Costs are spiking at America’s public universities. Here is how it looks in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — College is expensive, in case you haven’t heard, with annual sticker prices well into the tens of thousands of dollars at public schools and surpassing the $100,000 threshold at many private peers.

While financial grants and scholarships can soften those costs, those options are also delivering sticker shock of late — particularly at many state college and university campuses where financial support for students is slowing down or on the decline.

During the 2024-2025 academic year, the average aid package covered about 35% of the in-state asking price at public schools with at least 10,000 students, according to a Business Journal’s analysis of federal education data. In 2016-2017, that ratio was about 40% of the total in-state cost at public schools after including federal grants and institutional scholarships.

Making matters more challenging for students: The downshift in aid has corresponded with a spike in the cost to attend public universities, as well as broad declines in state funding for public colleges in general. The average in-state asking price at the nation’s largest 200 public schools was about $33,000 in the 2024-25 academic year, according to federal data. After factoring in government and institutional aid, the net cost for in-state students was actually closer to about $20,000. In 2016-17, that net cost was closer to $14,000, according to federal education data.

Although its share was lower than at public universities elsewhere in the country, the University of Pittsburgh had the highest share among Pittsburgh institutions of its reported total in-state student costs covered by institutional, state and federal grants in 2024-2025, at 40%. Other institutions, including Indiana University of Pennsylvania (31%), Pennsylvania Western University (30%), and Slippery Rock University (27%), were not far behind.

Click here to read more from our partners at the Pittsburgh Business Times.

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