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College Cost Calculator
Tuition inflation compounds too. This college cost calculator projects the future cost of a degree from today's tuition and an editable, dated inflation rate, then works backward to the monthly savings that close the gap — projection, gap and schedule updating as you go.
See how this works on a $30,000-a-year school — 3 real examples
Projected total cost of college
$0
Fund from savings
$0
Savings at start
$0
Shortfall
$0
Save per month
$0
Projected cost per attendance year
Each bar is that year’s cost of attendance, compounded from today’s figure to the year it’s due.
Cost presets & inflation source
Last reviewed July 2026The school-type presets and the 5% default inflation rate are approximate, editable national-average estimates — not precise or official figures for any specific school, and not a forecast. Override them with your own numbers.
Cost schedule by attendance yearCompounded cost for each year of college
| Attendance year | Years from today | Projected cost | Cumulative |
|---|
How your future college cost and savings goal are calculated
Each attendance year’s cost is today’s cost compounded by the inflation rate to the year that bill comes due:
costk = costtoday · (1 + infl)(yearsUntilStart + k)
where k runs from 0 for the first year of attendance up to one less than the years of attendance. The projected total cost is the sum of those per-year figures, so a four-year degree compounds each year to its own start date rather than assuming a single lump sum. The amount to fund from savings is that total times your “percent to cover from savings.”
Your current savings grow at an after-tax return of return × (1 − tax) (monthly compounding) to give projected savings at start; the shortfall is the funded target minus that balance, floored at zero. The required monthly contribution is a goal-seek: the level monthly deposit that grows your current savings to the funded target by the time college starts, solved with the standard annuity payment formula PMT = (FV − PV(1+i)n) · i / ((1+i)n − 1)at the after-tax monthly rate i. One honest simplification: it funds the entire savings-covered amount by the start date rather than spreading deposits across the attendance years, so it’s a conservative (slightly higher) monthly figure.
The school-type cost presets and the default 5% inflation rate come from the College Board’s “Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid” series (retrieved July 2026). These are approximate, editable national-average estimates of the same order as the College Board figures — not precise or official numbers for any specific school, and not a forecast. The tax input is a plain rate drag on returns, not a tax-liability calculation; 0% models a 529 or other tax-free education account.
Three start dates, one tuition bill
Four years at $30,000 a year, inflating at 5%. The only thing that changes below is how old the child is when the saving starts.
Eighteen years of lead time
per month$727.55
- By enrollment, inflation has pushed the four-year total to $311,185 — the largest bill of the three.
- The $10,000 already saved grows to $29,368 before the first payment comes due.
- Even so, $727.55 a month covers all of it — the smallest deposit here by far.
The biggest bill, met with the smallest deposit — eighteen years did the heavy lifting.
Load this example (opens in a new tab)Ten years until the first bill
per month$1,174.21
- The projected four-year total lands at $210,622, with the first year alone at $48,867.
- Current savings reach $18,194 by the start date — about 9% of the target.
- Closing the rest takes $1,174.21 a month, roughly $450 more than the newborn plan.
Eight fewer saving years cost about $450 a month, every month, for a decade.
Load this example (opens in a new tab)The high-school freshman
per month$2,670.43
- Inflation has less room to run: the four-year bill stops at $157,170, about half the newborn total.
- Savings only grow to $12,705 in four years — around 8% of what the plan needs.
- The monthly deposit hits $2,670.43, more than three and a half times the newborn figure.
The smallest bill of the three demands the largest check — compounding never got its turn.
Load this example (opens in a new tab)Illustrations only, not financial advice. Your own rate, taxes and insurance will differ — check with a qualified financial advisor before acting on any of this.
Saving for college, in plain English
- Project the cost first, then the goal. Today’s sticker price compounded for 10–18 years is a big number — but you rarely fund all of it from savings, which is what the “percent to cover” slider is for.
- Time beats contribution size. Starting when a child is born instead of at age 8 can roughly halve the monthly deposit the goal-seek asks for, because your savings have far longer to compound.
- The inflation rate is a real lever. The dated ~5% default is conservative; dropping it a point or two meaningfully lowers the projected total, so model a range rather than one guess.
- A 529 removes the tax drag. Set tax on returns to 0% for a 529 and compare with your marginal rate to see how much tax-free growth is worth over 18 years.
- Savings is only one leg. Scholarships, grants, current income and student loans cover the rest — lowering the percent-from-savings reflects that without changing the projected cost of college.
Saving in a 529 specifically? Compare tax-free versus taxable growth in our 529 Savings Calculator.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
How much does college cost today and in the future?
Today's national-average total cost of attendance (tuition, fees, room and board) runs roughly $21,000 a year at a 2-year public college, about $31,000 in-state at a 4-year public, and around $65,000 at a 4-year private nonprofit, per the College Board's Trends in College Pricing series. Projected forward at 5% a year, a $31,000 cost today becomes about $50,000 in 10 years and roughly $75,000 in 18 — which is why this college cost calculator compounds today's figure before it does anything else.
How much should I save for my child's college?
Start from the projected total cost, decide what share you want savings (versus aid, scholarships, income and loans) to cover, then let the goal-seek tell you the monthly deposit. In the default scenario — $30,990/yr today, 10 years out, 4 years of attendance, covering 100% from savings — the calculator solves the exact monthly contribution that grows your current balance to the funded target by the time enrollment starts.
What is a realistic college cost inflation rate?
Over the long run, published college costs have historically risen faster than general consumer inflation — often cited around 5% a year, which is the editable default here (College Board data, reviewed July 2026). Recent years have been gentler, and net prices after aid have grown more slowly than sticker prices. Treat 5% as a conservative planning assumption and lower it if you expect prices to track general inflation more closely.
How do I project future tuition costs?
Take the cost today and compound it by the inflation rate for the number of years until each bill is due: future cost = today’s cost × (1 + inflation)^years. Because a 4-year degree spans several enrollment years, each year is compounded to its own due date and the results are summed — this tool shows that year-by-year breakdown in the schedule below.
How much of college costs should come from savings vs financial aid?
That is your call, and the "percent to cover from savings" slider models it directly. Many families aim to cover somewhere between a third and a half from savings, filling the rest with current income, scholarships, grants and student loans. Lowering the percentage reduces the savings target and the required monthly contribution — it does not change the projected total cost of college.
Should I use a 529 plan to save for college?
A 529 plan grows tax-free when withdrawals pay for qualified education expenses, so no tax drags on the returns — set the "tax on returns" input to 0% to model one. A regular taxable account is taxed on its gains each year, which you can approximate by entering your marginal rate. For a side-by-side of tax-free versus taxable growth, use our sibling 529 Savings Calculator linked below.
Disclaimer: these calculators are educational tools, not financial advice. They model your inputs with published formulas, but they cannot know your full situation — for decisions with real stakes, talk to a qualified professional. Formulas and defaults last reviewed .