New Report: College Remains Financially Out of Reach, Students Face $1,500 Gap at Public 4-Years
Wednesday, September 17, 2025
By Louisa Woodhouse, Senior Associate, Policy and Advocacy
Reading time: Two minutes
Despite widespread recognition that postsecondary education is an important ladder to individual opportunity and workforce
development, college remains financially out of reach for students across the country. A recent analysis from the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) finds that students at public colleges and universities – once touted as low-cost options
– still face significant unmet need.
NCAN’s Affordability Gap analysis reveals that in a sample of 1,137 public community colleges and bachelor’s-granting institutions in academic year 2022-23,
- Only 35% of bachelor’s-granting institutions were affordable, on average.
- Students at these institutions faced an average affordability gap of $1,555 – slightly lower than the gap identified in last year’s report.
- Less than half (48%) of community colleges across the country were financially within reach for students, on average.
- Students at community colleges experienced an average of $486 in unmet need, nearly double the gap in the previous year.
- In 14 states, no public bachelor’s granting institutions met NCAN’s benchmark for affordability.
- In five states, no community colleges met the standard set in NCAN’s model.
In 2022-23, the states with the largest affordability gaps at public bachelor’s-granting institutions were New Hampshire ($8,239), Pennsylvania ($8,076), Ohio ($5,138), South Carolina ($4,874), and Rhode Island ($4,714). At community colleges, states
with the largest average gaps included New Hampshire ($11,499), Utah ($7,689), Pennsylvania ($4,508), Maryland ($3,483), and Hawaii ($2,887).
In NCAN’s sample, public bachelor’s-granting institutions were affordable, on average, in several states. The states with the largest aid surpluses included New Mexico ($3,769), Florida ($2,856), Arizona ($1,996), California ($1,721), Montana ($1,590).
States with the largest average aid surpluses at community colleges included New Mexico ($4,543), Maine ($4,052), Vermont ($3,884), Connecticut ($3,690), Kentucky ($3,366). These dollars are typically used by students to cover costs of items not included
in the price, such as travel to and from campus, textbooks, and other items.
Trends in this year’s Affordability Gap analysis are likely influenced by shifts in the landscape of federal funding, NCAN says: bachelor’s-granting institutions became slightly more affordable following a historic increase to the maximum Pell
Grant, yet cost barriers increased at 2-year institutions due to the loss of pandemic relief funding and rising housing costs, which most heavily impacted community college students.
“This year’s findings underscore the importance of federal student aid, and specifically, direct-to-student funding, in helping students access and pay for higher education,” said NCAN’s CEO, Kim Cook. “We know what works: investing in need-based
aid helps close these gaps and puts degrees within reach for students.”
The report urgently warns of future funding challenges ahead that could foreclose postsecondary pathways to students across the country. Significant cuts to spending on higher education programs, Medicaid, and SNAP in the budget reconciliation bill signed
into law this summer further threaten students’ ability to afford a degree. Despite downstream pressure from the federal cuts, “It’s imperative that states maintain or, wherever possible, bolster their investments in higher education,” says Louisa Woodhouse, NCAN Senior Policy and Advocacy Associate.
“Slashing education funding to plug other budgetary holes will only widen affordability gaps for students and push postsecondary education further out of reach.” That tradeoff, Woodhouse says, is likely to have long-term negative repercussions not
only for students, but for families, states, and our nation’s skilled workforce.
The Affordability Gap report is available here. The accompanying data dashboard can be found here.
Questions? Please contact Louisa Woodhouse, Senior Associate, Policy and Advocacy, at woodhouse@ncan.org.
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