Study Reveals the Top 10 States Spending the Most Per Graduate on College Education: Michigan Ranks #7
Article courtesy of Lingoda.
- Research has revealed that Michigan has the seventh-highest college expenditure in the U.S. at $1,483 per person, when scaling the state’s $6.8 billion total college expenditure by its 4.6 million residents with a college degree.
- Several states home to Ivy League colleges rank among the ten states with the highest average expenditure per person, while Mountain states have many of the lowest spending figures.
- Nationally, Florida has the lowest higher education expenditure at just $572 per person holding a bachelor’s degree or higher.
A recent analysis has revealed the states with the highest college expenditure per person.
The online language learning school Lingoda analyzed data from the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis and the United States Census Bureau to find the total expenditure on higher education in each state.
These figures were weighed against the number of people with a bachelor’s degree or higher to calculate the expenditure per college degree holder. The states with the greatest expenditure determined the ranking.
Table: The 10 states with the highest college education expenditure (per college-educated resident)
| Rank | State | Population with a bachelor’s degree or higher | Higher education expenditure ($) | Expenditure per population with degree or higher ($) |
| 1 | Connecticut | 2,200,664 | 3,816,500,000 | 1,734 |
| 2 | New Jersey | 5,762,623 | 9,910,700,000 | 1,720 |
| 3 | Illinois | 6,743,633 | 11,389,500,000 | 1,689 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | 863,094 | 1,381,500,000 | 1,601 |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | 6,596,301 | 10,156,900,000 | 1,540 |
| 6 | Mississippi | 995,145 | 1,485,800,000 | 1,493 |
| 7 (=) | Delaware | 537,764 | 797,700,000 | 1,483 |
| 7 (=) | Michigan | 4,597,388 | 6,815,700,000 | 1,483 |
| 8 | Alaska | 304,946 | 427,500,000 | 1,402 |
| 9 | Rhode Island | 636,956 | 887,100,000 | 1,393 |
| 10 | Louisiana | 1,717,379 | 2,336,700,000 | 1,361 |
Connecticut tops the list with the highest college expenditure rate in the country, at $1,734 per person holding a bachelor’s degree or higher. Connecticut recorded a total spend of $3.8 billion on higher education throughout 2022 and a population of 2.2 million holding a degree or higher.
Second is New Jersey, with an expenditure of $1,720 on higher education per resident with a bachelor’s degree or higher. The state has a population of 5,762,623 residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher and spent $9.9 billion on higher education during the year analyzed.
Third in the ranking is Illinois, spending $1,689 per inhabitant with a bachelor’s degree or higher from a total population of 6,743,633, and a total higher education expenditure of nearly $11.39 billion in 2022.
New Hampshire places fourth, with a higher education expenditure of $1,601 per person with a bachelor’s degree or higher. In 2022, New Hampshire recorded total spending of $1.38 billion and a population of 863,094 people holding a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Fifth is Pennsylvania, with an expenditure of $1,540 on higher education per resident with a bachelor’s degree or higher. The state has a population of 6,596,301 residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher and spent almost $10.16 billion on higher education during the year.
Completing the states with the highest college expenditure, when scaled by the college-educated population, are Mississippi ($1,493 per person), Delaware and Michigan ($1,483), followed by Alaska($1,402), Rhode Island ($1,393), and Louisiana ($1,361).
Table: The 10 states with the lowest college education expenditure (per college-educated resident)
| Rank | State | Population with a bachelor’s degree or higher | Higher education expenditure ($) | Expenditure per population with degree or higher ($) |
| 1 | Florida | 11,259,272 | 6,444,800,000 | 572 |
| 2 | Washington | 4,425,507 | 3,399,700,000 | 768 |
| 3 | Utah | 1,583,633 | 1,224,600,000 | 773 |
| 4 | Montana | 554,950 | 431,600,000 | 778 |
| 5 | Colorado | 3,834,558 | 3,167,500,000 | 826 |
| 6 | Oregon | 2,249,716 | 1,951,700,000 | 868 |
| 7 | North Carolina | 5,431,440 | 4,765,500,000 | 877 |
| 8 | Nevada | 1,221,896 | 1,082,000,000 | 886 |
| 9 | Idaho | 842,415 | 811,900,000 | 964 |
| 10 | Wyoming | 240,054 | 236,700,000 | 986 |
The findings also revealed the states with the lowest expenditure on college education, when scaled by the population who have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Florida was revealed to have the lowest higher education expenditure in the U.S., at $572 per resident with a bachelor’s degree or higher. The state had a population of almost 11.26 million people with a bachelor’s degree or higher and a total spend of more than $6.4 billion on higher education during the year analyzed.
Washington follows second among the states with the lowest college expenditure per graduate, at an estimated $768 per person. This is based on an expenditure total of almost $3.4 billion on higher education in 2022, and a population of 4.4 million people with a bachelor’s degree or higher in the state.
The Mountain states of Utah, Montana, and Colorado account for the remaining five states with the lowest college education spending per degree holder. The findings revealed Utah had a spending figure of $773 per person, followed by Montana with $778 per person, and Colorado with a spending rate of $826 per person holding a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Founder of Lingoda, Felix Wunderlich commented on the findings:
“When considering the higher education expenditure across all states in the year analyzed estimated at $196 billion, it highlights the staggering money Americans invest in their education, in hopes to pursue a particular career path, or widen their career prospects.
“However, our findings revealed some surprising results when it comes to which states spend more than others, comparatively. It’s not simply that the more populated states spend the most when scaling the number of graduates in a state.
“Northeastern states, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, rank with some of the highest spending rates per capita, despite having far smaller graduate populations.
“Comparing New Jersey, which has the second-highest per capita spend in the U.S., with Florida, which was revealed to have the lowest spend per person in the nation, highlights the vast disparity in college expenditure across the country. New Jersey’s degree-holding population was found to be 5.76 million, which is just over half Florida’s 11.26 million graduates, and yet, New Jersey’s expenditure of $9.9 billion exceeds Florida’s $6.4 billion by over 50%.
“This varied map of the states that are spending the most and least on college education prompts questions about the cost of universities across the U.S., the accessibility of college, and how college education is valued or seen as a necessity across the states.”
Sources:
US Bureau of Economic Analysis, United States Census Bureau.
Methodology:
Data on higher education expenditure per state in 2022 was sourced from the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis, and data on the population with a bachelor’s degree or higher was sourced from the United States Census Bureau.
The total expenditure on higher education was weighed against the population with a degree or higher to calculate the amount spent per degree holder. The states with the greatest expenditure determined the ranking.
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