About the College Cost Calculator
A college cost calculator projects the total future cost of a degree, accounting for education inflation, and works out what you need to save to fund it. Education costs have risen faster than general inflation for decades, which makes the projection considerably larger than current prices suggest.
The formula
Future cost = current annual cost · (1 + inflation)^years, summed across the degreeEducation inflation has historically run 5 to 6 percent annually, well above general inflation. The projection compounds current costs forward to each year of attendance.
How to use this calculator
- 1Enter your Current Annual College Cost ($). The field starts at
35000, which you can overwrite. - 2Enter your Years Until College. The field starts at
10, which you can overwrite. - 3Enter your Years in College. The field starts at
4, which you can overwrite. - 4Enter your Education Inflation Rate (%). The field starts at
5, which you can overwrite. - 5Enter your Investment Return (%). The field starts at
7, which you can overwrite. - 6Read the result straight away — it recalculates as you type, so there is no button to press. Use Share to copy a link that reopens the page with your exact numbers filled in.
Worked example
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Current Annual College Cost ($) | 35000 |
| Years Until College | 10 |
| Years in College | 4 |
| Education Inflation Rate (%) | 5 |
| Investment Return (%) | 7 |
Result
Projected Total Cost: $245,725.881
First Year Cost: $57011.31
Monthly Savings Needed: $1419.68
Annual Savings Needed: $17036.22
Those are the values the page loads with, so you can reproduce this result yourself and then change one field at a time to see what drives the outcome.
Understanding your result
Compounding at education inflation rates produces large numbers over a long horizon. A 35,000 dollar annual cost growing at 5 percent becomes about 57,000 in ten years, and a four-year degree starting then costs roughly 245,000 in total — far more than four times today's figure.
The counterweight is that investment returns compound too. Starting early means growth covers a substantial share of the eventual bill: saving over eighteen years at 7 percent means roughly half the final balance comes from returns rather than contributions. Starting at ten years out, that share drops sharply.
Things worth knowing
- 529 plans in the US offer tax-free growth for qualified education expenses, and many states add a tax deduction.
- Sticker price is rarely what families pay. Grants and institutional aid reduce net cost substantially at many schools.
- Shift the portfolio toward bonds as college approaches, since a market drop in the final years cannot be recovered.
- Retirement saving should generally take priority. Loans exist for education; they do not for retirement.
- In-state public universities cost a fraction of private institutions, and community college transfer routes cut it further.
Frequently asked questions
How much will college cost by the time my child attends?+
At 5 percent education inflation, costs roughly double every fourteen years. A 35,000 dollar annual cost today becomes about 57,000 in ten years and 93,000 in twenty.
How much should I save per month?+
That depends on the target and the horizon, which is what this calculator establishes. Starting at birth requires far less monthly than starting at age ten, because investment growth does more of the work.
What is a 529 plan?+
A US tax-advantaged education savings account. Growth and qualified withdrawals are tax-free at federal level, and many states offer a deduction for contributions. Non-qualified withdrawals face tax and a penalty on earnings.
Should I prioritise college saving or retirement?+
Retirement, generally. Students can borrow for education and you cannot borrow for retirement, and an underfunded retirement eventually becomes your children's problem anyway.