuition and fees: $73,646
Room and board: $18,446
6. Amherst College
Location: Amherst, Massachusetts
Tuition and fees: $73,830
Room and board: $19,260
5. University of Chicago
Location: Chicago
Tuition and fees: $73,962
Room and board: $20,835
4. Boston College
Location: Newton, Massachusetts
Tuition and fees: $74,224
Room and board: $18,284
3. Vassar College
Location: Poughkeepsie, New York
Tuition and fees: $74,265
Room and board: $19,055
2. Brown University
Location: Providence, Rhode Island
Tuition and fees: $74,650
Room and board: $18,514
1. University of Southern California
Location: Los Angeles
Tuition and fees: $75,162
Room and board: $20,907
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