There is wide variation in higher education finance across states. This section more deeply examines trends and interstate differences for measures of enrollment and state funding (education appropriations and student financial aid).

Student Enrollment

Map 3.1

Net Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Enrollment, FY 2024

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Full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment converts student credit hours to full-time, academic year students, but excludes medical students. SHEF includes enrollment for all degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate students at public institutions. After years of steady enrollment increases since the SHEF data collection began, the number of FTE students enrolled in public institutions slowly declined, both nationally and across states, over the last decade. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, FTE enrollment began to decline at unprecedented rates. However, enrollment in fall 2024 showed a 3% increase across all sectors. 20 20 National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. (2024). Fall 2024 enrollment (as of September 2024). nscresearchcenter.org/stay-informed/ VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES  

Historically, enrollment has increased in each decade. Starting in 2009, enrollment increased rapidly during and immediately following the Great Recession, peaking at just over 11.6 million students in 2011.

After 2011, FTE enrollment declined for 12 straight years. Between 2023 and 2024, enrollment increased from 10.1 million students to 10.4 million, representing the first enrollment increase since 2011. Previous declines were less than 1.0% annually from 2014 and 2020. In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a year-over-year decline of 3.9% in FTE enrollment, the largest decline since the start of the SHEF dataset in 1980. FTE enrollment continued to decline in 2022 (3.4%) and 2023 (0.03%) but increased in 2024 (2.9%). As a result, FTE enrollment in public institutions in 2024 was down 10.8% from the peak in 2011.

1. State Comparisons

Figure 3.1 shows net FTE enrollment for each state in fiscal year 2024. Table 3.1 provides additional detail on how enrollment has changed over time in each state.

  • Across the states, FTE enrollment ranged from 3,211 students in Washington, D.C., and 12,684 in Alaska to over 1.5 million students in California. One-fourth of all students attending a U.S. public institution enrolled in either California or Texas, with both states exceeding one million FTE students.
  • Enrollment increased in 44 states and Washington, D.C., between 2023 and 2024. These increases ranged from 0.03% in Pennsylvania (representing 84 FTE students) to 7.3% in Arizona (or 22,176 FTE students) and 11.0% in Washington, D.C. (or 317 FTE students).
  • Enrollment declined in just six states. Declines ranged from 0.4% (or 118 FTE students) in New Hampshire to 6.8% (or 5,065 FTE students) in Nevada. 
  • Despite enrollment increases in 2024, enrollment has declined in 41 states and Washington D.C., since 2014, but in only one state compared to the start of the SHEF dataset; FTE enrollment in Illinois has declined 23.5% since 1980.

Figure 3.1

Public Higher Education Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Enrollment by State, FY 2024


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Notes:
  1. Full-time equivalent enrollment converts student credit hours to full-time, academic year students, but excludes medical students.
  2. Fiscal year 2024 FTE enrollment is estimated for Arkansas.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Table 3.1

Public Higher Education Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Enrollment by State, FY 1980-2024

1980 2001 2014 2019 2023 2024 % Change Since 2023 % Change Since 2019 % Change Since 2014 % Change Since 2001 % Change Since 1980
Alabama 138,620 165,833 194,439 202,773 197,404 200,949 1.8% -0.9% 3.3% 21.2% 45.0%
Alaska 10,530 16,079 20,484 16,721 12,075 12,684 5.0% -24.1% -38.1% -21.1% 20.5%
Arizona 120,148 194,629 270,127 292,856 304,993 327,169 7.3% 11.7% 21.1% 68.1% 172.3%
Arkansas 53,130 87,337 121,365 113,245 103,606 106,724 3.0% -5.8% -12.1% 22.2% 100.9%
California 979,142 1,322,308 1,532,304 1,591,131 1,434,158 1,520,716 6.0% -4.4% -0.8% 15.0% 55.3%
Colorado 113,281 141,492 184,836 183,744 175,969 181,532 3.2% -1.2% -1.8% 28.3% 60.2%
Connecticut 58,909 60,976 88,681 83,793 73,309 76,077 3.8% -9.2% -14.2% 24.8% 29.1%
Delaware 20,664 28,944 35,657 36,410 36,134 37,240 3.1% 2.3% 4.4% 28.7% 80.2%
Florida 287,388 420,957 608,226 608,942 561,008 579,477 3.3% -4.8% -4.7% 37.7% 101.6%
Georgia 157,155 234,998 348,844 356,348 348,477 366,748 5.2% 2.9% 5.1% 56.1% 133.4%
Hawaii 30,465 31,810 40,436 35,254 31,880 32,695 2.6% -7.3% -19.1% 2.8% 7.3%
Idaho 26,647 39,495 56,177 54,421 54,261 55,784 2.8% 2.5% -0.7% 41.2% 109.3%
Illinois 342,097 323,876 362,508 306,967 273,214 261,644 -4.2% -14.8% -27.8% -19.2% -23.5%
Indiana 142,061 193,130 253,337 246,300 238,175 247,945 4.1% 0.7% -2.1% 28.4% 74.5%
Iowa 84,210 105,545 127,407 129,387 115,113 116,188 0.9% -10.2% -8.8% 10.1% 38.0%
Kansas 87,216 100,476 138,310 132,253 118,924 121,103 1.8% -8.4% -12.4% 20.5% 38.9%
Kentucky 89,389 119,500 154,713 142,003 135,356 139,663 3.2% -1.6% -9.7% 16.9% 56.2%
Louisiana 106,686 168,121 168,001 163,932 159,036 164,921 3.7% 0.6% -1.8% -1.9% 54.6%
Maine 26,250 29,287 36,577 33,947 32,293 33,806 4.7% -0.4% -7.6% 15.4% 28.8%
Maryland 133,228 175,085 232,935 229,243 215,482 221,493 2.8% -3.4% -4.9% 26.5% 66.3%
Massachusetts 122,952 128,404 172,573 160,327 131,258 137,084 4.4% -14.5% -20.6% 6.8% 11.5%
Michigan 318,166 333,584 400,859 366,318 325,185 332,245 2.2% -9.3% -17.1% -0.4% 4.4%
Minnesota 149,418 167,238 203,523 184,367 159,023 161,710 1.7% -12.3% -20.5% -3.3% 8.2%
Mississippi 85,292 102,490 134,694 132,999 120,495 121,925 1.2% -8.3% -9.5% 19.0% 43.0%
Missouri 120,468 156,588 196,831 182,499 143,401 144,901 1.0% -20.6% -26.4% -7.5% 20.3%
Montana 25,452 33,660 39,484 36,375 33,811 34,503 2.0% -5.1% -12.6% 2.5% 35.6%
Nebraska 56,360 65,725 79,662 75,940 71,228 72,625 2.0% -4.4% -8.8% 10.5% 28.9%
Nevada 19,367 48,107 64,497 76,424 73,956 68,891 -6.8% -9.9% 6.8% 43.2% 255.7%
New Hampshire 19,415 26,506 36,988 36,353 30,009 29,891 -0.4% -17.8% -19.2% 12.8% 54.0%
New Jersey 171,390 178,671 274,341 265,086 242,280 248,055 2.4% -6.4% -9.6% 38.8% 44.7%
New Mexico 48,268 66,847 98,630 77,040 73,111 73,343 0.3% -4.8% -25.6% 9.7% 51.9%
New York 418,679 449,959 568,654 537,979 446,341 456,600 2.3% -15.1% -19.7% 1.5% 9.1%
North Carolina 165,642 266,217 402,199 393,922 393,774 409,585 4.0% 4.0% 1.8% 53.9% 147.3%
North Dakota 26,735 31,922 36,927 33,781 32,160 33,418 3.9% -1.1% -9.5% 4.7% 25.0%
Ohio 291,000 337,379 401,856 386,451 349,053 341,812 -2.1% -11.6% -14.9% 1.3% 17.5%
Oklahoma 96,476 121,111 145,401 128,845 119,478 123,283 3.2% -4.3% -15.2% 1.8% 27.8%
Oregon 96,946 111,006 155,418 144,290 123,725 128,457 3.8% -11.0% -17.3% 15.7% 32.5%
Pennsylvania 243,296 288,334 358,693 331,664 289,324 289,408 0.0% -12.7% -19.3% 0.4% 19.0%
Rhode Island 23,237 25,622 32,781 31,978 28,491 29,193 2.5% -8.7% -10.9% 13.9% 25.6%
South Carolina 95,600 132,404 174,816 166,740 170,214 175,188 2.9% 5.1% 0.2% 32.3% 83.3%
South Dakota 18,623 22,064 33,659 32,816 30,736 31,182 1.5% -5.0% -7.4% 41.3% 67.4%
Tennessee 124,022 159,838 182,285 184,418 175,744 179,740 2.3% -2.5% -1.4% 12.5% 44.9%
Texas 466,900 667,534 1,010,936 1,049,033 1,006,957 1,044,485 3.7% -0.4% 3.3% 56.5% 123.7%
Utah 47,061 91,953 119,692 128,102 129,100 133,372 3.3% 4.1% 11.4% 45.0% 183.4%
Vermont 13,656 15,914 20,922 20,458 19,965 19,987 0.1% -2.3% -4.5% 25.6% 46.4%
Virginia 175,197 236,014 318,166 302,019 289,778 296,469 2.3% -1.8% -6.8% 25.6% 69.2%
Washington 163,866 204,663 245,011 235,981 201,544 199,389 -1.1% -15.5% -18.6% -2.6% 21.7%
West Virginia 53,331 62,902 76,202 66,577 57,662 58,308 1.1% -12.4% -23.5% -7.3% 9.3%
Wisconsin 174,163 196,523 223,777 209,654 195,141 199,417 2.2% -4.9% -10.9% 1.5% 14.5%
Wyoming 14,048 20,198 24,986 22,194 20,867 20,487 -1.8% -7.7% -18.0% 1.4% 45.8%
D.C. N/A N/A 3,895 3,518 2,894 3,211 11.0% -8.7% -17.6% N/A N/A
U.S. 6,852,242 8,709,255 11,209,827 10,960,300 10,104,678 10,399,511 2.9% -5.1% -7.2% 19.4% 51.8%
Notes:
  1. Full-time equivalent enrollment converts student credit hours to full-time, academic year students, but excludes medical students.
  2. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia. Data for the District of Columbia are not available prior to 2011.
  3. The years 1980 and 2001 are included in this table because they are the starting points of the historical SHEF dataset and modern SHEF data collection, respectively.
  4. Fiscal year 2024 FTE enrollment is estimated for Arkansas. Texas updated the methodology to capture FTE enrollment starting in 2017. Years prior to 2017 do not reflect this new methodology, which may affect some year-to-year comparisons.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

2. Sector Comparisons

Table 3.1A presents data on net FTE enrollment for the public two-year and four-year sectors separately. In 2024, there were 3.93 million FTE enrolled students at two-year institutions. Alaska and Washington, D.C., have no public two-year institutions. Two-year enrollment across all other states ranged from 2,619 FTE in Vermont to 853,174 FTE in California. Twenty-two percent of students attending a U.S. public two-year institution in 2024 attended a California community college.

  • From 2023 to 2024, two-year enrollment increased in 43 states. Enrollment increases ranged from 0.4% (or 10 FTE students) in Vermont to 15.0% (or 13,709 FTE students) in Arizona.
  • Two-year FTE enrollment declined in just six states from 2023 to 2024. Enrollment declines ranged from 1.3% (or 1,359 FTE students) in Washington to 8.3% (or 8,248 FTE students) in Ohio. 

There were 6.47 million FTE enrolled students at four-year institutions in 2024, about 1.6 times the number of two-year students. Enrollment at four-year institutions ranged from 3,211 in Washington D.C., and 9,452 in Wyoming to 667,542 in California. Notably, California represented one-tenth of all four-year public enrollment in 2024.

  • From 2023 to 2024, four-year FTE enrollment increased in 41 states and Washington, D.C. Enrollment increases ranged from 0.1% (or 12 FTE students) in Vermont to 5.0% (or 609 FTE students) in Alaska and 11.0% (or 317 FTE students) in Washington, D.C.
  • Four-year FTE enrollment declined in nine states from 2023 to 2024. Enrollment declines ranged from 0.02% (or 15 FTE students) in Minnesota to 6.3% (or 2,988 FTE students) in Nevada.

In 2024, 38 states had year-over-year enrollment increases in both sectors while four had enrollment declines across both sectors. The two-year sector generally had larger enrollment increases across states — in 35 states, enrollment increased by a larger percentage in the two-year sector than in the four-year sector from 2023 to 2024.

Figure 3.1A shows that states enroll different proportions of students across sectors. Overall, 37.8% of public FTE students attended a two-year institution in the United States — a decline of 2.0 percentage points from 2019. The percentage of FTE at two-year institutions in 2024 varied from only 13.1% in Vermont to 56.1% in California. Only California, Washington, and Wyoming had more FTE students enrolled in the two-year sector than in the four-year sector.

Figure 3.1A

Percentage of Public Higher Education Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Enrollment at Two-Year Institutions by State, FY 2024


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Notes:
  1. Full-time equivalent enrollment converts student credit hours to full-time, academic year students, but excludes medical students.
  2. Alaska and the District of Columbia are excluded from this figure because they do not have any public two-year institutions.
  3. Sector is determined at the institution level using the Carnegie Basic Classification (https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/). Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges and "less-than-two-year" degree-granting institutions not assigned a Carnegie classification are considered two-year institutions.
  4. Fiscal year 2024 sector-level FTE enrollment is estimated for Arkansas.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

enrollmentMeasurement Note: Sector Enrollment Mix

States vary in the proportion of enrollment attending two-year and four-year public institutions. In addition, as the following sections will show, the two-year and four-year public sectors have very different revenue structures and total revenues. These varying enrollment proportions and different revenue structures make state-level data more difficult to compare. The Enrollment Mix Index (EMI) adjustment used throughout the state-level metrics in this report attempts to correct for this variation in FTE enrollment. Sector-level data are not adjusted for EMI (and do not need to be).

Table 3.1A

Public Higher Education Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Enrollment by Sector and State, FY 2019-2024

Two-Year FTE Four-Year FTE
2019 2023 2024 % Change Since 2023 % Change Since 2019 2019 2023 2024 % Change Since 2023 % Change Since 2019
Alabama 59,288 55,842 56,546 1.3% -4.6% 143,485 141,562 144,403 2.0% 0.6%
Alaska 0 0 0 N/A N/A 16,721 12,075 12,684 5.0% -24.1%
Arizona 110,557 91,573 105,282 15.0% -4.8% 182,299 213,420 221,887 4.0% 21.7%
Arkansas 30,934 26,800 27,806 3.8% -10.1% 82,311 76,805 78,918 2.8% -4.1%
California 918,444 777,314 853,174 9.8% -7.1% 672,687 656,844 667,542 1.6% -0.8%
Colorado 56,000 56,773 58,316 2.7% 4.1% 127,744 119,196 123,216 3.4% -3.5%
Connecticut 26,419 20,986 21,708 3.4% -17.8% 57,374 52,323 54,369 3.9% -5.2%
Delaware 8,886 7,251 7,855 8.3% -11.6% 27,524 28,883 29,385 1.7% 6.8%
Florida 315,763 266,768 280,428 5.1% -11.2% 293,179 294,240 299,049 1.6% 2.0%
Georgia 86,540 75,813 82,553 8.9% -4.6% 269,808 272,663 284,195 4.2% 5.3%
Hawaii 14,820 11,618 11,971 3.0% -19.2% 20,434 20,262 20,723 2.3% 1.4%
Idaho 14,811 14,869 15,284 2.8% 3.2% 39,610 39,392 40,500 2.8% 2.2%
Illinois 140,713 109,459 102,039 -6.8% -27.5% 166,254 163,755 159,605 -2.5% -4.0%
Indiana 63,913 62,656 68,931 10.0% 7.9% 182,388 175,519 179,013 2.0% -1.9%
Iowa 57,239 50,998 51,282 0.6% -10.4% 72,148 64,115 64,906 1.2% -10.0%
Kansas 52,895 45,763 46,909 2.5% -11.3% 79,358 73,161 74,194 1.4% -6.5%
Kentucky 43,446 40,552 42,736 5.4% -1.6% 98,557 94,804 96,927 2.2% -1.7%
Louisiana 43,091 40,141 41,134 2.5% -4.5% 120,841 118,895 123,787 4.1% 2.4%
Maine 9,773 9,872 11,276 14.2% 15.4% 24,174 22,421 22,530 0.5% -6.8%
Maryland 89,990 72,459 74,290 2.5% -17.4% 139,253 143,023 147,203 2.9% 5.7%
Massachusetts 49,799 37,315 42,767 14.6% -14.1% 110,528 93,942 94,318 0.4% -14.7%
Michigan 116,340 97,057 100,514 3.6% -13.6% 249,978 228,128 231,731 1.6% -7.3%
Minnesota 76,219 63,999 66,701 4.2% -12.5% 108,148 95,024 95,009 0.0% -12.1%
Mississippi 61,799 53,584 54,427 1.6% -11.9% 71,200 66,911 67,498 0.9% -5.2%
Missouri 59,765 42,177 42,855 1.6% -28.3% 122,734 101,224 102,046 0.8% -16.9%
Montana 6,678 6,114 6,434 5.2% -3.7% 29,697 27,696 28,069 1.3% -5.5%
Nebraska 26,142 23,131 24,394 5.5% -6.7% 49,798 48,097 48,231 0.3% -3.1%
Nevada 29,026 26,813 24,736 -7.7% -14.8% 47,398 47,143 44,155 -6.3% -6.8%
New Hampshire 9,853 7,300 7,348 0.7% -25.4% 26,500 22,709 22,543 -0.7% -14.9%
New Jersey 99,904 83,752 86,990 3.9% -12.9% 165,182 158,528 161,065 1.6% -2.5%
New Mexico 37,798 30,910 31,403 1.6% -16.9% 39,242 42,201 41,940 -0.6% 6.9%
New York 210,891 153,592 159,144 3.6% -24.5% 327,088 292,749 297,457 1.6% -9.1%
North Carolina 179,659 178,618 192,388 7.7% 7.1% 214,263 215,156 217,197 0.9% 1.4%
North Dakota 7,028 6,815 7,384 8.3% 5.1% 26,753 25,345 26,033 2.7% -2.7%
Ohio 99,164 99,458 91,210 -8.3% -8.0% 287,287 249,596 250,602 0.4% -12.8%
Oklahoma 40,585 35,114 36,248 3.2% -10.7% 88,260 84,364 87,035 3.2% -1.4%
Oregon 60,770 45,885 48,624 6.0% -20.0% 83,519 77,840 79,833 2.6% -4.4%
Pennsylvania 79,979 59,199 60,619 2.4% -24.2% 251,685 230,125 228,789 -0.6% -9.1%
Rhode Island 9,333 7,356 7,679 4.4% -17.7% 22,645 21,135 21,514 1.8% -5.0%
South Carolina 57,624 58,265 59,571 2.2% 3.4% 109,116 111,949 115,616 3.3% 6.0%
South Dakota 5,810 5,899 5,792 -1.8% -0.3% 27,006 24,837 25,390 2.2% -6.0%
Tennessee 72,783 60,201 63,526 5.5% -12.7% 111,635 115,543 116,213 0.6% 4.1%
Texas 471,903 423,660 445,811 5.2% -5.5% 577,131 583,298 598,674 2.6% 3.7%
Utah 25,832 24,566 26,017 5.9% 0.7% 102,270 104,534 107,356 2.7% 5.0%
Vermont 2,652 2,609 2,619 0.4% -1.2% 17,806 17,356 17,368 0.1% -2.5%
Virginia 100,141 87,023 90,626 4.1% -9.5% 201,878 202,755 205,844 1.5% 2.0%
Washington 123,981 104,381 103,022 -1.3% -16.9% 112,000 97,163 96,367 -0.8% -14.0%
West Virginia 11,076 8,807 9,622 9.3% -13.1% 55,501 48,855 48,686 -0.3% -12.3%
Wisconsin 72,054 60,011 61,924 3.2% -14.1% 137,600 135,130 137,493 1.7% -0.1%
Wyoming 11,214 11,303 11,035 -2.4% -1.6% 10,980 9,564 9,452 -1.2% -13.9%
D.C. 0 0 0 N/A N/A 3,518 2,894 3,211 11.0% -8.7%
U.S. 4,359,324 3,742,421 3,930,950 5.0% -9.8% 6,600,977 6,362,255 6,468,560 1.7% -2.0%
Notes:
  1. Full-time equivalent enrollment converts student credit hours to full-time, academic year students, but excludes medical students.
  2. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia. There are no two-year public institutions in Alaska or the District of Columbia.
  3. The year 2019 is included in this table because it is the starting point of the sector-level SHEF dataset.
  4. Sector is determined at the institution level using the Carnegie Basic Classification (https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/). Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges and "less-than-two-year" degree-granting institutions not assigned a Carnegie classification are considered two-year institutions.
  5. Fiscal year 2024 sector-level FTE enrollment is estimated for Arkansas.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

Education Appropriations

Map 3.2

Education Appropriations per FTE, FY 2024

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Education appropriations measure state and local support available for public higher education operating expenses and exclude appropriations for independent institutions, financial aid for students attending independent or out-of-state institutions, research, hospitals, and medical education. State-level education appropriations include state higher education agency allocations and all federal stimulus funding allocated to public institutions, while sector-level education appropriations exclude agency funding and include only the federal stimulus funding allocated to two-year or four-year public operating. In a handful of states, some uncategorizable state support and uncategorizable financial aid are not allocated to either sector. 

Historically, public higher education was primarily funded by the states. For the last four decades, funding has decreased during poor economic times and increased as the economy improved. Education appropriations per FTE reached an all-time low in 2012 following the cumulative effects of the 2001 and 2008 recessions. However, during and following the 2020 recession, federal stimulus funding protected education appropriation levels in many states, reversing the trend of large cuts to education appropriations in years following economic recessions. 21 21Federal stimulus funds protected education appropriations in two ways: states received federal stimulus funding for other priority budget areas, reducing the need to redirect higher education funds toward those areas, and states received targeted federal stimulus funding directly to higher education.   VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES  

Fiscal year 2024 marks the 12th straight year of per-FTE increases in education appropriations. Inflation-adjusted education appropriations per FTE increased slightly, 0.8% from 2023 to 2024, reaching $11,683 (Table 3.2). This increase contributes to continued growth since 2008, the fiscal year prior to federal stimulus being provided during the Great Recession, and 2019, the fiscal year prior to federal stimulus being provided during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024, per-FTE education appropriations exceeded 2008 levels by 9.0% and 2019 levels by 17.9%. Without federal stimulus funding, per-FTE education appropriations in 2024 still exceeded 2008 levels by 8.5% and 2019 levels by 17.3%. However, 2024 education appropriations per FTE remained just slightly below 2001 levels, another pre-recession high point, both when including (0.9%) and excluding (1.4%) federal stimulus.

1. State Comparisons

States vary widely in their per-student funding for higher education. Education appropriations per FTE in 2024 ranged from $4,629 in New Hampshire to $25,529 in Illinois (Figure 3.2). 22 22Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES    

  • Despite national-level increases, education appropriations per FTE declined in half of all states and Washington, D.C., from 2023 to 2024. Decreases ranged from 21.1% (or $3,175 per FTE) in Alabama to 0.2% (or $20 per FTE) in Wisconsin. 23 23The large decrease in education appropriations from fiscal year 2023 to 2024 for Alabama is due to a one-time supplemental appropriation allocated to higher education in 2023. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES    
  • Education appropriations per FTE increased in 25 states from 2023 to 2024. Increases ranged from 0.5% (or $51 per FTE) in South Dakota to 23.1% (or $2,101 per FTE) in Nevada. 

Although nationally, education appropriations have recovered to 2008 levels and consistently grown since 2019, 22 states continue funding higher education at a lower level than prior to the Great Recession and six states and Washington, D.C., continue funding lower than prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the six states in which 2024 education appropriations per FTE remain below 2019 levels, Indiana (9.3% below) and Delaware (4.9% below) were the furthest from pre-pandemic funding. Of the 22 states that had not yet recovered from the Great Recession in 2024, Arizona (40.3% below), Iowa (29.9% below), and Delaware (29.8% below) were furthest from recovery. Additionally, in 30 states, education appropriations per FTE remain below the level seen in 2001 prior to the tech bust.

Although availability of federal stimulus funding waned in 2024, states continued to direct stimulus funds to public higher education, including the above figures. Half of all states and Washington, D.C., allocated federal stimulus funds to higher education in 2024. On average, states allocated $59 per FTE in federal stimulus funding to public higher education. In 2024, Connecticut ($3,103) and New Mexico ($1,472) were the only states that allocated more than $1,000 per FTE in federal stimulus funding to public higher education. After excluding federal stimulus funding from all years in which it was allocated (2009-2012 and 2020-2024):

  • Education appropriations per FTE declined in 21 states and Washington, D.C., from 2023 to 2024. Decreases ranged from 21.1% (or $3,175 per FTE) in Alabama to 0.02% (or $2 per FTE) in North Carolina. 24 24The large decrease in education appropriations from fiscal year 2023 to 2024 for Alabama is due to a one-time supplemental appropriation allocated to higher education in 2023. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES  
  • In 2024, education appropriations per FTE student increased in 29 states. Increases ranged from 0.5% (or $51 per FTE) in South Dakota to 31.0% (or $2,640 per FTE) in Nevada.
  • Of the 25 states that allocated federal stimulus funds to higher education in 2024,10 states and Washington, D.C., saw declines in education appropriations per FTE from 2023. Decreases ranged from 17.8% (or $4,664 per FTE) in Washington, D.C., and 13.4% (or $2,869 per FTE) in New Mexico to 0.02% (or $2 per FTE) in North Carolina. Increases in the other 15 states ranged from 0.8% (or $106 per FTE) in Nebraska to 31.0% (or $2,640 per FTE) in Nevada.

Figure 3.2

Public Higher Education Appropriations per FTE by State, FY 2024 (Adjusted)


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Notes:
  1. Education appropriations are a measure of state and local support available for public higher education operating expenses and student financial aid, excluding appropriations for research, hospitals, and medical education. Education appropriations include federal stimulus funding.
  2. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia.
  3. Fiscal year 2024 state-level education appropriations include estimated uncategorizable state support for New Mexico and South Carolina.
  4. Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details.
  5. Constant 2024 dollars adjusted by the Higher Education Cost Adjustment (HECA).
  6. Adjusted to account for interstate differences using the Enrollment Mix Index (EMI).
  7. Adjusted to account for interstate differences using the Cost of Living Index (COLI). The COLI is not a measure of inflation over time.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Table 3.2

Public Higher Education Appropriations per FTE by State, FY 1980-2024 (Constant Adjusted Dollars)

1980 2001 2014 2019 2023 2024 % Change Since 2023 % Change Since 2019 % Change Since 2014 % Change Since 2001 % Change Since 1980
Alabama $8,421 $9,907 $7,625 $8,313 $15,037 $11,862 -21.1% 42.7% 55.6% 19.7% 40.9%
Alaska $26,302 $16,241 $19,241 $18,766 $20,873 $20,002 -4.2% 6.6% 4.0% 23.2% -24.0%
Arizona $9,179 $10,393 $7,316 $6,769 $7,331 $6,707 -8.5% -0.9% -8.3% -35.5% -26.9%
Arkansas $10,921 $11,670 $10,153 $9,664 $10,222 $9,474 -7.3% -2.0% -6.7% -18.8% -13.3%
California $9,573 $10,505 $8,399 $10,536 $12,616 $12,134 -3.8% 15.2% 44.5% 15.5% 26.8%
Colorado $6,386 $7,730 $4,154 $5,593 $6,875 $7,255 5.5% 29.7% 74.6% -6.1% 13.6%
Connecticut $9,364 $18,358 $13,084 $11,174 $19,356 $16,824 -13.1% 50.6% 28.6% -8.4% 79.7%
Delaware $9,395 $10,865 $7,437 $7,221 $7,072 $6,866 -2.9% -4.9% -7.7% -36.8% -26.9%
Florida $7,883 $11,945 $7,416 $9,404 $10,372 $11,415 10.1% 21.4% 53.9% -4.4% 44.8%
Georgia $10,946 $16,924 $10,243 $11,981 $14,416 $12,993 -9.9% 8.5% 26.9% -23.2% 18.7%
Hawaii $10,751 $10,761 $10,102 $15,873 $17,382 $15,596 -10.3% -1.7% 54.4% 44.9% 45.1%
Idaho $14,193 $15,106 $9,202 $11,469 $12,903 $12,231 -5.2% 6.6% 32.9% -19.0% -13.8%
Illinois $10,740 $16,270 $18,096 $19,579 $23,980 $25,529 6.5% 30.4% 41.1% 56.9% 137.7%
Indiana $11,187 $11,096 $7,857 $7,974 $7,450 $7,234 -2.9% -9.3% -7.9% -34.8% -35.3%
Iowa $11,950 $13,080 $7,880 $6,717 $7,220 $6,982 -3.3% 3.9% -11.4% -46.6% -41.6%
Kansas $11,170 $12,735 $8,054 $8,419 $10,194 $10,949 7.4% 30.1% 35.9% -14.0% -2.0%
Kentucky $12,066 $14,662 $9,206 $8,888 $10,556 $10,144 -3.9% 14.1% 10.2% -30.8% -15.9%
Louisiana $10,613 $9,379 $7,222 $7,096 $7,898 $8,426 6.7% 18.7% 16.7% -10.2% -20.6%
Maine $7,460 $11,015 $7,600 $8,320 $9,799 $9,512 -2.9% 14.3% 25.2% -13.6% 27.5%
Maryland $8,289 $11,125 $8,257 $9,393 $11,756 $12,290 4.5% 30.8% 48.8% 10.5% 48.3%
Massachusetts $9,203 $12,412 $7,806 $9,439 $13,211 $14,355 8.7% 52.1% 83.9% 15.7% 56.0%
Michigan $11,769 $14,425 $7,783 $8,783 $10,878 $11,423 5.0% 30.1% 46.8% -20.8% -2.9%
Minnesota $12,188 $12,345 $7,696 $9,142 $10,134 $11,418 12.7% 24.9% 48.4% -7.5% -6.3%
Mississippi $10,166 $12,374 $8,445 $7,438 $9,213 $9,047 -1.8% 21.6% 7.1% -26.9% -11.0%
Missouri $12,235 $14,645 $8,291 $8,680 $10,020 $10,352 3.3% 19.3% 24.9% -29.3% -15.4%
Montana $8,834 $6,810 $6,455 $6,798 $7,467 $7,447 -0.3% 9.6% 15.4% 9.4% -15.7%
Nebraska $10,165 $10,116 $10,950 $11,940 $13,548 $13,159 -2.9% 10.2% 20.2% 30.1% 29.5%
Nevada $10,483 $10,987 $9,402 $9,202 $9,097 $11,198 23.1% 21.7% 19.1% 1.9% 6.8%
New Hampshire $5,377 $5,950 $2,909 $3,284 $4,125 $4,629 12.2% 41.0% 59.1% -22.2% -13.9%
New Jersey $9,200 $12,423 $8,960 $8,160 $10,017 $10,394 3.8% 27.4% 16.0% -16.3% 13.0%
New Mexico $12,373 $12,550 $11,983 $15,522 $22,625 $20,041 -11.4% 29.1% 67.2% 59.7% 62.0%
New York $12,635 $11,928 $11,616 $13,850 $15,044 $15,345 2.0% 10.8% 32.1% 28.6% 21.4%
North Carolina $11,895 $15,379 $11,648 $12,722 $13,419 $13,380 -0.3% 5.2% 14.9% -13.0% 12.5%
North Dakota $9,520 $8,085 $11,032 $9,359 $9,114 $10,326 13.3% 10.3% -6.4% 27.7% 8.5%
Ohio $9,614 $11,542 $6,633 $7,696 $7,945 $8,190 3.1% 6.4% 23.5% -29.0% -14.8%
Oklahoma $9,917 $12,116 $9,294 $8,442 $8,805 $9,471 7.6% 12.2% 1.9% -21.8% -4.5%
Oregon $8,410 $9,101 $5,524 $6,674 $8,745 $8,625 -1.4% 29.2% 56.1% -5.2% 2.6%
Pennsylvania $11,454 $11,458 $5,406 $5,992 $7,488 $6,833 -8.8% 14.0% 26.4% -40.4% -40.3%
Rhode Island $11,775 $10,197 $5,560 $6,236 $7,179 $7,821 8.9% 25.4% 40.7% -23.3% -33.6%
South Carolina $11,208 $9,610 $6,092 $7,201 $7,996 $9,290 16.2% 29.0% 52.5% -3.3% -17.1%
South Dakota $10,709 $8,859 $7,063 $7,820 $9,964 $10,015 0.5% 28.1% 41.8% 13.0% -6.5%
Tennessee $10,382 $10,875 $10,139 $11,990 $15,973 $14,561 -8.8% 21.4% 43.6% 33.9% 40.3%
Texas $9,658 $11,215 $9,890 $11,033 $11,918 $12,790 7.3% 15.9% 29.3% 14.0% 32.4%
Utah $11,419 $9,903 $7,789 $9,490 $11,317 $12,955 14.5% 36.5% 66.3% 30.8% 13.4%
Vermont $5,219 $4,762 $3,789 $3,301 $5,655 $5,345 -5.5% 61.9% 41.1% 12.3% 2.4%
Virginia $8,895 $11,068 $6,352 $7,280 $9,420 $10,153 7.8% 39.5% 59.8% -8.3% 14.1%
Washington $10,099 $9,712 $7,241 $8,857 $11,618 $13,034 12.2% 47.2% 80.0% 34.2% 29.1%
West Virginia $9,376 $8,972 $6,870 $6,463 $7,941 $7,392 -6.9% 14.4% 7.6% -17.6% -21.2%
Wisconsin $12,056 $13,478 $9,323 $9,687 $10,052 $10,032 -0.2% 3.6% 7.6% -25.6% -16.8%
Wyoming $17,557 $14,335 $18,800 $21,847 $19,209 $21,109 9.9% -3.4% 12.3% 47.3% 20.2%
D.C. N/A N/A $16,983 $21,722 $26,814 $21,521 -19.7% -0.9% 26.7% N/A N/A
U.S. $10,296 $11,787 $8,775 $9,910 $11,586 $11,683 0.8% 17.9% 33.2% -0.9% 13.5%
Notes:
  1. Education appropriations are a measure of state and local support available for public higher education operating expenses and student financial aid, excluding appropriations for research, hospitals, and medical education. Education appropriations include federal stimulus funding.
  2. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia. Data for the District of Columbia are not available prior to 2011.
  3. The years 1980 and 2001 are included in this table because they are the starting points of the historical SHEF dataset and modern SHEF data collection, respectively.
  4. The large decrease in education appropriations from fiscal year 2023 to 2024 for Alabama is due to a one-time supplemental appropriation allocated to higher education in 2023.
  5. Fiscal year 2024 state-level education appropriations include estimated uncategorizable state support for New Mexico and South Carolina.
  6. Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details.
  7. Texas developed a new methodology to capture state funding to institutions of higher education and updated FTE enrollment starting in 2017. Years prior to 2017 do not reflect this new methodology, which may affect some year-to-year comparisons.
  8. Adjustment factors to arrive at constant dollar figures include Cost of Living Index (COLI), Enrollment Mix Index (EMI), and Higher Education Cost Adjustment (HECA). The COLI is not a measure of inflation over time.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

2. Sector Comparisons

Table 3.2A presents data on education appropriations per FTE for the public two-year and four-year sectors separately. Two- and four-year institutions have different funding structures and allocation models in many states and vary in the amount of funding they receive from state and local sources. 25 25Unlike state-level education appropriations, sector-level education appropriations exclude agency funding and include only the portion of federal stimulus funding known to be allocated for two-year or four-year public operating purposes. In a handful of states, some state support and financial aid are uncategorizable, meaning they are not allocated to either sector, and are excluded from the sector-level data. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES  

From 2023 to 2024, inflation-adjusted state and local education appropriations decreased 3.3% at two-year institutions, totaling $10,899 per FTE. Two-year public education appropriations per FTE ranged widely across states, from $5,088 in Louisiana to $21,943 per FTE in Illinois. 26 26Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES From 2023 to 2024, two-year education appropriations per FTE declined in 23 states ranging from 37.2% (or $7,811 per FTE) in Alabama to 0.05% ($7 per FTE) in Wyoming. 27 27The large decrease in education appropriations from fiscal year 2023 to 2024 for Alabama is due to a one-time supplemental appropriation allocated to higher education in 2023. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES Twenty-six states had increases in two-year education appropriations per FTE in 2024. These year-over-year increases ranged from 0.1% (or $7 per FTE) in Louisiana to 38.3% (or $2,035 per FTE) in Vermont.

At four-year institutions, education appropriations per FTE increased 1.8% from 2023 to 2024, reaching $10,820. Appropriations ranged even more widely in the four-year sector, from less than $5,000 per student in Arizona, New Hampshire, and Vermont to over $20,000 per student in Illinois, New Mexico, Washington, D.C., and Wyoming. Increases ranged from 0.6% (or $48 per FTE) in Missouri to 18.7% (or $1,808 per FTE) in Nevada. From 2023 to 2024, four-year education appropriations per FTE declined in 21 states and Washington, D.C. Decreases ranged from 0.7% (or $71 per FTE) in Kentucky to 19.7% in New Mexico ($4,925 per FTE) and Washington, D.C. ($5,117 per FTE).

Sector-level education appropriations in 2024 included $27 per FTE in federal stimulus for two-year institutions and $38 per FTE in federal stimulus for four-year institutions. Excluding federal stimulus funding, education appropriations to two- and four-year institutions decreased 2.8% and increased 2.8%, respectively, from 2023 to 2024. 

  • Without federal stimulus funding, two-year education appropriations declined in 24 states. Declines ranged from 0.05% in Wisconsin to 37.2% in Alabama. 28 28The large decrease in education appropriations from fiscal year 2023 to 2024 for Alabama is due to a one-time supplemental appropriation allocated to higher education in 2023. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES
  • Two-year education appropriations per FTE excluding federal stimulus funding increased in 25 states with the smallest increase having been 0.13% in Louisiana and the largest having been 39.2% in Vermont.
  • Seventeen states and Washington, D.C., had declines in four-year education appropriations when excluding federal stimulus funding. Decreases ranged from 0.6% in Kentucky to 19.7% in New Mexico.
  • Of the 33 states that saw increases in four-year education appropriations excluding federal stimulus funding, the increases ranged from 0.1% in Hawai‘i to 27.8% in Nevada. 

Figure 3.2A displays the disparity in funding between the two- and four-year public sectors within each state. States on the left side of the figure (the light blue bars) have relatively higher per-FTE appropriations in the two-year sector, while states on the right side of the figure (the dark blue bars) have higher per-FTE appropriations in the four-year sector. 

  • In 2024, two-year education appropriations per FTE were 0.7% higher than four-year education appropriations, with 22 states having reported higher funding in the two-year sector. 
  • Arizona had the largest education appropriation disparity favoring the two-year sector (89.4% higher), although this is entirely due to local appropriations that exclusively support community colleges. Florida has the highest disparity favoring the four-year sector, with 76.9% greater education appropriations per FTE at four-year institutions.

These high-level data on education appropriations should be interpreted cautiously and with consideration of each state’s broader context. This is because education appropriations attempt to make higher education funding more comparable across states by including local appropriations (which primarily support two-year institutions) but excluding research, agriculture, and medical (RAM) appropriations, which only support four-year institutions. For example, if RAM appropriations were included in the education appropriations total, four-year institutions would have received $2,082 more than two-year institutions per FTE, or 17.4% higher.

To help explain the components of sector-level education appropriations, Table 3.2B breaks out the different sources of state and local support per FTE for two- and four-year public institutions in fiscal year 2024.

  • Two-year public institutions received $6,451 per FTE in state general operating appropriations, 69.0% of the four-year general operating appropriation ($9,354).
  • State financial aid awards averaged $709 at two-year institutions, 50.8% of the $1,395 awarded to students attending four-year institutions.
  • Local appropriations were 115.1 times higher at two-year institutions ($3,712) compared to four-year institutions ($32 per FTE). There were two-year local appropriations in 29 states, compared to only eight for four-year institutions.
  • RAM averaged $2,161 at four-year institutions. These funds, which are only allocated to four-year institutions, are excluded from education appropriations but included in total state support.
  • Total state and local support at two-year institutions was $10,899, 83.9% of the amount at four-year institutions ($12,986).

Figure 3.2A

Percent Difference in Two-Year and Four-Year Public Higher Education Appropriations per FTE by State, FY 2024


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Notes:
  1. Education appropriations are a measure of state and local support available for public higher education operating expenses and student financial aid, excluding appropriations for research, hospitals, and medical education. Sector-level education appropriations include any portion of federal stimulus funding allocated specifically to each sector, but exclude state agency funding.
  2. Alaska and the District of Columbia are excluded from this figure because they do not have any public two-year institutions.
  3. Sector is determined at the institution level using the Carnegie Basic Classification (https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/). Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges and "less-than-two-year" degree-granting institutions not assigned a Carnegie classification are considered two-year institutions.
  4. In California, state funds for nontuition financial aid are classified as uncategorizable state support. Therefore, they are not included in sector-level education appropriations.
  5. Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Table 3.2A

Public Higher Education Appropriations per FTE by Sector and State, FY 2019-2024 (Constant Adjusted Dollars)

Two-Year Education Appropriations Four-Year Education Appropriations
2019 2023 2024 Index to U.S. Average % Change Since 2023 % Change Since 2019 2019 2023 2024 Index to U.S. Average % Change Since 2023 % Change Since 2019
Alabama $8,547 $20,980 $13,169 1.21 -37.2% 54.1% $8,220 $12,813 $11,345 1.05 -11.5% 38.0%
Alaska $0 $0 $0 N/A N/A N/A $18,203 $20,283 $19,441 1.80 -4.1% 6.8%
Arizona $11,268 $13,307 $11,714 1.07 -12.0% 4.0% $4,201 $4,924 $4,477 0.41 -9.1% 6.6%
Arkansas $9,501 $10,426 $9,848 0.90 -5.5% 3.6% $9,306 $8,997 $8,578 0.79 -4.7% -7.8%
California $10,111 $11,792 $10,545 0.97 -10.6% 4.3% $9,724 $11,159 $11,344 1.05 1.7% 16.7%
Colorado $7,055 $6,815 $7,898 0.72 15.9% 12.0% $4,847 $6,790 $6,853 0.63 0.9% 41.4%
Connecticut $10,385 $20,562 $15,451 1.42 -24.9% 48.8% $11,446 $17,874 $15,300 1.41 -14.4% 33.7%
Delaware $10,523 $12,654 $11,610 1.07 -8.3% 10.3% $6,515 $6,004 $5,926 0.55 -1.3% -9.0%
Florida $5,588 $6,633 $7,067 0.65 6.5% 26.5% $13,863 $14,116 $15,895 1.47 12.6% 14.7%
Georgia $8,134 $10,048 $8,895 0.82 -11.5% 9.3% $11,998 $14,567 $13,262 1.23 -9.0% 10.5%
Hawaii $12,353 $16,060 $13,744 1.26 -14.4% 11.3% $15,524 $15,541 $14,360 1.33 -7.6% -7.5%
Idaho $6,943 $7,356 $7,227 0.66 -1.8% 4.1% $10,394 $10,578 $10,351 0.96 -2.2% -0.4%
Illinois $14,438 $20,328 $21,943 2.01 7.9% 52.0% $22,949 $25,113 $26,146 2.42 4.1% 13.9%
Indiana $6,782 $6,304 $6,041 0.55 -4.2% -10.9% $8,178 $7,286 $7,518 0.69 3.2% -8.1%
Iowa $5,479 $6,428 $6,367 0.58 -0.9% 16.2% $7,891 $7,985 $7,669 0.71 -4.0% -2.8%
Kansas $10,266 $12,420 $12,901 1.18 3.9% 25.7% $7,115 $8,729 $9,648 0.89 10.5% 35.6%
Kentucky $7,191 $8,170 $7,467 0.69 -8.6% 3.8% $9,376 $10,770 $10,699 0.99 -0.7% 14.1%
Louisiana $4,308 $5,082 $5,088 0.47 0.1% 18.1% $7,460 $7,321 $7,508 0.69 2.6% 0.6%
Maine $8,626 $10,479 $8,831 0.81 -15.7% 2.4% $8,502 $9,844 $10,202 0.94 3.6% 20.0%
Maryland $8,921 $11,678 $11,700 1.07 0.2% 31.2% $9,400 $11,452 $12,366 1.14 8.0% 31.6%
Massachusetts $7,810 $12,708 $13,430 1.23 5.7% 72.0% $9,762 $13,060 $14,395 1.33 10.2% 47.5%
Michigan $11,479 $15,209 $16,145 1.48 6.2% 40.7% $7,639 $8,716 $8,486 0.78 -2.6% 11.1%
Minnesota $7,795 $9,007 $9,986 0.92 10.9% 28.1% $9,375 $9,990 $11,099 1.03 11.1% 18.4%
Mississippi $6,880 $8,106 $8,208 0.75 1.3% 19.3% $7,750 $9,847 $9,586 0.89 -2.7% 23.7%
Missouri $7,900 $12,576 $13,357 1.23 6.2% 69.1% $8,676 $8,686 $8,734 0.81 0.6% 0.7%
Montana $6,408 $6,716 $6,700 0.61 -0.2% 4.6% $7,268 $7,974 $7,883 0.73 -1.1% 8.5%
Nebraska $13,282 $15,152 $14,934 1.37 -1.4% 12.4% $11,228 $12,034 $12,255 1.13 1.8% 9.2%
Nevada $7,105 $8,092 $9,398 0.86 16.1% 32.3% $10,461 $9,692 $11,500 1.06 18.7% 9.9%
New Hampshire $5,320 $7,537 $8,543 0.78 13.3% 60.6% $2,687 $3,227 $3,574 0.33 10.8% 33.0%
New Jersey $4,827 $5,705 $5,783 0.53 1.4% 19.8% $8,905 $10,687 $11,701 1.08 9.5% 31.4%
New Mexico $11,935 $15,264 $14,209 1.30 -6.9% 19.1% $18,503 $24,964 $20,039 1.85 -19.7% 8.3%
New York $10,404 $12,502 $11,661 1.07 -6.7% 12.1% $15,618 $15,915 $16,848 1.56 5.9% 7.9%
North Carolina $9,525 $9,860 $9,530 0.87 -3.4% 0.0% $14,651 $15,559 $15,992 1.48 2.8% 9.2%
North Dakota $8,387 $8,356 $8,558 0.79 2.4% 2.0% $8,646 $8,485 $9,451 0.87 11.4% 9.3%
Ohio $9,084 $8,412 $9,060 0.83 7.7% -0.3% $7,165 $7,673 $7,738 0.72 0.9% 8.0%
Oklahoma $6,986 $8,487 $8,852 0.81 4.3% 26.7% $8,042 $8,092 $8,735 0.81 7.9% 8.6%
Oregon $8,342 $11,852 $12,224 1.12 3.1% 46.5% $5,368 $6,706 $6,200 0.57 -7.6% 15.5%
Pennsylvania $6,382 $8,425 $8,198 0.75 -2.7% 28.5% $5,859 $7,274 $6,646 0.61 -8.6% 13.4%
Rhode Island $6,281 $7,882 $7,932 0.73 0.6% 26.3% $5,810 $6,517 $7,245 0.67 11.2% 24.7%
South Carolina $8,072 $7,800 $8,849 0.81 13.5% 9.6% $6,634 $7,884 $9,211 0.85 16.8% 38.9%
South Dakota $5,662 $6,212 $6,611 0.61 6.4% 16.8% $7,039 $8,070 $8,908 0.82 10.4% 26.6%
Tennessee $10,493 $14,953 $14,828 1.36 -0.8% 41.3% $12,059 $13,994 $13,337 1.23 -4.7% 10.6%
Texas $9,290 $11,112 $11,261 1.03 1.3% 21.2% $7,584 $7,192 $6,952 0.64 -3.3% -8.3%
Utah $10,809 $13,039 $13,929 1.28 6.8% 28.9% $9,309 $10,849 $12,627 1.17 16.4% 35.6%
Vermont $3,120 $5,312 $7,347 0.67 38.3% 135.5% $3,226 $5,010 $4,819 0.45 -3.8% 49.4%
Virginia $5,697 $7,544 $7,848 0.72 4.0% 37.8% $7,559 $9,670 $10,677 0.99 10.4% 41.2%
Washington $7,684 $10,649 $11,600 1.06 8.9% 51.0% $9,603 $11,892 $13,268 1.23 11.6% 38.2%
West Virginia $8,166 $10,745 $9,852 0.90 -8.3% 20.6% $6,085 $6,929 $6,879 0.64 -0.7% 13.0%
Wisconsin $13,912 $15,415 $14,690 1.35 -4.7% 5.6% $6,481 $6,758 $7,058 0.65 4.4% 8.9%
Wyoming $19,536 $14,416 $14,409 1.32 0.0% -26.2% $21,871 $22,313 $26,063 2.41 16.8% 19.2%
D.C. $0 $0 $0 N/A N/A N/A $21,001 $25,923 $20,806 1.92 -19.7% -0.9%
U.S. $9,319 $11,268 $10,899 1.00 -3.3% 17.0% $9,490 $10,625 $10,820 1.00 1.8% 14.0%
Notes:
  1. Education appropriations are a measure of state and local support available for public higher education operating expenses and student financial aid, excluding appropriations for research, hospitals, and medical education. Sector-level education appropriations include any portion of federal stimulus funding allocated specifically to each sector but exclude state agency funding.
  2. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia. There are no two-year public institutions in Alaska or the District of Columbia.
  3. The year 2019 is included in this table because it is the starting point of the sector-level SHEF dataset.
  4. Sector is determined at the institution level using the Carnegie Basic Classification (https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/). Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges and "less-than-two-year" degree-granting institutions not assigned a Carnegie classification are considered two-year institutions.
  5. The large decrease in education appropriations from fiscal year 2023 to 2024 for Alabama is due to a one-time supplemental appropriation allocated to higher education in 2023.
  6. Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details.
  7. Adjustment factors to arrive at constant dollar figures include Cost of Living Index (COLI) and Higher Education Cost Adjustment (HECA). The COLI is not a measure of inflation over time. The Enrollment Mix Index (EMI) is not applied to sector-level data.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Table 3.2B

Components of Public Higher Education Appropriations per FTE by Sector and State, FY 2024 (Adjusted)

Two-Year Public Institutions Four-Year Public Institutions
State Operating State Financial Aid Local Education Appropriations State and Local Support State Operating State Financial Aid Local Education Appropriations RAM State and Local Support
Alabama $12,985 $127 $57 $13,169 $13,169 $11,032 $313 $0 $11,345 $3,123 $14,495
Alaska $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $18,672 $721 $48 $19,441 $1,453 $20,894
Arizona $1,658 $6 $10,050 $11,714 $11,714 $3,950 $432 $0 $4,477 $1,169 $5,646
Arkansas $7,625 $519 $1,704 $9,848 $9,848 $7,353 $1,225 $0 $8,578 $3,614 $12,202
California $6,187 $577 $3,781 $10,545 $10,545 $9,513 $1,831 $0 $11,344 $1,475 $12,819
Colorado $5,826 $1,207 $865 $7,898 $7,898 $5,088 $1,215 $550 $6,853 $1,542 $8,395
Connecticut $12,595 $393 $0 $15,451 $15,451 $12,413 $133 $0 $15,300 $5,672 $20,971
Delaware $11,500 $109 $0 $11,610 $11,610 $5,287 $639 $0 $5,926 $332 $6,258
Florida $6,341 $550 $177 $7,067 $7,067 $13,361 $2,533 $0 $15,895 $1,902 $17,797
Georgia $7,837 $1,058 $0 $8,895 $8,895 $10,063 $3,199 $0 $13,262 $1,917 $15,179
Hawaii $13,394 $350 $0 $13,744 $13,744 $14,264 $91 $0 $14,360 $4,901 $19,261
Idaho $4,241 $160 $2,826 $7,227 $7,227 $9,902 $449 $0 $10,351 $1,800 $12,151
Illinois $10,551 $828 $10,447 $21,943 $21,943 $23,931 $2,189 $0 $26,146 $1,284 $27,430
Indiana $5,367 $674 $0 $6,041 $6,041 $6,129 $1,389 $0 $7,518 $1,801 $9,319
Iowa $4,847 $618 $902 $6,367 $6,367 $7,408 $261 $0 $7,669 $2,137 $9,835
Kansas $5,534 $408 $6,960 $12,901 $12,901 $8,344 $765 $460 $9,648 $3,015 $12,742
Kentucky $5,218 $2,209 $0 $7,467 $7,467 $8,000 $2,241 $439 $10,699 $1,763 $12,461
Louisiana $4,568 $521 $0 $5,088 $5,088 $5,089 $2,420 $0 $7,508 $3,321 $10,850
Maine $6,770 $2,061 $0 $8,831 $8,831 $9,134 $731 $0 $10,202 $1,518 $11,720
Maryland $5,954 $140 $5,605 $11,700 $11,700 $11,767 $599 $0 $12,366 $2,399 $14,765
Massachusetts $11,589 $1,841 $0 $13,430 $13,430 $12,986 $1,410 $0 $14,395 $575 $14,970
Michigan $7,149 $912 $8,084 $16,145 $16,145 $8,048 $438 $0 $8,486 $905 $9,391
Minnesota $9,315 $671 $0 $9,986 $9,986 $9,855 $1,244 $0 $11,099 $2,305 $13,405
Mississippi $6,381 $207 $1,621 $8,208 $8,208 $8,917 $669 $0 $9,586 $5,689 $15,275
Missouri $5,463 $1,780 $6,114 $13,357 $13,357 $7,935 $799 $0 $8,734 $2,466 $11,200
Montana $4,954 $35 $1,711 $6,700 $6,700 $7,833 $50 $0 $7,883 $1,732 $9,616
Nebraska $4,835 $423 $9,675 $14,934 $14,934 $11,839 $409 $0 $12,255 $4,666 $16,922
Nevada $8,820 $578 $0 $9,398 $9,398 $9,266 $2,220 $14 $11,500 $2,670 $14,170
New Hampshire $8,045 $406 $0 $8,543 $8,543 $3,299 $191 $0 $3,574 $500 $4,074
New Jersey $2,075 $848 $2,860 $5,783 $5,783 $9,423 $2,278 $0 $11,701 $1,681 $13,382
New Mexico $8,498 $980 $4,731 $14,209 $14,209 $14,211 $5,828 $0 $20,039 $3,800 $23,876
New York $4,173 $809 $6,680 $11,661 $11,661 $15,230 $1,449 $169 $16,848 $1,066 $17,914
North Carolina $7,457 $86 $1,832 $9,530 $9,530 $15,047 $945 $0 $15,992 $3,236 $19,228
North Dakota $7,857 $701 $0 $8,558 $8,558 $8,863 $588 $0 $9,451 $3,963 $13,414
Ohio $6,096 $75 $2,890 $9,060 $9,060 $7,124 $614 $0 $7,738 $1,150 $8,889
Oklahoma $5,918 $968 $1,965 $8,852 $8,852 $7,641 $1,095 $0 $8,735 $2,063 $10,798
Oregon $6,562 $1,380 $4,282 $12,224 $12,224 $5,054 $1,146 $0 $6,200 $1,889 $8,088
Pennsylvania $5,002 $438 $2,759 $8,198 $8,198 $5,803 $843 $0 $6,646 $421 $7,067
Rhode Island $6,500 $1,109 $0 $7,932 $7,932 $6,968 $277 $0 $7,245 $0 $7,245
South Carolina $4,382 $2,767 $1,700 $8,849 $8,849 $6,747 $2,460 $5 $9,211 $2,229 $11,476
South Dakota $6,563 $48 $0 $6,611 $6,611 $8,654 $255 $0 $8,908 $2,259 $11,168
Tennessee $10,585 $4,243 $0 $14,828 $14,828 $11,078 $2,259 $0 $13,337 $4,428 $17,765
Texas $3,084 $130 $8,048 $11,261 $11,261 $6,079 $873 $0 $6,952 $5,265 $12,217
Utah $13,741 $188 $0 $13,929 $13,929 $12,375 $252 $0 $12,627 $1,276 $13,903
Vermont $6,319 $1,028 $0 $7,347 $7,347 $3,984 $542 $0 $4,819 $1,036 $5,881
Virginia $6,216 $1,569 $63 $7,848 $7,848 $8,450 $2,156 $71 $10,677 $1,496 $12,223
Washington $10,274 $1,326 $0 $11,600 $11,600 $10,660 $2,608 $0 $13,268 $1,393 $14,661
West Virginia $7,975 $1,877 $0 $9,852 $9,852 $5,222 $1,657 $0 $6,879 $3,718 $10,597
Wisconsin $9,590 $469 $4,631 $14,690 $14,690 $6,282 $664 $0 $7,058 $1,672 $8,730
Wyoming $10,287 $134 $3,988 $14,409 $14,409 $22,396 $2,994 $0 $26,063 $4,185 $30,248
D.C. $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $20,149 $636 $0 $20,806 $931 $21,737
U.S. $6,451 $709 $3,712 $10,899 $10,899 $9,354 $1,395 $32 $10,820 $2,161 $12,986
Notes:
  1. State public operating appropriations are a measure of state support directly allocated to public two- and four-year institutions. State public operating excludes local appropriations, agency funding, RAM, and student financial aid.
  2. State public financial aid is any state appropriated student financial aid for public institutions, excluding loans and aid for students attending medical schools. For some states, it includes aid for both tuition costs and living expenses.
  3. Local appropriations are any local government taxes allocated directly to institutions for operating expenses.
  4. Education appropriations are a measure of state and local support available for public higher education operating expenses and student financial aid, excluding appropriations for research, hospitals, and medical education. Sector-level education appropriations include any portion of federal stimulus funding allocated specifically to each sector but exclude state agency funding.
  5. RAM refers to the total appropriations intended for the direct operations of research, agriculture, public health care services, and medical schools.
  6. Total state and local support is the sum of federal stimulus funds, state and local tax appropriations, non-tax support, non-appropriated support, state-funded endowment earnings, and other state funds, net of any funds not available for use. RAM is included in four-year state and local support. Sector-level state and local support includes any portion of federal stimulus funding allocated specifically to each sector.
  7. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia. There are no two-year public institutions in Alaska or the District of Columbia.
  8. Sector is determined at the institution level using the Carnegie Basic Classification (https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/). Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges and "less-than-two-year" degree-granting institutions not assigned a Carnegie classification are considered two-year institutions.
  9. Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details.
  10. In California, state funds for nontuition financial aid are classified as uncategorizable state support, which is not included in sector-level state and local support, sector-level education appropriations, nor sector-level financial aid.
  11. Adjustment factors to arrive at constant dollar figures include Cost of Living Index (COLI) and Higher Education Cost Adjustment (HECA). The COLI is not a measure of inflation over time. The Enrollment Mix Index (EMI) is not applied to sector-level data.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

State Public Financial Aid

Map 3.3

State Public Financial Aid per FTE, FY 2024

View Full Map

State public financial aid is the part of education appropriations allocated to financial aid for students attending public institutions, excluding loans. While we present financial aid on a per-FTE basis along with all other metrics in the SHEF report, it is important to note that financial aid is not awarded to all students, and changes in aid per FTE could be due to rising award amounts or an increase in the number of students receiving an award.

Financial aid has increased steadily despite economic recessions that negatively impacted the rest of education appropriations. The SHEF data collection on financial aid goes back to 2001. From that year forward, financial aid per FTE has increased in all but two years. 

State public financial aid per FTE increased 4.8% from 2023 to 2024 and reached an all-time high of $1,155 per FTE enrolled student. Because financial aid per FTE has a low base, percentage increases represent smaller dollar-amount increases than similar figures in the other revenue metrics. The 4.8% increase in the last year corresponded to an additional $53 per FTE in financial aid.

1. State Comparisons

States vary considerably in the size and extent of their financial aid programs (Figure 3.3). In 2024, all states and Washington, D.C., had at least one public financial aid program. Public state financial aid ranged from $44 per FTE in Montana to $3,795 per FTE in New Mexico.

Since 2001, per-student aid has increased in 43 states. Despite the longstanding increases in financial aid nationally, per-student aid decreased in 19 states and Washington, D.C., from 2023 to 2024 (Table 3.3). The largest percentage decrease was in Connecticut (50.7%), with a decrease of $213 per FTE. The smallest decrease in financial aid was in Mississippi (0.1%) with a decrease of 60 cents per FTE. 

Financial aid per FTE increased in 31 states from 2023 to 2024. Of these states, increases ranged from 0.3% (or $2 per FTE) in Delaware to 158.5% (or $353 per FTE) in Michigan. 29 29In fiscal year 2023, Michigan created the Michigan Achievement Scholarship and disbursed financial aid awards to the first cohort of students in fiscal year 2024. See the Michigan State Spotlight. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES

Figure 3.3

Public Higher Education State Financial Aid per FTE by State, FY 2024 (Adjusted)


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Notes:
  1. State public financial aid is any state appropriated student financial aid for public institutions, excluding loans and aid for students attending medical schools. For many states, it includes aid for both tuition costs and living expenses. In several states, financial aid may include unawarded funds that were reverted back to the state.
  2. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia.
  3. In California, state funds used for nontuition financial aid are estimated and classified as uncategorizable state support. Therefore, they are not included in state financial aid.
  4. Constant 2024 dollars adjusted by the Higher Education Cost Adjustment (HECA).
  5. Adjusted to account for interstate differences using the Enrollment Mix Index (EMI).
  6. Adjusted to account for interstate differences using the Cost of Living Index (COLI). The COLI is not a measure of inflation over time.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Table 3.3

Public Higher Education State Financial Aid per FTE by State, FY 2001-2024 (Constant Adjusted Dollars)

2001 2014 2019 2023 2024 % Change Since 2023 % Change Since 2019 % Change Since 2014 % Change Since 2001
Alabama $179 $438 $504 $303 $308 1.6% -38.9% -29.7% 72.2%
Alaska $0 $596 $887 $837 $748 -10.7% -15.7% 25.4% N/A
Arizona $34 $56 $46 $195 $291 49.3% 531.3% 417.1% 757.7%
Arkansas $740 $1,587 $1,213 $1,120 $1,105 -1.3% -8.9% -30.3% 49.5%
California $427 $1,135 $911 $1,183 $1,157 -2.2% 27.0% 1.9% 170.9%
Colorado $796 $703 $1,132 $1,382 $1,376 -0.4% 21.6% 95.8% 72.8%
Connecticut $563 $300 $336 $419 $207 -50.7% -38.6% -31.3% -63.3%
Delaware $556 $483 $474 $516 $518 0.3% 9.3% 7.2% -6.9%
Florida $969 $869 $1,549 $1,619 $1,542 -4.7% -0.4% 77.5% 59.1%
Georgia $2,133 $2,080 $2,520 $2,627 $2,691 2.4% 6.8% 29.4% 26.2%
Hawaii $11 $86 $130 $154 $182 18.1% 40.1% 112.1% 1486.0%
Idaho $116 $133 $393 $382 $378 -1.0% -3.7% 184.0% 226.1%
Illinois $1,203 $789 $959 $1,432 $1,679 17.2% 75.1% 112.8% 39.5%
Indiana $707 $1,300 $1,420 $1,129 $1,181 4.6% -16.8% -9.1% 67.2%
Iowa $62 $144 $102 $349 $411 17.7% 302.5% 184.8% 567.2%
Kansas $135 $126 $144 $399 $625 56.8% 334.1% 398.1% 364.3%
Kentucky $361 $1,362 $1,676 $2,248 $2,222 -1.2% 32.5% 63.2% 515.1%
Louisiana $963 $1,961 $2,394 $2,226 $1,945 -12.6% -18.8% -0.9% 101.9%
Maine $458 $275 $585 $1,155 $1,160 0.5% 98.3% 321.3% 153.2%
Maryland $414 $417 $404 $423 $449 6.3% 11.2% 7.7% 8.5%
Massachusetts $677 $376 $429 $835 $1,564 87.2% 264.7% 316.1% 131.0%
Michigan $829 $14 $24 $223 $577 158.5% 2267.5% 3942.3% -30.5%
Minnesota $821 $749 $907 $956 $1,018 6.5% 12.3% 35.9% 24.0%
Mississippi $623 $357 $398 $459 $459 -0.1% 15.1% 28.4% -26.3%
Missouri $340 $587 $781 $1,183 $1,105 -6.6% 41.5% 88.4% 224.8%
Montana $158 $195 $49 $46 $44 -3.1% -9.2% -77.1% -71.8%
Nebraska $61 $210 $281 $394 $413 4.7% 46.9% 97.0% 572.8%
Nevada $1,079 $1,389 $1,463 $1,516 $1,571 3.6% 7.4% 13.0% 45.6%
New Hampshire $42 $0 $124 $227 $234 3.1% 88.4% N/A 451.8%
New Jersey $1,017 $1,080 $1,341 $1,581 $1,858 17.5% 38.5% 72.0% 82.6%
New Mexico $1,023 $1,321 $1,218 $3,549 $3,795 6.9% 211.6% 187.3% 270.8%
New York $1,145 $1,354 $1,601 $1,278 $1,239 -3.1% -22.6% -8.5% 8.2%
North Carolina $346 $519 $486 $583 $550 -5.6% 13.1% 5.9% 58.8%
North Dakota $56 $468 $522 $571 $601 5.3% 15.2% 28.5% 982.7%
Ohio $360 $248 $326 $395 $554 40.3% 70.2% 123.4% 54.0%
Oklahoma $407 $956 $1,074 $1,022 $1,055 3.2% -1.8% 10.3% 159.4%
Oregon $226 $427 $635 $911 $1,224 34.4% 92.9% 186.5% 442.4%
Pennsylvania $988 $872 $745 $747 $739 -1.2% -0.8% -15.4% -25.3%
Rhode Island $191 $259 $436 $459 $514 11.9% 17.8% 98.5% 169.5%
South Carolina $590 $2,186 $2,550 $2,330 $2,526 8.4% -1.0% 15.5% 328.1%
South Dakota $8 $172 $250 $223 $223 -0.2% -10.9% 29.7% 2647.2%
Tennessee $337 $2,243 $3,081 $3,602 $2,972 -17.5% -3.6% 32.5% 780.6%
Texas $23 $258 $564 $622 $654 5.1% 15.9% 153.7% 2696.6%
Utah $101 $148 $255 $312 $235 -24.6% -7.9% 59.5% 133.7%
Vermont $557 $505 $519 $549 $622 13.3% 20.0% 23.2% 11.6%
Virginia $585 $750 $975 $1,397 $1,946 39.3% 99.7% 159.7% 232.7%
Washington $774 $1,456 $1,408 $1,852 $1,978 6.8% 40.5% 35.9% 155.5%
West Virginia $482 $1,555 $1,583 $1,579 $1,665 5.5% 5.2% 7.1% 245.7%
Wisconsin $482 $728 $708 $636 $602 -5.3% -14.9% -17.3% 24.9%
Wyoming $1,135 $1,450 $1,614 $1,408 $1,520 7.9% -5.8% 4.8% 33.9%
D.C. N/A $1,440 $1,355 $868 $658 -24.2% -51.4% -54.3% N/A
U.S. $597 $843 $959 $1,102 $1,155 4.8% 20.5% 37.0% 93.4%
Notes:
  1. State public financial aid is any state appropriated student financial aid for public institutions, excluding loans and aid for students attending medical schools. For many states, it includes aid for both tuition costs and living expenses. In several states, financial aid may include unawarded funds that were reverted back to the state.
  2. Financial aid data are not available prior to 2001. Over time, states have shifted from reporting appropriated student financial aid to reporting actual/awarded student financial aid. Any such updates are made to all historical data for each state.
  3. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia. Data for the District of Columbia are not available prior to 2011.
  4. In fiscal year 2024, Michigan appropriated $300 million to the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, $110 million of which was spent on scholarships. The remaining $189.5M remains in the Post-Secondary Scholarship fund to help build up to the fully implemented cost of the Michigan Achievement Scholarship and is captured as uncategorizable state support. Therefore, these funds are not included in state financial aid. See the Michigan State Spotlight.
  5. In California, state funds used for nontuition financial aid are estimated and classified as uncategorizable state support. Therefore, they are not included in state financial aid. See the California State Spotlight for more details.
  6. Texas developed a new methodology to capture state funding to institutions of higher education and updated FTE enrollment starting in 2017. Years prior to 2017 do not reflect this new methodology, which may affect some year-to-year comparisons.
  7. Adjustment factors to arrive at constant dollar figures include Cost of Living Index (COLI), Enrollment Mix Index (EMI), and Higher Education Cost Adjustment (HECA). The COLI is not a measure of inflation over time.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

State Spotlight : Michigan

MI

In fiscal year (FY) 2024, state financial aid to students attending public institutions in Michigan increased 158.5% to reach $577 per student. Financial aid increases in Michigan in recent years have primarily benefited students attending community colleges due to the Futures for Frontliners and Michigan Reconnect programs. After a few years of growth in these programs, more than 90% of total state public financial aid was allocated to the two-year sector in FY 2023. This most recent increase in state public financial aid from 2023 to 2024 can be attributed to the creation of the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, Michigan’s new flagship scholarship program, which benefited students attending both two- and four-year public institutions. In fact, after the implementation of this scholarship, per-student state financial aid to public four-year institutions increased 1,518.6% from 2023 to 2024.

The Michigan Achievement Scholarship, which was created in 2023 and is funded through Michigan’s Postsecondary Scholarship Fund, provides crucial levels of funding for community colleges, four-year public and private colleges, and skills scholarships for trade certificates. Approximately two-thirds of recent high school graduates attending Michigan institutions full time qualify for support. To implement the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, the state deposited $250 million into the Postsecondary Scholarship Fund in 2023. In FY 2024, Michigan appropriated $300 million toward the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, $110 million of which was spent on the first cohort of scholarships for more than 28,000 students at public and private institutions. The remaining $189.5M remained in the Postsecondary Scholarship Fund to help scale up funding for the fully implemented cost of the Michigan Achievement Scholarship awards. The state expanded the Michigan Achievement Scholarship in FY 2025 to include the Community College Guarantee which provides a tuition-free pathway for recent high school graduates earning a skill certificate or associate degree at their local community college.

2. Sector Comparisons

Table 3.3A presents state financial aid allocated to FTE students in the public two-year and four-year sectors, separately. In some cases, states were not able to identify the sector for some of their financial aid dollars. In those cases, the funds were listed as “uncategorizable” and are excluded from this section. 30 30Overall, 1.7% of state public financial aid was uncategorizable. Thirty-seven states and Washington, D.C., were able to classify all state public financial aid by sector and listed no uncategorizable aid. In four states, more than 10% of aid could not be classified by sector: Alabama (17.1%), Colorado (13.9%), Ohio (15.9%), and Texas (15.0%). Additionally, in California, state funds for nontuition financial aid are classified as uncategorizable state support. Therefore, they are not included in sector-level data. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES  

At two-year institutions, state public financial aid increased 1.2% from 2023 to 2024 (a $9 increase per student), reaching $709 per FTE. Aid ranged from $6 per FTE in Arizona to $4,243 in Tennessee. Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, and South Dakota were the only other states to provide less than $100 per FTE student while Kentucky, Maine, and South Carolina were the only other states to provide more than $2,000 per FTE.

Financial aid to two-year institutions increased in 25 states from 2023 to 2024. The largest increase was in Wyoming (564.5%, or $114 per FTE) while the smallest was in New Mexico (0.04%, or 42 cents per FTE). Of the 24 states with declines, decreases ranged from 1.4% (or $2 per FTE) in Alabama to 45.5% (or $329 per FTE) in Connecticut.

At four-year institutions, state public financial aid increased 6.1%, or $81 per FTE, totaling $1,395 per FTE from 2023 to 2024. Aid ranged from $50 per FTE in Montana to $5,828 per FTE in New Mexico. This means that New Mexico provided 1.8 times the amount of four-year financial aid than Georgia, which had the second largest amount at $3,199 per FTE.

From 2023 to 2024, four-year aid allocations increased in 28 states. The other 22 states and Washington, D.C., had decreases in per-FTE financial aid. Decreases ranged from 0.05% (or $1 per FTE) in Kentucky to 49.2% (or $128 per FTE) in Connecticut.

Measurement Note: Financial Aid Reporting

financial aid reporting

Starting with fiscal year (FY) 2019, the SHEF data collection asked states to provide state financial aid by sector. For many statewide programs, there is not a separate financial aid appropriation for two-year and four-year public institutions, and actual allocations must be reported to obtain accurate sector-level data. As a result, many states switched from reporting financial aid appropriations to reporting actual allocations by sector. A handful of states, including those with multiple sector-level data providers, have always provided financial aid allocations. This reporting change is noteworthy because financial aid awards depend on the number of students who qualify and apply for each aid program, and appropriations rarely match allocations. In all cases, prior year data were corrected to match the new reporting methodology, or unallocated funds were listed as “uncategorizable public aid” to ensure continuity in state support definitions over time. Nevertheless, this reporting change marks a departure from the historical practice of SHEF reporting state appropriations for financial aid.

Figure 3.3A displays the disparity in state financial aid between the two- and four-year public sectors within each state. States on the left side of the figure (the light blue bars) have higher per-FTE financial aid in the two-year sector, while states on the right side of the figure (the dark blue bars) have relatively higher per-FTE financial aid in the four-year sector. While most states have greater financial aid in the four-year sector (65.3% higher, on national average), the four-year sector also has much higher tuition rates. Arizona had the largest disparity in financial aid favoring its four-year sector (194.5% higher), while Rhode Island had the largest disparity favoring its two-year sector (120.1% higher).

Figure 3.3A

Percent Difference in Two-Year and Four-Year Public Higher Education State Financial Aid per FTE by State, FY 2024


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Notes:
  1. State public financial aid is any state appropriated student financial aid for public institutions, excluding loans and aid for students attending medical schools. For many states, it includes aid for both tuition costs and living expenses. Sector-level state public financial aid excludes any financial aid that could not be categorized by sector. Differences in aid amounts across sector capture variation in the proportion of students receiving an award as well as differences in average award size.
  2. Alaska and the District of Columbia are excluded from this figure because they do not have any public two-year institutions.
  3. Sector is determined at the institution level using the Carnegie Basic Classification (https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/). Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges and "less-than-two-year" degree-granting institutions not assigned a Carnegie classification are considered two-year institutions.
  4. In California, state funds for nontuition financial aid are classified as uncategorizable state support. Therefore, they are not included in sector-level financial aid.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Table 3.3A

Public Higher Education State Financial Aid per FTE by Sector and State, FY 2019-2024 (Constant Adjusted Dollars)

Two-Year Financial Aid Four-Year Financial Aid
2019 2023 2024 Index to U.S. Average % Change Since 2023 % Change Since 2019 2019 2023 2024 Index to U.S. Average % Change Since 2023 % Change Since 2019
Alabama $190 $129 $127 0.18 -1.4% -33.1% $596 $327 $313 0.22 -4.2% -47.5%
Alaska $0 $0 $0 N/A N/A N/A $820 $802 $721 0.52 -10.1% -12.1%
Arizona $7 $7 $6 0.01 -16.0% -13.3% $71 $280 $432 0.31 54.7% 509.8%
Arkansas $333 $455 $519 0.73 14.0% 55.9% $1,542 $1,311 $1,225 0.88 -6.5% -20.6%
California $772 $656 $577 0.81 -12.1% -25.3% $1,047 $1,741 $1,831 1.31 5.1% 74.9%
Colorado $1,073 $1,196 $1,207 1.70 0.9% 12.5% $947 $1,219 $1,215 0.87 -0.3% 28.2%
Connecticut $367 $722 $393 0.55 -45.5% 7.1% $323 $261 $133 0.09 -49.2% -59.0%
Delaware $115 $123 $109 0.15 -10.9% -4.8% $601 $626 $639 0.46 2.1% 6.3%
Florida $558 $586 $550 0.78 -6.2% -1.5% $2,680 $2,617 $2,533 1.82 -3.2% -5.5%
Georgia $951 $972 $1,058 1.49 8.9% 11.3% $3,056 $3,121 $3,199 2.29 2.5% 4.7%
Hawaii $164 $261 $350 0.49 34.1% 112.9% $110 $98 $91 0.07 -7.1% -17.0%
Idaho $257 $195 $160 0.23 -18.1% -38.0% $431 $441 $449 0.32 1.9% 4.1%
Illinois $380 $689 $828 1.17 20.1% 117.8% $1,427 $1,899 $2,189 1.57 15.3% 53.4%
Indiana $756 $686 $674 0.95 -1.8% -10.9% $1,666 $1,298 $1,389 1.00 7.0% -16.6%
Iowa $140 $627 $618 0.87 -1.6% 341.0% $75 $139 $261 0.19 87.9% 246.5%
Kansas $25 $264 $408 0.58 54.8% 1561.3% $224 $484 $765 0.55 57.8% 241.1%
Kentucky $1,795 $2,294 $2,209 3.12 -3.7% 23.1% $1,635 $2,242 $2,241 1.61 0.0% 37.1%
Louisiana $510 $638 $521 0.73 -18.4% 2.2% $3,068 $2,764 $2,420 1.73 -12.5% -21.1%
Maine $835 $2,139 $2,061 2.91 -3.7% 146.7% $505 $740 $731 0.52 -1.2% 44.6%
Maryland $90 $123 $140 0.20 14.2% 56.1% $489 $569 $599 0.43 5.3% 22.4%
Massachusetts $441 $881 $1,841 2.60 109.0% 317.3% $415 $803 $1,410 1.01 75.6% 239.4%
Michigan $8 $690 $912 1.29 32.1% 11463.8% $32 $27 $438 0.31 1518.6% 1255.9%
Minnesota $608 $640 $671 0.95 4.9% 10.4% $1,101 $1,153 $1,244 0.89 7.9% 12.9%
Mississippi $143 $162 $207 0.29 27.5% 44.3% $627 $705 $669 0.48 -5.0% 6.8%
Missouri $999 $1,935 $1,780 2.51 -8.0% 78.2% $658 $846 $799 0.57 -5.5% 21.4%
Montana $28 $37 $35 0.05 -5.5% 26.4% $57 $51 $50 0.04 -2.6% -13.0%
Nebraska $243 $366 $423 0.60 15.8% 74.1% $302 $409 $409 0.29 -0.1% 35.4%
Nevada $628 $553 $578 0.82 4.6% -8.0% $2,064 $2,154 $2,220 1.59 3.1% 7.6%
New Hampshire $360 $515 $406 0.57 -21.2% 12.7% $44 $147 $191 0.14 30.0% 338.2%
New Jersey $735 $904 $848 1.20 -6.2% 15.4% $1,667 $1,832 $2,278 1.63 24.4% 36.7%
New Mexico $301 $980 $980 1.38 0.0% 225.9% $2,051 $5,329 $5,828 4.18 9.4% 184.2%
New York $1,270 $794 $809 1.14 1.8% -36.3% $1,786 $1,511 $1,449 1.04 -4.1% -18.9%
North Carolina $121 $100 $86 0.12 -14.5% -28.8% $779 $966 $945 0.68 -2.2% 21.3%
North Dakota $500 $658 $701 0.99 6.6% 40.2% $541 $562 $588 0.42 4.7% 8.8%
Ohio $41 $69 $75 0.11 8.7% 82.1% $387 $491 $614 0.44 25.1% 58.6%
Oklahoma $751 $941 $968 1.37 2.9% 28.9% $1,226 $1,059 $1,095 0.78 3.3% -10.8%
Oregon $821 $1,172 $1,380 1.95 17.7% 68.0% $508 $769 $1,146 0.82 49.0% 125.5%
Pennsylvania $386 $453 $438 0.62 -3.2% 13.6% $698 $849 $843 0.60 -0.6% 20.8%
Rhode Island $938 $1,154 $1,109 1.57 -3.9% 18.2% $208 $195 $277 0.20 41.6% 33.3%
South Carolina $2,612 $2,139 $2,767 3.91 29.4% 5.9% $2,550 $2,484 $2,460 1.76 -1.0% -3.6%
South Dakota $32 $40 $48 0.07 21.8% 48.9% $288 $259 $255 0.18 -1.6% -11.6%
Tennessee $3,418 $4,917 $4,243 5.99 -13.7% 24.2% $2,843 $2,896 $2,259 1.62 -22.0% -20.5%
Texas $133 $129 $130 0.18 0.6% -2.3% $890 $846 $873 0.63 3.1% -2.0%
Utah $93 $197 $188 0.27 -4.5% 102.8% $303 $346 $252 0.18 -27.1% -16.6%
Vermont $974 $1,584 $1,028 1.45 -35.1% 5.5% $435 $377 $542 0.39 43.9% 24.7%
Virginia $680 $1,321 $1,569 2.21 18.8% 130.9% $1,132 $1,453 $2,156 1.54 48.4% 90.5%
Washington $873 $1,148 $1,326 1.87 15.4% 51.9% $1,970 $2,566 $2,608 1.87 1.6% 32.4%
West Virginia $1,159 $1,969 $1,877 2.65 -4.7% 62.0% $1,714 $1,555 $1,657 1.19 6.6% -3.3%
Wisconsin $572 $522 $469 0.66 -10.2% -18.0% $781 $689 $664 0.48 -3.6% -15.0%
Wyoming $739 $20 $134 0.19 564.5% -81.8% $2,364 $2,914 $2,994 2.15 2.7% 26.6%
D.C. $0 $0 $0 N/A N/A N/A $1,310 $839 $636 0.46 -24.2% -51.4%
U.S. $642 $700 $709 1.00 1.2% 10.4% $1,147 $1,315 $1,395 1.00 6.1% 21.7%
Notes:
  1. State public financial aid is any state appropriated student financial aid for public institutions, excluding loans and aid for students attending medical schools. For many states, it includes aid for both tuition costs and living expenses. Sector-level state public financial aid excludes any financial aid that could not be categorized by sector.
  2. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia. There are no two-year public institutions in Alaska or the District of Columbia.
  3. The year 2019 is included in this table because it is the starting point of the sector-level SHEF dataset.
  4. Sector is determined at the institution level using the Carnegie Basic Classification (https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/). Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges and "less-than-two-year" degree-granting institutions not assigned a Carnegie classification are considered two-year institutions.
  5. In California, state funds for nontuition financial aid are classified as uncategorizable state support. Therefore, they are not included in sector-level financial aid.
  6. Adjustment factors to arrive at constant dollar figures include Cost of Living Index (COLI) and Higher Education Cost Adjustment (HECA). The COLI is not a measure of inflation over time. The Enrollment Mix Index (EMI) is not applied to sector-level data.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

Financial Aid Share

Financial aid is one component of education appropriations. This section provides data on state public financial aid as a percentage of education appropriations (the financial aid allocation) by state and sector. 

The percentage of education appropriations allocated to state financial aid has increased over time. In 2001, 5.1% of education appropriations were directed toward student financial aid; by 2024, this proportion had increased to 9.9% (an increase of 4.8 percentage points).

1. State Comparisons

States vary considerably in how much of their total funding is allocated to student financial aid. On the low end, Montana has a very small aid program that comprised only 0.6% of its total education appropriations. On the high end, the financial aid allocation accounted for 27.2% of South Carolina’s total funding for public higher education (Figure 3.4).

Financial aid as a percentage of education appropriations has increased in 42 states since 2001, when financial aid data was first collected for the SHEF dataset. Of the eight states with declines in the proportion of education appropriations allocated to financial aid, Vermont (0.06 percentage points) had the smallest decline while Connecticut (1.8 percentage points) had the largest.

Table 3.4

Public Higher Education State Financial Aid as a Percentage of Education Appropriations by State, FY 2001-2024

2001 2009 2014 2019 2023 2024 Change Since 2023 Change Since 2019 Chance Since 2014 Change Since 2009 Chance Since 2001
Alabama 1.8% 2.9% 5.7% 6.1% 2.0% 2.6% 0.6 -3.5 -3.2 -0.3 0.8
Alaska 0.0% 0.6% 3.1% 4.7% 4.0% 3.7% -0.3 -1.0 0.6 3.1 3.7
Arizona 0.3% 0.6% 0.8% 0.7% 2.7% 4.3% 1.7 3.7 3.6 3.7 4.0
Arkansas 6.3% 4.8% 15.6% 12.6% 11.0% 11.7% 0.7 -0.9 -4.0 6.9 5.3
California 4.1% 7.2% 13.5% 8.6% 9.4% 9.5% 0.2 0.9 -4.0 2.3 5.5
Colorado 10.3% 12.9% 16.9% 20.2% 20.1% 19.0% -1.1 -1.3 2.0 6.1 8.7
Connecticut 3.1% 3.4% 2.3% 3.0% 2.2% 1.2% -0.9 -1.8 -1.1 -2.1 -1.8
Delaware 5.1% 6.0% 6.5% 6.6% 7.3% 7.5% 0.2 1.0 1.0 1.6 2.4
Florida 8.1% 14.5% 11.7% 16.5% 15.6% 13.5% -2.1 -3.0 1.8 -1.0 5.4
Georgia 12.6% 19.2% 20.3% 21.0% 18.2% 20.7% 2.5 -0.3 0.4 1.5 8.1
Hawaii 0.1% 0.4% 0.9% 0.8% 0.9% 1.2% 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.8 1.1
Idaho 0.8% 2.1% 1.4% 3.4% 3.0% 3.1% 0.1 -0.3 1.6 0.9 2.3
Illinois 7.4% 6.0% 4.4% 4.9% 6.0% 6.6% 0.6 1.7 2.2 0.6 -0.8
Indiana 6.4% 12.1% 16.5% 17.8% 15.2% 16.3% 1.2 -1.5 -0.2 4.2 10.0
Iowa 0.5% 1.6% 1.8% 1.5% 4.8% 5.9% 1.1 4.4 4.1 4.3 5.4
Kansas 1.1% 1.5% 1.6% 1.7% 3.9% 5.7% 1.8 4.0 4.2 4.2 4.7
Kentucky 2.5% 12.3% 14.8% 18.9% 21.3% 21.9% 0.6 3.0 7.1 9.6 19.4
Louisiana 10.3% 12.3% 27.2% 33.7% 28.2% 23.1% -5.1 -10.7 -4.1 10.7 12.8
Maine 4.2% 3.3% 3.6% 7.0% 11.8% 12.2% 0.4 5.2 8.6 8.9 8.0
Maryland 3.7% 4.8% 5.1% 4.3% 3.6% 3.7% 0.1 -0.6 -1.4 -1.1 -0.1
Massachusetts 5.5% 4.6% 4.8% 4.5% 6.3% 10.9% 4.6 6.4 6.1 6.3 5.4
Michigan 5.7% 5.6% 0.2% 0.3% 2.1% 5.0% 3.0 4.8 4.9 -0.5 -0.7
Minnesota 6.6% 7.2% 9.7% 9.9% 9.4% 8.9% -0.5 -1.0 -0.8 1.7 2.3
Mississippi 5.0% 3.3% 4.2% 5.4% 5.0% 5.1% 0.1 -0.3 0.8 1.7 0.0
Missouri 2.3% 4.8% 7.1% 9.0% 11.8% 10.7% -1.1 1.7 3.6 5.8 8.4
Montana 2.3% 3.4% 3.0% 0.7% 0.6% 0.6% 0.0 -0.1 -2.4 -2.8 -1.7
Nebraska 0.6% 1.3% 1.9% 2.4% 2.9% 3.1% 0.2 0.8 1.2 1.8 2.5
Nevada 9.8% 10.6% 14.8% 15.9% 16.7% 14.0% -2.6 -1.9 -0.8 3.4 4.2
New Hampshire 0.7% 1.7% 0.0% 3.8% 5.5% 5.1% -0.4 1.3 5.1 3.3 4.3
New Jersey 8.2% 9.9% 12.1% 16.4% 15.8% 17.9% 2.1 1.4 5.8 8.0 9.7
New Mexico 8.2% 9.3% 11.0% 7.8% 15.7% 18.9% 3.2 11.1 7.9 9.6 10.8
New York 9.6% 9.6% 11.7% 11.6% 8.5% 8.1% -0.4 -3.5 -3.6 -1.6 -1.5
North Carolina 2.3% 4.6% 4.5% 3.8% 4.3% 4.1% -0.2 0.3 -0.3 -0.5 1.9
North Dakota 0.7% 1.6% 4.2% 5.6% 6.3% 5.8% -0.4 0.2 1.6 4.2 5.1
Ohio 3.1% 6.8% 3.7% 4.2% 5.0% 6.8% 1.8 2.5 3.0 -0.1 3.6
Oklahoma 3.4% 9.9% 10.3% 12.7% 11.6% 11.1% -0.5 -1.6 0.8 1.2 7.8
Oregon 2.5% 10.2% 7.7% 9.5% 10.4% 14.2% 3.8 4.7 6.5 4.0 11.7
Pennsylvania 8.6% 9.4% 16.1% 12.4% 10.0% 10.8% 0.8 -1.6 -5.3 1.4 2.2
Rhode Island 1.9% 4.6% 4.7% 7.0% 6.4% 6.6% 0.2 -0.4 1.9 2.0 4.7
South Carolina 6.1% 29.3% 35.9% 35.4% 29.1% 27.2% -2.0 -8.2 -8.7 -2.1 21.0
South Dakota 0.1% 1.9% 2.4% 3.2% 2.2% 2.2% 0.0 -1.0 -0.2 0.3 2.1
Tennessee 3.1% 18.4% 22.1% 25.7% 22.6% 20.4% -2.1 -5.3 -1.7 2.0 17.3
Texas 0.2% 1.5% 2.6% 5.1% 5.2% 5.1% -0.1 0.0 2.5 3.6 4.9
Utah 1.0% 2.0% 1.9% 2.7% 2.8% 1.8% -0.9 -0.9 -0.1 -0.2 0.8
Vermont 11.7% 13.3% 13.3% 15.7% 9.7% 11.6% 1.9 -4.1 -1.7 -1.7 -0.1
Virginia 5.3% 8.1% 11.8% 13.4% 14.8% 19.2% 4.3 5.8 7.4 11.1 13.9
Washington 8.0% 11.6% 20.1% 15.9% 15.9% 15.2% -0.8 -0.7 -4.9 3.6 7.2
West Virginia 5.4% 19.8% 22.6% 24.5% 19.9% 22.5% 2.6 -2.0 -0.1 2.7 17.2
Wisconsin 3.6% 5.9% 7.8% 7.3% 6.3% 6.0% -0.3 -1.3 -1.8 0.1 2.4
Wyoming 7.9% 7.0% 7.7% 7.4% 7.3% 7.2% -0.1 -0.2 -0.5 0.2 -0.7
D.C. N/A N/A 8.5% 6.2% 3.2% 3.1% -0.2 -3.2 -5.4 N/A N/A
U.S. 5.1% 7.7% 9.6% 9.7% 9.5% 9.9% 0.4 0.2 0.3 2.2 4.8
Notes:
  1. State public financial aid is any state appropriated student financial aid for public institutions, excluding loans and aid for students attending medical schools. For many states, it includes aid for both tuition costs and living expenses. In several states, financial aid includes unawarded funds that were reverted back to the state.
  2. Education appropriations are a measure of state and local support available for public higher education operating expenses and student financial aid, excluding appropriations for research, hospitals, and medical education. Education appropriations include federal stimulus funding.
  3. Financial aid data are not available prior to 2001. Over time, states have shifted from reporting appropriated student financial aid to reporting actual/awarded student financial aid. Any such updates are made to all historical data for each state.
  4. Year change columns show percentage point increases or decreases, not percent change.
  5. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia. Data for the District of Columbia are not available prior to 2011.
  6. Fiscal year 2024 state-level education appropriations include estimated uncategorizable state support for New Mexico and South Carolina.
  7. Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details.
  8. In California, state funds for nontuition financial aid are estimated and classified as uncategorizable state support, which is included in state-level education appropriations but not included in state financial aid.
Figure 3.4

Public Higher Education State Financial Aid as a Percentage of Education Appropriations by State, FY 2024 (Adjusted)


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Notes:
  1. Education appropriations are a measure of state and local support available for public higher education operating expenses and student financial aid, excluding appropriations for research, hospitals, and medical education. Education appropriations include federal stimulus funding.
  2. Fiscal year 2024 state-level education appropriations include estimated uncategorizable state support for New Mexico and South Carolina.
  3. Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details.
  4. In California, state funds for nontuition financial aid are estimated and classified as uncategorizable state support, which is included in state-level education appropriations but not included in state financial aid.
  5. State public financial aid is any state appropriated student financial aid for public institutions, excluding loans. Aid for students attending medical schools is excluded starting in fiscal year 2019. For many states, it includes aid for both tuition costs and living expenses. In several states, financial aid may include unawarded funds that were reverted back to the state.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

2. Sector Comparisons

The percentage of education appropriations allocated to financial aid differs for two- and four-year institutions. In fiscal year 2024, 6.5% of funding at two-year institutions went to financial aid, compared to 12.9% of funding at four-year institutions.

  • The financial aid allocation at two-year institutions ranged from 0.05% in Arizona to 31.3% in South Carolina. Including Arizona, eight states had a two-year financial aid allocation of less than 1%.
  • At four-year institutions, Montana had the lowest financial aid allocation (0.6%), and Louisiana had the highest (32.2%). Connecticut and Hawai‘i were the only other states that had a four-year financial aid allocation of less than 1%.

Figure 3.4A shows the difference in the financial aid allocation as a percentage of sector-level education appropriations between two- and four-year institutions. In states on the figure’s left side (the light blue bars), the financial aid allocation as a percentage of two-year education appropriations is highest in the two-year sector. Most states are on the right side of Figure 3.4A (the dark blue bars), indicating that in a majority of states, the mix of funding for four-year institutions leans more toward student aid than at two-year institutions.

Figure 3.4A

Difference in Two-Year and Four-Year State Financial Aid as a Percentage of Education Appropriations by State, FY 2024


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Notes:
  1. State public financial aid is any state appropriated student financial aid for public institutions, excluding loans and aid for students attending medical schools. For many states, it includes aid for both tuition costs and living expenses. Sector-level state public financial aid excludes any financial aid that could not be categorized by sector. Differences in aid amounts across sector capture variation in the proportion of students receiving an award as well as differences in average award size.
  2. Education appropriations are a measure of state and local support available for public higher education operating expenses and student financial aid, excluding appropriations for research, hospitals, and medical education. Sector-level education appropriations include any portion of federal stimulus funding allocated specifically to each sector, but exclude state agency funding.
  3. Percentage point differences show the number of percentage points by which the financial aid share is higher at either two- or four-year institutions, not the percent difference between the two.
  4. Alaska and the District of Columbia are excluded from this figure because they do not have any public two-year institutions.
  5. Sector is determined at the institution level using the Carnegie Basic Classification (https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/). Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges and "less-than-two-year" degree-granting institutions not assigned a Carnegie classification are considered two-year institutions.
  6. In California, state funds for nontuition financial aid are estimated and classified as uncategorizable state support, which is not included in sector-level education appropriations, nor sector-level financial aid.
  7. Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Table 3.4A

Public Higher Education State Financial Aid as a Percentage of Education Appropriations by Sector and State, FY 2019-2024

Two-Year Financial Aid Share Four-Year Financial Aid Share
2019 2023 2024 Index to U.S. Average Change Since 2023 Change Since 2019 2019 2023 2024 Index to U.S. Average Change Since 2023 Change Since 2019
Alabama 2.2% 0.6% 1.0% 0.15 0.4 -1.3 7.2% 2.5% 2.8% 0.21 0.2 -4.5
Alaska N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 4.5% 4.0% 3.7% 0.29 -0.2 -0.8
Arizona 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.01 0.0 0.0 1.7% 5.7% 9.7% 0.75 4.0 8.0
Arkansas 3.5% 4.4% 5.3% 0.81 0.9 1.8 16.6% 14.6% 14.3% 1.11 -0.3 -2.3
California 7.6% 5.6% 5.5% 0.84 -0.1 -2.2 10.8% 15.6% 16.1% 1.25 0.5 5.4
Colorado 15.2% 17.6% 15.3% 2.35 -2.3 0.1 19.5% 18.0% 17.7% 1.37 -0.2 -1.8
Connecticut 3.5% 3.5% 2.5% 0.39 -1.0 -1.0 2.8% 1.5% 0.9% 0.07 -0.6 -2.0
Delaware 1.1% 1.0% 0.9% 0.14 0.0 -0.1 9.2% 10.4% 10.8% 0.84 0.4 1.6
Florida 10.0% 8.8% 7.8% 1.20 -1.1 -2.2 19.3% 18.5% 15.9% 1.24 -2.6 -3.4
Georgia 11.7% 9.7% 11.9% 1.83 2.2 0.2 25.5% 21.4% 24.1% 1.87 2.7 -1.3
Hawaii 1.3% 1.6% 2.5% 0.39 0.9 1.2 0.7% 0.6% 0.6% 0.05 0.0 -0.1
Idaho 3.7% 2.6% 2.2% 0.34 -0.4 -1.5 4.1% 4.2% 4.3% 0.34 0.2 0.2
Illinois 2.6% 3.4% 3.8% 0.58 0.4 1.1 6.2% 7.6% 8.4% 0.65 0.8 2.2
Indiana 11.1% 10.9% 11.1% 1.72 0.3 0.0 20.4% 17.8% 18.5% 1.43 0.7 -1.9
Iowa 2.6% 9.8% 9.7% 1.49 -0.1 7.1 1.0% 1.7% 3.4% 0.26 1.7 2.4
Kansas 0.2% 2.1% 3.2% 0.49 1.0 2.9 3.2% 5.6% 7.9% 0.61 2.4 4.8
Kentucky 25.0% 28.1% 29.6% 4.55 1.5 4.6 17.4% 20.8% 20.9% 1.62 0.1 3.5
Louisiana 11.8% 12.6% 10.2% 1.57 -2.3 -1.6 41.1% 37.8% 32.2% 2.50 -5.5 -8.9
Maine 9.7% 20.4% 23.3% 3.59 2.9 13.7 5.9% 7.5% 7.2% 0.56 -0.4 1.2
Maryland 1.0% 1.1% 1.2% 0.18 0.1 0.2 5.2% 5.0% 4.8% 0.38 -0.1 -0.4
Massachusetts 5.6% 6.9% 13.7% 2.11 6.8 8.1 4.3% 6.1% 9.8% 0.76 3.6 5.5
Michigan 0.1% 4.5% 5.6% 0.87 1.1 5.6 0.4% 0.3% 5.2% 0.40 4.9 4.7
Minnesota 7.8% 7.1% 6.7% 1.03 -0.4 -1.1 11.7% 11.5% 11.2% 0.87 -0.3 -0.5
Mississippi 2.1% 2.0% 2.5% 0.39 0.5 0.4 8.1% 7.2% 7.0% 0.54 -0.2 -1.1
Missouri 12.6% 15.4% 13.3% 2.05 -2.1 0.7 7.6% 9.7% 9.1% 0.71 -0.6 1.6
Montana 0.4% 0.6% 0.5% 0.08 0.0 0.1 0.8% 0.6% 0.6% 0.05 0.0 -0.2
Nebraska 1.8% 2.4% 2.8% 0.44 0.4 1.0 2.7% 3.4% 3.3% 0.26 -0.1 0.6
Nevada 8.8% 6.8% 6.2% 0.95 -0.7 -2.7 19.7% 22.2% 19.3% 1.50 -2.9 -0.4
New Hampshire 6.8% 6.8% 4.8% 0.73 -2.1 -2.0 1.6% 4.5% 5.3% 0.41 0.8 3.7
New Jersey 15.2% 15.9% 14.7% 2.26 -1.2 -0.6 18.7% 17.1% 19.5% 1.51 2.3 0.7
New Mexico 2.5% 6.4% 6.9% 1.06 0.5 4.4 11.1% 21.3% 29.1% 2.26 7.7 18.0
New York 12.2% 6.4% 6.9% 1.07 0.6 -5.3 11.4% 9.5% 8.6% 0.67 -0.9 -2.8
North Carolina 1.3% 1.0% 0.9% 0.14 -0.1 -0.4 5.3% 6.2% 5.9% 0.46 -0.3 0.6
North Dakota 6.0% 7.9% 8.2% 1.26 0.3 2.2 6.3% 6.6% 6.2% 0.48 -0.4 0.0
Ohio 0.5% 0.8% 0.8% 0.13 0.0 0.4 5.4% 6.4% 7.9% 0.62 1.5 2.5
Oklahoma 10.8% 11.1% 10.9% 1.68 -0.2 0.2 15.3% 13.1% 12.5% 0.97 -0.6 -2.7
Oregon 9.8% 9.9% 11.3% 1.74 1.4 1.4 9.5% 11.5% 18.5% 1.43 7.0 9.0
Pennsylvania 6.0% 5.4% 5.3% 0.82 0.0 -0.7 11.9% 11.7% 12.7% 0.98 1.0 0.8
Rhode Island 14.9% 14.6% 14.0% 2.15 -0.7 -1.0 3.6% 3.0% 3.8% 0.30 0.8 0.2
South Carolina 32.4% 27.4% 31.3% 4.81 3.8 -1.1 38.4% 31.5% 26.7% 2.07 -4.8 -11.7
South Dakota 0.6% 0.6% 0.7% 0.11 0.1 0.2 4.1% 3.2% 2.9% 0.22 -0.3 -1.2
Tennessee 32.6% 32.9% 28.6% 4.40 -4.3 -4.0 23.6% 20.7% 16.9% 1.31 -3.8 -6.6
Texas 1.4% 1.2% 1.2% 0.18 0.0 -0.3 11.7% 11.8% 12.6% 0.97 0.8 0.8
Utah 0.9% 1.5% 1.3% 0.21 -0.2 0.5 3.3% 3.2% 2.0% 0.16 -1.2 -1.3
Vermont 31.2% 29.8% 14.0% 2.15 -15.8 -17.2 13.5% 7.5% 11.3% 0.87 3.7 -2.2
Virginia 11.9% 17.5% 20.0% 3.08 2.5 8.1 15.0% 15.0% 20.2% 1.57 5.2 5.2
Washington 11.4% 10.8% 11.4% 1.76 0.6 0.1 20.5% 21.6% 19.7% 1.52 -1.9 -0.9
West Virginia 14.2% 18.3% 19.1% 2.93 0.7 4.9 28.2% 22.4% 24.1% 1.87 1.7 -4.1
Wisconsin 4.1% 3.4% 3.2% 0.49 -0.2 -0.9 12.0% 10.2% 9.4% 0.73 -0.8 -2.6
Wyoming 3.8% 0.1% 0.9% 0.14 0.8 -2.9 10.8% 13.1% 11.5% 0.89 -1.6 0.7
D.C. N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 6.2% 3.2% 3.1% 0.24 -0.2 -3.2
U.S. 6.9% 6.2% 6.5% 1.00 0.3 -0.4 12.1% 12.4% 12.9% 1.00 0.5 0.8
Notes:
  1. State public financial aid is any state appropriated student financial aid for public institutions, excluding loans and aid for students attending medical schools. For many states, it includes aid for both tuition costs and living expenses. Sector-level state public financial aid excludes any financial aid that could not be categorized by sector.
  2. Education appropriations are a measure of state and local support available for public higher education operating expenses and student financial aid, excluding appropriations for research, hospitals, and medical education. Sector-level education appropriations include any portion of federal stimulus funding allocated specifically to each sector but exclude state agency funding.
  3. Year change columns show percentage point increases or decreases, not percent change.
  4. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia. There are no two-year public institutions in Alaska or the District of Columbia.
  5. The year 2019 is included in this table because it is the starting point of the sector-level SHEF dataset.
  6. Sector is determined at the institution level using the Carnegie Basic Classification (https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/). Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges and "less-than-two-year" degree-granting institutions not assigned a Carnegie classification are considered two-year institutions.
  7. Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details.
  8. In California, state funds for nontuition financial aid are estimated and classified as uncategorizable state support, which is not included in sector-level education appropriations, nor sector-level financial aid.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

This section thoroughly examines the trends and interstate differences in net tuition and fee revenue and total education revenue, including the student share. We also present sector-level breakouts for each of these metrics.

Net Tuition Revenue

Map 4.1

Net Tuition Revenue per FTE, FY 2024

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Net tuition and fee revenue is calculated by taking the gross amount of tuition and fees net of state and institutional financial aid, tuition waivers or discounts, and medical student tuition and fees. Federal financial aid and student loans are included in net tuition and fee revenue.

After decades of steady tuition and fee increases, this trend has recently shifted; tuition and fee revenue has declined in four of the last five years. Public institutions received $7,510 in net tuition revenue from in-state and out-of-state students in 2024, down 3.7% from 2023. This is the largest one-year decrease since 1980, the start of the SHEF dataset. Collectively, net tuition and fee revenue is down 8.1% over the last five years (since 2019). Decreases in net tuition revenue are largely due to increases in state financial aid and minimal tuition rate growth (lower than the rate of inflation).

1. State Comparisons

Net tuition and fee revenue per FTE ranged widely across the states due to variations in the mix of students paying different tuition rates, the level of state support and availability of state public financial aid, and whether institutions can freely raise their tuition rates (Figure 4.1). On the low end, net tuition and fee revenue was $2,472 per FTE in Florida. On the high end, net tuition and fee revenue was $19,797 in Delaware. 

  • Table 4.1 shows that net tuition and fee revenue per FTE declined in 37 states and Washington, D.C., between 2023 and 2024. Year-over-year declines ranged from 0.4% (or $32 per FTE) in Utah to 15.3% in Massachusetts (or $1,231 per FTE) and 15.5% in Washington, D.C. (or $662 per FTE). 
  • Thirteen states had net tuition and fee revenue increases from 2023 to 2024. Of those, increases ranged from 0.1% (or $14 per FTE) in Iowa to 9.2% (or $687 per FTE) in Tennessee.

Between 2019 and 2024, net tuition and fee revenue declined in 40 states and Washington, D.C. Despite these recent declines, net tuition revenue per FTE has increased in every state, and by more than 100% in 41, since 1980. The smallest increase between 1980 and 2024 was 23.7% in Nevada; the largest increase was 408.9% in Alabama.

Figure 4.1

Public Higher Education Net Tuition Revenue per FTE by State, FY 2024 (Adjusted)


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Notes:
  1. Net tuition revenue is calculated by taking the gross amount of tuition and fees, less state and institutional financial aid, tuition waivers or discounts, and medical student tuition and fees.
  2. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia.
  3. Fiscal year 2024 net tuition and fee revenue includes estimates for Pennsylvania.
  4. Constant 2024 dollars adjusted by the Higher Education Cost Adjustment (HECA).
  5. Adjusted to account for interstate differences using the Enrollment Mix Index (EMI).
  6. Adjusted to account for interstate differences using the Cost of Living Index (COLI). The COLI is not a measure of inflation over time.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Table 4.1

Public Higher Education Net Tuition Revenue per FTE by State, FY 1980-2024 (Constant Adjusted Dollars)

1980 2001 2014 2019 2023 2024 % Change Since 2023 % Change Since 2019 % Change Since 2014 % Change Since 2001 % Change Since 1980
Alabama $3,061 $7,301 $14,347 $16,228 $15,646 $15,578 -0.4% -4.0% 8.6% 113.4% 408.9%
Alaska $2,720 $3,617 $5,089 $5,602 $5,322 $4,948 -7.0% -11.7% -2.8% 36.8% 81.9%
Arizona $2,478 $4,877 $8,738 $10,346 $10,078 $10,175 1.0% -1.6% 16.4% 108.6% 310.7%
Arkansas $3,358 $3,965 $6,800 $8,269 $8,332 $8,712 4.6% 5.3% 28.1% 119.7% 159.4%
California $780 $1,273 $3,167 $3,702 $3,185 $2,936 -7.8% -20.7% -7.3% 130.7% 276.2%
Colorado $3,692 $5,501 $11,078 $12,420 $12,535 $12,247 -2.3% -1.4% 10.5% 122.6% 231.7%
Connecticut $2,551 $6,240 $10,499 $13,051 $11,771 $11,144 -5.3% -14.6% 6.1% 78.6% 336.7%
Delaware $5,731 $12,702 $20,365 $21,655 $20,064 $19,797 -1.3% -8.6% -2.8% 55.9% 245.4%
Florida $1,984 $3,652 $4,251 $3,103 $2,544 $2,472 -2.8% -20.3% -41.8% -32.3% 24.6%
Georgia $2,442 $2,998 $6,199 $6,116 $5,487 $5,041 -8.1% -17.6% -18.7% 68.1% 106.4%
Hawaii $1,003 $2,615 $5,203 $5,335 $5,052 $4,808 -4.8% -9.9% -7.6% 83.8% 379.4%
Idaho $2,395 $4,632 $8,064 $8,510 $9,198 $8,738 -5.0% 2.7% 8.4% 88.6% 264.8%
Illinois $2,107 $3,725 $8,807 $9,794 $9,401 $9,176 -2.4% -6.3% 4.2% 146.3% 335.5%
Indiana $4,265 $7,849 $11,978 $12,190 $12,174 $11,716 -3.8% -3.9% -2.2% 49.3% 174.7%
Iowa $3,876 $7,101 $11,766 $12,122 $11,706 $11,720 0.1% -3.3% -0.4% 65.0% 202.3%
Kansas $3,368 $5,053 $8,162 $8,647 $7,594 $7,743 2.0% -10.5% -5.1% 53.2% 129.9%
Kentucky $3,140 $6,217 $11,083 $11,225 $10,058 $9,866 -1.9% -12.1% -11.0% 58.7% 214.3%
Louisiana $2,413 $3,350 $5,997 $6,510 $6,245 $5,855 -6.2% -10.1% -2.4% 74.8% 142.7%
Maine $3,531 $6,518 $8,306 $7,687 $6,346 $6,265 -1.3% -18.5% -24.6% -3.9% 77.4%
Maryland $2,968 $6,578 $8,347 $8,823 $8,366 $8,120 -2.9% -8.0% -2.7% 23.4% 173.6%
Massachusetts $2,722 $5,068 $6,336 $6,500 $8,046 $6,815 -15.3% 4.8% 7.6% 34.5% 150.4%
Michigan $4,967 $8,745 $15,641 $17,330 $17,031 $16,747 -1.7% -3.4% 7.1% 91.5% 237.1%
Minnesota $2,756 $5,217 $11,146 $11,237 $11,061 $10,633 -3.9% -5.4% -4.6% 103.8% 285.8%
Mississippi $3,531 $4,842 $7,974 $8,960 $8,838 $9,057 2.5% 1.1% 13.6% 87.0% 156.5%
Missouri $3,450 $5,554 $8,702 $8,522 $9,141 $9,417 3.0% 10.5% 8.2% 69.6% 173.0%
Montana $2,320 $5,126 $7,590 $8,228 $8,146 $8,225 1.0% 0.0% 8.4% 60.4% 254.5%
Nebraska $2,915 $4,939 $7,672 $8,115 $7,224 $6,972 -3.5% -14.1% -9.1% 41.1% 139.2%
Nevada $2,456 $3,163 $4,708 $2,934 $2,922 $3,036 3.9% 3.5% -35.5% -4.0% 23.7%
New Hampshire $6,400 $11,227 $12,151 $11,362 $10,254 $9,805 -4.4% -13.7% -19.3% -12.7% 53.2%
New Jersey $2,282 $7,819 $10,780 $8,569 $7,976 $6,990 -12.4% -18.4% -35.2% -10.6% 206.3%
New Mexico $2,382 $1,796 $3,452 $3,570 $3,499 $3,410 -2.5% -4.5% -1.2% 89.9% 43.2%
New York $3,081 $5,030 $6,570 $6,837 $6,908 $6,540 -5.3% -4.4% -0.5% 30.0% 112.2%
North Carolina $2,343 $3,594 $5,802 $6,306 $5,488 $5,340 -2.7% -15.3% -8.0% 48.6% 127.9%
North Dakota $2,779 $5,480 $9,340 $10,228 $10,679 $9,593 -10.2% -6.2% 2.7% 75.1% 245.2%
Ohio $4,702 $7,992 $11,291 $11,104 $10,779 $10,951 1.6% -1.4% -3.0% 37.0% 132.9%
Oklahoma $2,447 $3,285 $7,026 $9,421 $10,087 $9,132 -9.5% -3.1% 30.0% 178.0% 273.1%
Oregon $2,774 $5,089 $9,696 $9,353 $10,108 $9,700 -4.0% 3.7% 0.0% 90.6% 249.7%
Pennsylvania $5,399 $10,887 $12,630 $13,260 $11,937 $11,465 -4.0% -13.5% -9.2% 5.3% 112.4%
Rhode Island $3,596 $8,024 $9,327 $9,410 $10,396 $10,449 0.5% 11.0% 12.0% 30.2% 190.6%
South Carolina $2,693 $5,653 $10,497 $12,774 $11,529 $11,114 -3.6% -13.0% 5.9% 96.6% 312.7%
South Dakota $4,051 $7,554 $9,570 $10,684 $10,068 $9,746 -3.2% -8.8% 1.8% 29.0% 140.6%
Tennessee $3,020 $5,495 $8,891 $8,246 $7,438 $8,125 9.2% -1.5% -8.6% 47.8% 169.0%
Texas $2,206 $5,775 $6,292 $8,704 $8,376 $7,950 -5.1% -8.7% 26.4% 37.7% 260.4%
Utah $2,841 $3,591 $7,095 $7,434 $7,374 $7,343 -0.4% -1.2% 3.5% 104.5% 158.5%
Vermont $8,622 $15,326 $17,743 $19,100 $16,732 $16,214 -3.1% -15.1% -8.6% 5.8% 88.1%
Virginia $2,818 $5,271 $9,154 $10,338 $9,442 $8,496 -10.0% -17.8% -7.2% 61.2% 201.4%
Washington $2,578 $2,992 $6,677 $6,388 $6,920 $7,251 4.8% 13.5% 8.6% 142.3% 181.3%
West Virginia $2,204 $5,142 $8,896 $9,418 $8,834 $8,503 -3.8% -9.7% -4.4% 65.4% 285.9%
Wisconsin $4,300 $4,699 $7,824 $8,143 $8,217 $8,250 0.4% 1.3% 5.4% 75.6% 91.8%
Wyoming $2,860 $3,959 $3,354 $4,491 $4,465 $4,233 -5.2% -5.7% 26.2% 6.9% 48.0%
D.C. N/A N/A $6,708 $7,072 $4,271 $3,609 -15.5% -49.0% -46.2% N/A N/A
U.S. $2,721 $4,809 $7,668 $8,167 $7,802 $7,510 -3.7% -8.1% -2.1% 56.1% 176.0%
Notes:
  1. Net tuition revenue is calculated by taking the gross amount of tuition and fees, less state and institutional financial aid, tuition waivers or discounts, and medical student tuition and fees.
  2. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia. Data for the District of Columbia are not available prior to 2011.
  3. The years 1980 and 2001 are included in this table because they are the starting points of the historical SHEF dataset and modern SHEF data collection, respectively.
  4. Fiscal year 2024 net tuition and fee revenue includes estimates for Pennsylvania.
  5. Adjustment factors to arrive at constant dollar figures include Cost of Living Index (COLI), Enrollment Mix Index (EMI), and Higher Education Cost Adjustment (HECA). The COLI is not a measure of inflation over time.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

2. Sector Comparisons

Table 4.1A presents new data on net tuition and fee revenue per FTE for the two- and four-year public sectors separately.

Net tuition and fee revenue at two-year institutions averaged $2,728 per FTE in 2024, down 3.5% ($100 per FTE) from 2023 and 15.3% ($494 per FTE) from 2019. In 2024, two-year net tuition revenue ranged from a low of $585 per FTE in California to $7,400 per FTE in South Dakota.

In the last year, per-FTE tuition revenue decreased at two-year institutions in 30 states. Massachusetts had the largest two-year tuition and fee revenue decline (28.9%) while South Dakota had the smallest (0.5%). Of the 19 states with increases, Texas had the smallest (0.2%) while Tennessee had the largest (97.0%).

At four-year institutions, tuition revenue declined 2.8%, averaging $10,446 per FTE. This is still 3.8 times the average net tuition and fee revenue in the two-year sector. Florida had the lowest four-year tuition and fee revenue ($2,209 per FTE) while Delaware had the highest ($24,745 per FTE).

From 2023 to 2024, four-year net tuition revenue decreased in 36 states and Washington, D.C. The largest percent declines were 15.5% (or $640 per FTE) in Washington, D.C., and 15.1% (or $726 per FTE) in Wyoming while Iowa had the smallest (0.2%, or $37 per FTE). Thirteen states had one-year increases which ranged from 0.2% (or $60 per FTE) in Delaware to 9.7% (or $1,082 per FTE) in Tennessee. 

Figure 4.1A displays the disparity in net tuition revenue per FTE between each state’s two- and four-year public sectors. On average, four-year institutions received 117.2% more tuition and fee revenue than two-year institutions. Only Florida is on the figure’s left side (the light blue bar), with 25.5% higher per-FTE net tuition and fee revenue in the two-year sector. All other states are on the figure’s right side (the dark blue bars), with relatively higher net tuition revenue per FTE in the four-year sector. Tennessee had the largest disparity in net tuition revenue across sectors, with 181.6% higher net tuition and fee revenue in the four-year sector.

Figure 4.1A

Percent Difference in Two-Year and Four-Year Public Higher Education Net Tuition Revenue per FTE by State, FY 2024


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Notes:
  1. Net tuition revenue is calculated by taking the gross amount of tuition and fees, less state and institutional financial aid, tuition waivers or discounts, and medical student tuition and fees.
  2. Alaska and the District of Columbia are excluded from this figure because they do not have any public two-year institutions.
  3. Sector is determined at the institution level using the Carnegie Basic Classification (https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/). Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges and "less-than-two-year" degree-granting institutions not assigned a Carnegie classification are considered two-year institutions.
  4. Fiscal year 2024 sector-level net tuition and fee revenue is estimated for Pennsylvania.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Table 4.1A

Public Higher Education Net Tuition Revenue per FTE by Sector and State, FY 2019-2024 (Constant Adjusted Dollars)

Two-Year Tuition Revenue Four-Year Tuition Revenue
2019 2023 2024 Index to U.S. Average % Change Since 2023 % Change Since 2019 2019 2023 2024 Index to U.S. Average % Change Since 2023 % Change Since 2019
Alabama $6,430 $5,809 $5,827 2.14 0.3% -9.4% $20,796 $20,025 $19,913 1.91 -0.6% -4.2%
Alaska $0 $0 $0 N/A N/A N/A $5,489 $5,186 $4,817 0.46 -7.1% -12.3%
Arizona $2,442 $2,284 $2,325 0.85 1.8% -4.8% $15,408 $13,656 $14,143 1.35 3.6% -8.2%
Arkansas $5,251 $4,901 $4,930 1.81 0.6% -6.1% $9,468 $9,631 $10,194 0.98 5.8% 7.7%
California $719 $664 $585 0.21 -11.8% -18.5% $7,553 $5,993 $5,770 0.55 -3.7% -23.6%
Colorado $5,042 $3,756 $3,991 1.46 6.3% -20.8% $16,334 $17,462 $16,878 1.62 -3.3% 3.3%
Connecticut $6,562 $5,364 $5,852 2.14 9.1% -10.8% $16,070 $14,406 $13,282 1.27 -7.8% -17.4%
Delaware $6,727 $5,809 $5,182 1.90 -10.8% -23.0% $27,660 $24,685 $24,745 2.37 0.2% -10.5%
Florida $3,216 $2,916 $2,855 1.05 -2.1% -11.2% $3,111 $2,304 $2,209 0.21 -4.2% -29.0%
Georgia $3,641 $3,445 $3,152 1.16 -8.5% -13.5% $6,988 $6,124 $5,653 0.54 -7.7% -19.1%
Hawaii $2,900 $2,565 $2,376 0.87 -7.4% -18.1% $7,281 $6,634 $6,361 0.61 -4.1% -12.6%
Idaho $3,821 $3,311 $3,141 1.15 -5.1% -17.8% $9,994 $11,128 $10,573 1.01 -5.0% 5.8%
Illinois $6,300 $6,376 $6,174 2.26 -3.2% -2.0% $12,524 $11,225 $10,907 1.04 -2.8% -12.9%
Indiana $4,129 $3,390 $3,411 1.25 0.6% -17.4% $15,130 $15,427 $15,029 1.44 -2.6% -0.7%
Iowa $6,662 $6,177 $6,217 2.28 0.6% -6.7% $16,825 $16,463 $16,426 1.57 -0.2% -2.4%
Kansas $3,484 $3,158 $2,782 1.02 -11.9% -20.2% $12,117 $10,393 $10,904 1.04 4.9% -10.0%
Kentucky $5,519 $4,794 $4,568 1.67 -4.7% -17.2% $13,811 $12,373 $12,265 1.17 -0.9% -11.2%
Louisiana $4,694 $4,226 $4,051 1.48 -4.1% -13.7% $7,164 $6,933 $6,461 0.62 -6.8% -9.8%
Maine $3,425 $1,390 $1,526 0.56 9.8% -55.4% $9,692 $8,793 $8,907 0.85 1.3% -8.1%
Maryland $4,498 $4,178 $4,104 1.50 -1.8% -8.8% $11,597 $10,373 $10,035 0.96 -3.3% -13.5%
Massachusetts $3,706 $3,135 $2,228 0.82 -28.9% -39.9% $7,639 $9,854 $8,769 0.84 -11.0% 14.8%
Michigan $7,466 $6,568 $6,332 2.32 -3.6% -15.2% $22,139 $21,690 $21,471 2.06 -1.0% -3.0%
Minnesota $5,974 $5,722 $5,463 2.00 -4.5% -8.6% $14,747 $14,464 $14,074 1.35 -2.7% -4.6%
Mississippi $5,138 $5,101 $4,971 1.82 -2.5% -3.2% $12,423 $11,970 $12,494 1.20 4.4% 0.6%
Missouri $3,444 $4,357 $4,499 1.65 3.3% 30.6% $10,810 $10,945 $11,288 1.08 3.1% 4.4%
Montana $2,023 $1,683 $1,708 0.63 1.5% -15.5% $10,221 $10,163 $10,319 0.99 1.5% 1.0%
Nebraska $3,330 $2,780 $2,596 0.95 -6.6% -22.0% $10,643 $9,375 $9,199 0.88 -1.9% -13.6%
Nevada $2,082 $1,983 $2,448 0.90 23.4% 17.6% $3,636 $3,631 $3,547 0.34 -2.3% -2.5%
New Hampshire $5,944 $5,162 $5,099 1.87 -1.2% -14.2% $13,994 $12,429 $11,854 1.13 -4.6% -15.3%
New Jersey $3,388 $2,893 $2,557 0.94 -11.6% -24.5% $11,584 $10,622 $9,373 0.90 -11.8% -19.1%
New Mexico $2,244 $1,515 $1,644 0.60 8.5% -26.7% $4,794 $4,919 $4,667 0.45 -5.1% -2.6%
New York $4,878 $5,286 $5,125 1.88 -3.0% 5.1% $7,979 $7,644 $7,187 0.69 -6.0% -9.9%
North Carolina $2,200 $1,807 $1,694 0.62 -6.3% -23.0% $9,567 $8,388 $8,411 0.81 0.3% -12.1%
North Dakota $4,357 $3,815 $3,440 1.26 -9.8% -21.0% $12,030 $12,796 $11,585 1.11 -9.5% -3.7%
Ohio $4,579 $3,570 $4,193 1.54 17.5% -8.4% $13,539 $13,834 $13,673 1.31 -1.2% 1.0%
Oklahoma $4,781 $3,827 $3,457 1.27 -9.7% -27.7% $11,722 $12,865 $11,654 1.12 -9.4% -0.6%
Oregon $3,656 $3,098 $2,467 0.90 -20.4% -32.5% $13,633 $14,374 $14,235 1.36 -1.0% 4.4%
Pennsylvania $5,291 $4,520 $4,362 1.60 -3.5% -17.6% $16,453 $14,252 $13,741 1.32 -3.6% -16.5%
Rhode Island $5,710 $6,048 $5,970 2.19 -1.3% 4.6% $10,474 $11,423 $11,557 1.11 1.2% 10.3%
South Carolina $3,988 $2,886 $4,499 1.65 55.9% 12.8% $17,739 $16,296 $14,781 1.41 -9.3% -16.7%
South Dakota $4,183 $7,436 $7,400 2.71 -0.5% 76.9% $11,692 $10,319 $9,921 0.95 -3.8% -15.1%
Tennessee $2,200 $299 $590 0.22 97.0% -73.2% $12,136 $11,114 $12,197 1.17 9.7% 0.5%
Texas $2,602 $2,274 $2,279 0.84 0.2% -12.4% $13,706 $12,929 $12,333 1.18 -4.6% -10.0%
Utah $3,453 $3,228 $2,892 1.06 -10.4% -16.2% $8,619 $8,524 $8,597 0.82 0.8% -0.3%
Vermont $7,068 $5,759 $4,450 1.63 -22.7% -37.0% $20,316 $17,877 $17,498 1.68 -2.1% -13.9%
Virginia $4,649 $3,304 $2,632 0.96 -20.3% -43.4% $13,544 $12,414 $11,384 1.09 -8.3% -15.9%
Washington $2,859 $1,999 $2,410 0.88 20.5% -15.7% $10,163 $12,067 $12,306 1.18 2.0% 21.1%
West Virginia $4,736 $4,073 $4,208 1.54 3.3% -11.1% $10,630 $9,949 $9,618 0.92 -3.3% -9.5%
Wisconsin $3,425 $2,618 $2,593 0.95 -0.9% -24.3% $10,634 $10,723 $10,817 1.04 0.9% 1.7%
Wyoming $3,086 $3,827 $4,030 1.48 5.3% 30.6% $5,529 $4,794 $4,068 0.39 -15.1% -26.4%
D.C. $0 $0 $0 N/A N/A N/A $6,837 $4,129 $3,489 0.33 -15.5% -49.0%
U.S. $3,222 $2,828 $2,728 1.00 -3.5% -15.3% $11,455 $10,752 $10,446 1.00 -2.8% -8.8%
Notes:
  1. Net tuition revenue is calculated by taking the gross amount of tuition and fees, less state and institutional financial aid, tuition waivers or discounts, and medical student tuition and fees.
  2. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia. There are no two-year public institutions in Alaska or the District of Columbia.
  3. The year 2019 is included in this table because it is the starting point of the sector-level SHEF dataset.
  4. Sector is determined at the institution level using the Carnegie Basic Classification (https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/). Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges and "less-than-two-year" degree-granting institutions not assigned a Carnegie classification are considered two-year institutions.
  5. Fiscal year 2024 two- and four-year net tuition and fee revenue is estimated for Pennsylvania.
  6. Adjustment factors to arrive at constant dollar figures include Cost of Living Index (COLI) and Higher Education Cost Adjustment (HECA). The COLI is not a measure of inflation over time. The Enrollment Mix Index (EMI) is not applied to sector-level data.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

Total Education Revenue

Map 4.2

Total Education Revenue per FTE, FY 2024

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Total education revenue is the sum of education appropriations and net tuition, excluding net tuition revenue used for capital debt service. 

Total education revenue was $19,092 per FTE in 2024, a 1.0% (or $200 per FTE) decrease from 2023. This marks only the second decline since 2013, the other being a 0.2% decrease from 2022 to 2023. Overall, total education revenue has decreased 1.2% (or $236 per FTE) since the record high of $19,328 in 2022 but increased 6.2% (or $1,113 per FTE) since 2019, and 46.7% (or $6,075 per FTE) since the start of the SHEF dataset in 1980.

Near record high total revenue does not mean that all public institutions have more revenue than ever before. Following declines in state funding after two recessions in the early 2000s, institutions varied widely in their ability to increase tuition revenue (either by increasing rates or out-of-state enrollment). While total education revenue was still the third highest on record in 2024, it was at an all-time high in only five states. Many institutions, particularly those most reliant on state funding and those with a more limited ability to raise tuition rates and attract out-of-state and international students, have not been able to increase tuition revenue to offset declines in state funding and are not at an all-time high for total education revenue. 31 31State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. (2021). Investigating the impacts of state higher education appropriations and financial aid. https://sheeo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/SHEEO_ImpactAppropationsFinancialAid.pdf VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES  

When excluding federal stimulus funding that states allocated directly to public higher education, total education revenue decreased 0.5% from 2023 to 2024. Had enrollment held constant and states not allocated federal stimulus funding to higher education, total education revenue per FTE would have decreased 5.5% from 2023, but increased 0.5% from 2019. 

1. State Comparisons

In fiscal year 2024, total education revenue per FTE ranged from a low of $13,887 in Florida to a high of $34,282 in Illinois (Figure 4.2). 32 32Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations, a primary component of total education revenue, in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES  

  • Public institutions in 19 states and Washington, D.C., had more than $20,000 per FTE in education revenue. Of these states, education revenues came mainly from tuition and fees in two states (Delaware and Vermont). Education revenues came from mixed sources in six states (Alabama, Connecticut, Idaho, Maryland, Michigan, and Minnesota), while revenues primarily came from education appropriations in the other 11 states (Alaska, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming) and Washington, D.C.
  • Total education revenue per FTE decreased in 28 states and Washington, D.C., from 2023 to 2024 (Table 4.2). Declines ranged from 0.3% (or $67 per FTE) in New York to 10.5% (or $3,127 per FTE) in Alabama and 19.2% (or $5,955 per FTE) in Washington, D.C. 33 33The large decrease in education appropriations, a primary component of total education revenue, from fiscal year 2023 to 2024 for Alabama is due to a one-time supplemental appropriation allocated to higher education in 2023. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES   
  • Total education revenue increased in the other 22 states in 2024. Year-over-year increases ranged from 0.07% (or $12 per FTE) in Wisconsin to 18.4% (or $2,215 per FTE) in Nevada. 
  • Alaska was the only state in which inflation-adjusted total education revenue per FTE was lower in 2024 than in 1980, down 14.0%.

Figure 4.2

Public Higher Education Total Education Revenue per FTE by State, FY 2024


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Notes:
  1. Total education revenue is the sum of education appropriations and net tuition, excluding net tuition revenue used for capital debt service. Total education revenue includes federal stimulus funding.
  2. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia.
  3. Fiscal year 2024 total education revenue includes estimated uncategorizable state support for New Mexico and South Carolina and estimated net tuition and fee revenue for Pennsylvania.
  4. Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations, a component of total education revenue, in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details.
  5. Constant 2024 dollars adjusted by the Higher Education Cost Adjustment (HECA).
  6. Adjusted to account for interstate differences using the Enrollment Mix Index (EMI).
  7. Adjusted to account for interstate differences using the Cost of Living Index (COLI). The COLI is not a measure of inflation over time.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Table 4.2

Public Higher Education Total Education Revenue per FTE by State, FY 1980-2024 (Constant Adjusted Dollars)

1980 2001 2014 2019 2023 2024 % Change Since 2023 % Change Since 2019 % Change Since 2014 % Change Since 2001 % Change Since 1980
Alabama $11,482 $17,208 $21,090 $23,468 $29,743 $26,616 -10.5% 13.4% 26.2% 54.7% 131.8%
Alaska $29,021 $19,858 $24,330 $24,369 $26,195 $24,950 -4.8% 2.4% 2.5% 25.6% -14.0%
Arizona $11,657 $14,862 $15,571 $16,685 $16,940 $16,414 -3.1% -1.6% 5.4% 10.4% 40.8%
Arkansas $14,279 $15,635 $15,778 $16,902 $17,466 $15,989 -8.5% -5.4% 1.3% 2.3% 12.0%
California $10,354 $11,778 $11,566 $14,238 $15,801 $15,070 -4.6% 5.8% 30.3% 28.0% 45.6%
Colorado $10,078 $13,231 $15,233 $18,013 $19,409 $19,502 0.5% 8.3% 28.0% 47.4% 93.5%
Connecticut $11,915 $24,598 $23,583 $24,225 $31,127 $27,968 -10.1% 15.5% 18.6% 13.7% 134.7%
Delaware $15,126 $23,567 $27,750 $28,756 $26,911 $26,459 -1.7% -8.0% -4.7% 12.3% 74.9%
Florida $9,868 $15,597 $11,667 $12,507 $12,916 $13,887 7.5% 11.0% 19.0% -11.0% 40.7%
Georgia $13,388 $19,867 $16,430 $18,093 $19,896 $18,027 -9.4% -0.4% 9.7% -9.3% 34.6%
Hawaii $11,754 $13,376 $15,305 $21,043 $22,288 $20,267 -9.1% -3.7% 32.4% 51.5% 72.4%
Idaho $16,588 $19,738 $17,266 $19,979 $21,572 $20,556 -4.7% 2.9% 19.1% 4.1% 23.9%
Illinois $12,847 $19,995 $26,380 $28,778 $32,948 $34,282 4.1% 19.1% 30.0% 71.5% 166.9%
Indiana $15,452 $18,945 $19,597 $19,911 $19,363 $18,710 -3.4% -6.0% -4.5% -1.2% 21.1%
Iowa $15,827 $20,182 $19,647 $18,839 $18,926 $18,701 -1.2% -0.7% -4.8% -7.3% 18.2%
Kansas $14,538 $17,788 $16,216 $17,067 $17,680 $18,601 5.2% 9.0% 14.7% 4.6% 27.9%
Kentucky $15,206 $20,880 $20,289 $19,786 $20,332 $19,742 -2.9% -0.2% -2.7% -5.4% 29.8%
Louisiana $13,026 $12,729 $13,219 $13,606 $14,143 $14,281 1.0% 5.0% 8.0% 12.2% 9.6%
Maine $10,991 $17,532 $15,906 $16,007 $16,145 $15,777 -2.3% -1.4% -0.8% -10.0% 43.5%
Maryland $11,257 $17,704 $16,604 $18,216 $20,122 $20,410 1.4% 12.0% 22.9% 15.3% 81.3%
Massachusetts $11,925 $17,480 $14,142 $15,938 $21,257 $21,169 -0.4% 32.8% 49.7% 21.1% 77.5%
Michigan $16,737 $23,170 $23,423 $26,113 $27,908 $28,171 0.9% 7.9% 20.3% 21.6% 68.3%
Minnesota $14,944 $17,562 $18,842 $20,379 $21,165 $22,022 4.1% 8.1% 16.9% 25.4% 47.4%
Mississippi $13,697 $17,217 $16,419 $16,398 $18,051 $18,104 0.3% 10.4% 10.3% 5.2% 32.2%
Missouri $15,686 $20,199 $16,992 $17,202 $19,161 $19,769 3.2% 14.9% 16.3% -2.1% 26.0%
Montana $11,154 $11,936 $14,044 $15,025 $15,612 $15,673 0.4% 4.3% 11.6% 31.3% 40.5%
Nebraska $13,080 $15,056 $18,318 $19,770 $20,447 $19,818 -3.1% 0.2% 8.2% 31.6% 51.5%
Nevada $12,939 $14,151 $14,110 $12,135 $12,019 $14,234 18.4% 17.3% 0.9% 0.6% 10.0%
New Hampshire $11,777 $17,177 $15,060 $14,646 $14,380 $14,434 0.4% -1.4% -4.2% -16.0% 22.6%
New Jersey $11,482 $20,242 $19,740 $16,729 $17,993 $17,384 -3.4% 3.9% -11.9% -14.1% 51.4%
New Mexico $14,754 $14,347 $15,436 $19,092 $26,124 $23,451 -10.2% 22.8% 51.9% 63.5% 58.9%
New York $15,716 $16,958 $18,186 $20,687 $21,952 $21,885 -0.3% 5.8% 20.3% 29.1% 39.2%
North Carolina $14,239 $18,973 $17,450 $19,028 $18,907 $18,720 -1.0% -1.6% 7.3% -1.3% 31.5%
North Dakota $12,298 $13,564 $20,372 $19,588 $19,793 $19,919 0.6% 1.7% -2.2% 46.8% 62.0%
Ohio $14,316 $19,535 $17,923 $18,800 $18,725 $19,140 2.2% 1.8% 6.8% -2.0% 33.7%
Oklahoma $12,365 $15,401 $16,320 $17,863 $18,892 $18,603 -1.5% 4.1% 14.0% 20.8% 50.5%
Oregon $11,184 $14,190 $15,220 $16,027 $18,853 $18,325 -2.8% 14.3% 20.4% 29.1% 63.8%
Pennsylvania $16,853 $22,345 $18,036 $19,252 $19,425 $18,298 -5.8% -5.0% 1.5% -18.1% 8.6%
Rhode Island $15,370 $18,222 $14,887 $15,646 $17,575 $18,270 4.0% 16.8% 22.7% 0.3% 18.9%
South Carolina $13,901 $14,824 $15,735 $18,865 $18,835 $19,760 4.9% 4.7% 25.6% 33.3% 42.2%
South Dakota $14,761 $16,413 $16,028 $17,930 $19,216 $18,993 -1.2% 5.9% 18.5% 15.7% 28.7%
Tennessee $13,402 $16,370 $18,809 $19,911 $23,114 $22,396 -3.1% 12.5% 19.1% 36.8% 67.1%
Texas $11,863 $16,990 $16,182 $19,737 $20,293 $20,740 2.2% 5.1% 28.2% 22.1% 74.8%
Utah $14,260 $13,494 $14,885 $16,924 $18,692 $20,298 8.6% 19.9% 36.4% 50.4% 42.3%
Vermont $13,841 $19,955 $20,937 $21,659 $21,715 $20,919 -3.7% -3.4% -0.1% 4.8% 51.1%
Virginia $11,714 $16,339 $15,402 $17,518 $18,765 $18,558 -1.1% 5.9% 20.5% 13.6% 58.4%
Washington $12,677 $12,705 $13,918 $15,245 $18,538 $20,285 9.4% 33.1% 45.7% 59.7% 60.0%
West Virginia $11,580 $13,108 $14,754 $14,757 $15,552 $14,529 -6.6% -1.5% -1.5% 10.8% 25.5%
Wisconsin $16,356 $18,177 $17,147 $17,830 $18,269 $18,281 0.1% 2.5% 6.6% 0.6% 11.8%
Wyoming $20,418 $18,293 $22,108 $26,292 $23,635 $25,304 7.1% -3.8% 14.5% 38.3% 23.9%
D.C. N/A N/A $23,692 $28,794 $31,085 $25,130 -19.2% -12.7% 6.1% N/A N/A
U.S. $13,017 $16,573 $16,356 $17,979 $19,292 $19,092 -1.0% 6.2% 16.7% 15.2% 46.7%
Notes:
  1. Total education revenue is the sum of education appropriations and net tuition, excluding net tuition revenue used for capital debt service. Total education revenue includes federal stimulus funding.
  2. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia. Data for the District of Columbia are not available prior to 2011.
  3. The years 1980 and 2001 are included in this table because they are the starting points of the historical SHEF dataset and modern SHEF data collection, respectively.
  4. Fiscal year 2024 total education revenue includes estimated uncategorizable state support for New Mexico and South Carolina and estimated net tuition and fee revenue for Pennsylvania.
  5. Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations, a component of total education revenue, in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details.
  6. Texas developed a new methodology to capture state funding to institutions of higher education and updated FTE enrollment starting in 2017. Years prior to 2017 do not reflect this new methodology, which may affect some year-to-year comparisons.
  7. Adjustment factors to arrive at constant dollar figures include Cost of Living Index (COLI), Enrollment Mix Index (EMI), and Higher Education Cost Adjustment (HECA). The COLI is not a measure of inflation over time.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

2. Sector Comparisons

Table 4.2A presents new data on total education revenue per FTE for the two- and four-year public sectors separately.

At two-year public institutions, total education revenue averaged $13,606 per FTE, down 3.3% from 2023. Total revenue ranged from $8,340 in New Jersey to $28,116 in Illinois. 34 34Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations, a primary component of total education revenue, in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES    

Two-year total education revenue declined in 30 states from 2023 to 2024. Decreases ranged from 0.05% (or $6 per FTE) in Oklahoma to 29.4% (or $7,727 per FTE) in Alabama. 35 35The large decrease in education appropriations, a primary component of total education revenue, from fiscal year 2023 to 2024 for Alabama is due to a one-time supplemental appropriation allocated to higher education in 2023. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES Of the 19 states with increases, year-over-year percent changes ranged from 0.1% (or $9 per FTE) in Montana to 25.2% ($2,669 per FTE) in South Carolina. 

Total education revenue per FTE at four-year institutions averaged $21,117 in 2024, a 0.6% decrease from 2023. Four-year institutions had, on average, 1.6 times the amount of total revenue per FTE of two-year institutions. Louisiana had the lowest revenue of $13,969 per FTE. While 35 states and Washington, D.C., had total revenue greater than $20,000, Alabama, Delaware, Illinois, and Wyoming exceeded $30,000 with Illinois reaching a high of $36,369 per FTE. 36 36Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations, a primary component of total education revenue, in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES    

Between 2023 and 2024, four-year total education revenue decreased in 27 states and Washington, D.C. Declines ranged from 0.08% (or $18 per FTE) in Virginia to 17.3% (or $5,178 per FTE) in New Mexico and 19.2% (or $5,757 per FTE) in Washington, D.C. Year-over-year increases in the other 23 states ranged from 0.02% (or $6 per FTE) in Delaware to 12.9% (or $1,723 per FTE) in Nevada. 

Figure 4.2A displays the disparity in total education revenue per FTE between each state’s two-year and four-year public sectors. In 2024, total education revenue per FTE was higher in the four-year sector in every state. Because of this, no states are represented by light blue bars on the left side of the figure, which would have indicated total education revenue was higher in the two-year sector. Instead, all states are represented by dark blue bars due to having relatively higher total education revenue per FTE in the four-year sector. On average, total education revenue per FTE was 43.4% higher in the four-year sector than the two-year sector. New Jersey had the largest disparity in total education revenue across sectors, where four-year institutions had 2.5 times the total revenue of two-year institutions.

Figure 4.2A

Percent Difference in Two-Year and Four-Year Public Higher Education Total Education Revenue per FTE by State, FY 2024


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Notes:
  1. Total education revenue is the sum of education appropriations and net tuition, excluding net tuition revenue used for capital debt service. Sector-level total education revenue includes any portion of federal stimulus funding allocated specifically to each sector.
  2. Alaska and the District of Columbia are excluded from this figure because they do not have any public two-year institutions.
  3. Sector is determined at the institution level using the Carnegie Basic Classification (https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/). Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges and "less-than-two-year" degree-granting institutions not assigned a Carnegie classification are considered two-year institutions.
  4. Fiscal year 2024 sector-level total education revenue includes estimated two- and four-year net tuition and fee revenue for Pennsylvania.
  5. Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations, a component of total education revenue, in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details.
  6. In 2024, total education revenue per FTE was higher in the public four-year sector than in the public two-year sector. Therefore, no states are represented by light blue bars that would have appeared on the left side of this figure had there been any states in which total education revenue per FTE was higher in the two-year sector.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Table 4.2A

Public Higher Education Total Education Revenue per FTE by Sector and State, FY 2019-2024 (Constant Adjusted Dollars)

Two-Year Total Revenue Four-Year Total Revenue
2019 2023 2024 Index to U.S. Average % Change Since 2023 % Change Since 2019 2019 2023 2024 Index to U.S. Average % Change Since 2023 % Change Since 2019
Alabama $14,310 $26,279 $18,551 1.36 -29.4% 29.6% $27,746 $31,703 $30,262 1.43 -4.5% 9.1%
Alaska $0 $0 $0 N/A N/A N/A $23,693 $25,468 $24,258 1.15 -4.8% 2.4%
Arizona $13,710 $15,590 $14,039 1.03 -10.0% 2.4% $18,908 $17,900 $17,918 0.85 0.1% -5.2%
Arkansas $14,001 $14,666 $13,934 1.02 -5.0% -0.5% $17,631 $17,385 $16,085 0.76 -7.5% -8.8%
California $10,829 $12,456 $11,131 0.82 -10.6% 2.8% $17,277 $17,152 $17,114 0.81 -0.2% -0.9%
Colorado $12,097 $10,571 $11,889 0.87 12.5% -1.7% $21,181 $24,252 $23,731 1.12 -2.1% 12.0%
Connecticut $16,947 $25,926 $21,302 1.57 -17.8% 25.7% $27,516 $32,280 $28,582 1.35 -11.5% 3.9%
Delaware $17,251 $18,463 $16,792 1.23 -9.1% -2.7% $33,846 $30,395 $30,402 1.44 0.0% -10.2%
Florida $8,803 $9,549 $9,922 0.73 3.9% 12.7% $16,974 $16,420 $18,103 0.86 10.2% 6.7%
Georgia $11,776 $13,460 $12,014 0.88 -10.7% 2.0% $18,983 $20,690 $18,915 0.90 -8.6% -0.4%
Hawaii $15,117 $18,488 $15,991 1.18 -13.5% 5.8% $22,613 $22,020 $20,574 0.97 -6.6% -9.0%
Idaho $10,764 $10,605 $10,319 0.76 -2.7% -4.1% $20,388 $21,019 $20,386 0.97 -3.0% 0.0%
Illinois $20,738 $26,705 $28,116 2.07 5.3% 35.6% $34,388 $35,625 $36,369 1.72 2.1% 5.8%
Indiana $10,783 $9,594 $9,373 0.69 -2.3% -13.1% $23,009 $22,391 $22,243 1.05 -0.7% -3.3%
Iowa $12,142 $12,605 $12,584 0.92 -0.2% 3.6% $24,716 $24,448 $24,095 1.14 -1.4% -2.5%
Kansas $13,750 $15,577 $15,683 1.15 0.7% 14.1% $19,232 $18,947 $20,402 0.97 7.7% 6.1%
Kentucky $12,383 $12,678 $11,756 0.86 -7.3% -5.1% $22,858 $22,861 $22,698 1.07 -0.7% -0.7%
Louisiana $9,003 $9,307 $9,139 0.67 -1.8% 1.5% $14,624 $14,253 $13,969 0.66 -2.0% -4.5%
Maine $12,052 $11,868 $10,356 0.76 -12.7% -14.1% $18,194 $18,636 $19,109 0.90 2.5% 5.0%
Maryland $13,419 $15,856 $15,804 1.16 -0.3% 17.8% $20,996 $21,825 $22,401 1.06 2.6% 6.7%
Massachusetts $11,516 $15,843 $15,658 1.15 -1.2% 36.0% $17,401 $22,914 $23,164 1.10 1.1% 33.1%
Michigan $18,945 $21,777 $22,477 1.65 3.2% 18.6% $29,778 $30,407 $29,957 1.42 -1.5% 0.6%
Minnesota $13,769 $14,729 $15,449 1.14 4.9% 12.2% $24,122 $24,404 $25,125 1.19 3.0% 4.2%
Mississippi $12,018 $13,207 $13,180 0.97 -0.2% 9.7% $20,173 $21,817 $22,079 1.05 1.2% 9.4%
Missouri $11,344 $16,933 $17,856 1.31 5.4% 57.4% $19,487 $19,631 $20,022 0.95 2.0% 2.7%
Montana $8,431 $8,400 $8,408 0.62 0.1% -0.3% $17,490 $18,136 $18,203 0.86 0.4% 4.1%
Nebraska $16,415 $17,679 $17,279 1.27 -2.3% 5.3% $21,540 $21,048 $21,108 1.00 0.3% -2.0%
Nevada $9,186 $10,075 $11,846 0.87 17.6% 29.0% $14,097 $13,324 $15,047 0.71 12.9% 6.7%
New Hampshire $11,264 $12,699 $13,642 1.00 7.4% 21.1% $16,681 $15,655 $15,427 0.73 -1.5% -7.5%
New Jersey $8,215 $8,598 $8,340 0.61 -3.0% 1.5% $20,489 $21,309 $21,074 1.00 -1.1% 2.9%
New Mexico $14,179 $16,780 $15,853 1.17 -5.5% 11.8% $23,296 $29,883 $24,705 1.17 -17.3% 6.0%
New York $15,282 $17,788 $16,786 1.23 -5.6% 9.8% $23,597 $23,559 $24,035 1.14 2.0% 1.9%
North Carolina $11,726 $11,667 $11,224 0.82 -3.8% -4.3% $24,218 $23,946 $24,403 1.16 1.9% 0.8%
North Dakota $12,744 $12,171 $11,998 0.88 -1.4% -5.9% $20,676 $21,281 $21,037 1.00 -1.1% 1.7%
Ohio $13,663 $11,982 $13,254 0.97 10.6% -3.0% $20,703 $21,506 $21,411 1.01 -0.4% 3.4%
Oklahoma $11,766 $12,314 $12,308 0.90 0.0% 4.6% $19,765 $20,957 $20,389 0.97 -2.7% 3.2%
Oregon $11,998 $14,950 $14,691 1.08 -1.7% 22.4% $19,002 $21,080 $20,434 0.97 -3.1% 7.5%
Pennsylvania $11,674 $12,945 $12,561 0.92 -3.0% 7.6% $22,312 $21,525 $20,387 0.97 -5.3% -8.6%
Rhode Island $11,991 $13,930 $13,902 1.02 -0.2% 15.9% $16,284 $17,941 $18,802 0.89 4.8% 15.5%
South Carolina $11,625 $10,607 $13,276 0.98 25.2% 14.2% $22,881 $23,154 $23,038 1.09 -0.5% 0.7%
South Dakota $9,845 $12,535 $12,923 0.95 3.1% 31.3% $18,055 $17,674 $18,163 0.86 2.8% 0.6%
Tennessee $12,683 $15,244 $15,410 1.13 1.1% 21.5% $23,666 $24,663 $25,091 1.19 1.7% 6.0%
Texas $11,892 $13,386 $13,540 1.00 1.1% 13.9% $21,291 $20,121 $19,285 0.91 -4.2% -9.4%
Utah $14,262 $16,267 $16,821 1.24 3.4% 17.9% $17,929 $19,373 $21,224 1.01 9.6% 18.4%
Vermont $10,189 $11,071 $11,797 0.87 6.6% 15.8% $22,712 $22,134 $21,601 1.02 -2.4% -4.9%
Virginia $10,307 $10,807 $10,442 0.77 -3.4% 1.3% $20,969 $21,960 $21,943 1.04 -0.1% 4.6%
Washington $10,543 $12,649 $14,010 1.03 10.8% 32.9% $19,766 $23,960 $25,574 1.21 6.7% 29.4%
West Virginia $12,691 $14,737 $13,991 1.03 -5.1% 10.2% $15,586 $15,413 $14,834 0.70 -3.8% -4.8%
Wisconsin $17,336 $18,033 $17,283 1.27 -4.2% -0.3% $17,115 $17,481 $17,875 0.85 2.3% 4.4%
Wyoming $22,622 $18,243 $18,439 1.36 1.1% -18.5% $27,311 $27,026 $30,055 1.42 11.2% 10.0%
D.C. $0 $0 $0 N/A N/A N/A $27,837 $30,052 $24,295 1.15 -19.2% -12.7%
U.S. $12,515 $14,074 $13,606 1.00 -3.3% 8.7% $20,799 $21,237 $21,117 1.00 -0.6% 1.5%
Notes:
  1. Total education revenue is the sum of education appropriations and net tuition, excluding net tuition revenue used for capital debt service. Sector-level total education revenue includes any portion of federal stimulus funding allocated specifically to each sector.
  2. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia. There are no two-year public institutions in Alaska or the District of Columbia.
  3. The year 2019 is included in this table because it is the starting point of the sector-level SHEF dataset.
  4. Sector is determined at the institution level using the Carnegie Basic Classification (https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/). Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges and "less-than-two-year" degree-granting institutions not assigned a Carnegie classification are considered two-year institutions.
  5. Fiscal year 2024 sector-level total education revenue includes estimated two- and four-year net tuition and fee revenue for Pennsylvania.
  6. Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details.
  7. Adjustment factors to arrive at constant dollar figures include Cost of Living Index (COLI) and Higher Education Cost Adjustment (HECA). The COLI is not a measure of inflation over time. The Enrollment Mix Index (EMI) is not applied to sector-level data.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

Student Share

Map 4.3

Student Share, FY 2024

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Net tuition as a percentage of total education revenue (the student share) shows the overall reliance of public institutions on tuition as a revenue source. Net tuition excludes state and institutional financial aid but does not exclude federal financial aid or loans.

The student share has increased substantially over time due to volatility in education appropriations and net tuition revenue increases. In 1980 (the earliest available data), the student share was 20.9%. By 2001 (the start of the modern SHEF data collection and a pre-recession high point in education appropriations), the student share had already increased to 29.0%. For the first time since 2010, the U.S. average student share dropped below 40%, decreasing to 39.3% in 2024. This means that, on average, 39.3% of revenues at public institutions came from student tuition and fees. Excluding federal stimulus funding, the student share in 2024 was 39.5%.

1. State Comparisons

There is wide variation in the student share across states. In fiscal years 2019 and 2020, the student share was above 50% in at least half of all states (26 states in 2019 and 25 in 2020). Starting in 2021, the student share was greater than 50% in less than half of states. However, this shift from more than half of states having a student share greater than 50% to less than half was in part due to federal stimulus funding in some states. Excluding federal stimulus funding, it was not until 2022 that less than half of all states had a student share greater than 50%. The number of states that had a student share greater than 50% decreased to 19 by 2024 when including federal stimulus and 20 when excluding stimulus funding (Figure 4.3).  

From 2023 to 2024, the student share decreased in 32 states and increased in 18 states and Washington, D.C. Declines in the student share ranged from 0.07 percentage points in Missouri to 5.8 percentage points in North Dakota. Student share increases ranged from 0.1 percentage points in Wisconsin to 6.8 percentage points in Arkansas (Table 4.3).

The student share in 2024 was less than it was in 2019, five years before, in all but two states (Arkansas and Indiana). In total, only three states had a lower student share in 2024 than in 2001 (5.6 percentage points less in Florida, 4.9 in Wyoming, and 1.0 in Nevada) and two had a lower student share in 2024 than in 1980 (2.3 percentage points less in Florida and 1.6 less in New Mexico).

Table 4.3

Net Tuition as a Percentage of Total Education Revenue by State, FY 1980-2024

1980 2001 2014 2019 2023 2024 Change Since 2023 Change Since 2019 Change Since 2014 Change Since 2001 Change Since 1980
Alabama 26.7% 42.4% 68.0% 69.1% 52.6% 58.5% 5.9 -10.6 -9.5 16.1 31.9
Alaska 9.4% 18.2% 20.9% 23.0% 20.3% 19.8% -0.5 -3.2 -1.1 1.6 10.5
Arizona 21.3% 32.8% 56.1% 62.0% 59.5% 62.0% 2.5 0.0 5.9 29.2 40.7
Arkansas 23.5% 25.4% 43.1% 48.9% 47.7% 54.5% 6.8 5.6 11.4 29.1 31.0
California 7.5% 10.8% 27.4% 26.0% 20.2% 19.5% -0.7 -6.5 -7.9 8.7 11.9
Colorado 36.6% 41.6% 72.7% 69.0% 64.6% 62.8% -1.8 -6.2 -9.9 21.2 26.2
Connecticut 21.4% 25.4% 44.5% 53.9% 37.8% 39.8% 2.0 -14.0 -4.7 14.5 18.4
Delaware 37.9% 53.9% 73.4% 75.3% 74.6% 74.8% 0.3 -0.5 1.4 20.9 36.9
Florida 20.1% 23.4% 36.4% 24.8% 19.7% 17.8% -1.9 -7.0 -18.6 -5.6 -2.3
Georgia 18.2% 15.1% 37.7% 33.8% 27.6% 28.0% 0.4 -5.8 -9.8 12.9 9.7
Hawaii 8.5% 19.6% 34.0% 25.4% 22.7% 23.7% 1.1 -1.6 -10.3 4.2 15.2
Idaho 14.4% 23.5% 46.7% 42.6% 42.6% 42.5% -0.1 -0.1 -4.2 19.0 28.1
Illinois 16.4% 18.6% 33.4% 34.0% 28.5% 26.8% -1.8 -7.3 -6.6 8.1 10.4
Indiana 27.6% 41.4% 61.1% 61.2% 62.9% 62.6% -0.3 1.4 1.5 21.2 35.0
Iowa 24.5% 35.2% 59.9% 64.3% 61.9% 62.7% 0.8 -1.7 2.8 27.5 38.2
Kansas 23.2% 28.4% 50.3% 50.7% 43.0% 41.6% -1.3 -9.0 -8.7 13.2 18.5
Kentucky 20.6% 29.8% 54.6% 56.7% 49.5% 50.0% 0.5 -6.8 -4.6 20.2 29.3
Louisiana 18.5% 26.3% 45.4% 47.8% 44.2% 41.0% -3.2 -6.8 -4.4 14.7 22.5
Maine 32.1% 37.2% 52.2% 48.0% 39.3% 39.7% 0.4 -8.3 -12.5 2.5 7.6
Maryland 26.4% 37.2% 50.3% 48.4% 41.6% 39.8% -1.8 -8.7 -10.5 2.6 13.4
Massachusetts 22.8% 29.0% 44.8% 40.8% 37.9% 32.2% -5.7 -8.6 -12.6 3.2 9.4
Michigan 29.7% 37.7% 66.8% 66.4% 61.0% 59.4% -1.6 -6.9 -7.3 21.7 29.8
Minnesota 18.4% 29.7% 59.2% 55.1% 52.3% 48.3% -4.0 -6.9 -10.9 18.6 29.8
Mississippi 25.8% 28.1% 48.6% 54.6% 49.0% 50.0% 1.1 -4.6 1.5 21.9 24.2
Missouri 22.0% 27.5% 51.2% 49.5% 47.7% 47.6% -0.1 -1.9 -3.6 20.1 25.6
Montana 20.8% 42.9% 54.0% 54.8% 52.2% 52.5% 0.3 -2.3 -1.6 9.5 31.7
Nebraska 22.3% 32.8% 41.9% 41.0% 35.3% 35.2% -0.1 -5.9 -6.7 2.4 12.9
Nevada 19.0% 22.4% 33.4% 24.2% 24.3% 21.3% -3.0 -2.8 -12.0 -1.0 2.4
New Hampshire 54.3% 65.4% 80.7% 77.6% 71.3% 67.9% -3.4 -9.7 -12.8 2.6 13.6
New Jersey 19.9% 38.6% 54.6% 51.2% 44.3% 40.2% -4.1 -11.0 -14.4 1.6 20.3
New Mexico 16.1% 12.5% 22.4% 18.7% 13.4% 14.5% 1.1 -4.2 -7.8 2.0 -1.6
New York 19.6% 29.7% 36.1% 33.1% 31.5% 29.9% -1.6 -3.2 -6.2 0.2 10.3
North Carolina 16.5% 18.9% 33.2% 33.1% 29.0% 28.5% -0.5 -4.6 -4.7 9.6 12.1
North Dakota 22.6% 40.4% 45.8% 52.2% 54.0% 48.2% -5.8 -4.1 2.3 7.8 25.6
Ohio 32.8% 40.9% 63.0% 59.1% 57.6% 57.2% -0.4 -1.9 -5.8 16.3 24.4
Oklahoma 19.8% 21.3% 43.1% 52.7% 53.4% 49.1% -4.3 -3.6 6.0 27.8 29.3
Oregon 24.8% 35.9% 63.7% 58.4% 53.6% 52.9% -0.7 -5.4 -10.8 17.1 28.1
Pennsylvania 32.0% 48.7% 70.0% 68.9% 61.5% 62.7% 1.2 -6.2 -7.4 13.9 30.6
Rhode Island 23.4% 44.0% 62.7% 60.1% 59.2% 57.2% -2.0 -2.9 -5.5 13.2 33.8
South Carolina 19.4% 38.1% 66.7% 67.7% 61.2% 56.2% -5.0 -11.5 -10.5 18.1 36.9
South Dakota 27.4% 46.0% 59.7% 59.6% 52.4% 51.3% -1.1 -8.3 -8.4 5.3 23.9
Tennessee 22.5% 33.6% 47.3% 41.4% 32.2% 36.3% 4.1 -5.1 -11.0 2.7 13.7
Texas 18.6% 34.0% 38.9% 44.1% 41.3% 38.3% -2.9 -5.8 -0.5 4.3 19.7
Utah 19.9% 26.6% 47.7% 43.9% 39.5% 36.2% -3.3 -7.8 -11.5 9.6 16.3
Vermont 62.3% 76.8% 84.7% 88.2% 77.1% 77.5% 0.5 -10.7 -7.2 0.7 15.2
Virginia 24.1% 32.3% 59.4% 59.0% 50.3% 45.8% -4.5 -13.2 -13.7 13.5 21.7
Washington 20.3% 23.6% 48.0% 41.9% 37.3% 35.7% -1.6 -6.2 -12.2 12.2 15.4
West Virginia 19.0% 39.2% 60.3% 63.8% 56.8% 58.5% 1.7 -5.3 -1.8 19.3 39.5
Wisconsin 26.3% 25.8% 45.6% 45.7% 45.0% 45.1% 0.1 -0.5 -0.5 19.3 18.8
Wyoming 14.0% 21.6% 15.2% 17.1% 18.9% 16.7% -2.2 -0.4 1.6 -4.9 2.7
D.C. N/A N/A 28.3% 24.6% 13.7% 14.4% 0.6 -10.2 -14.0 N/A N/A
U.S. 20.9% 29.0% 46.9% 45.4% 40.4% 39.3% -1.1 -6.1 -7.5 10.3 18.4
Notes:
  1. The student share is a measure of the proportion of total education revenue at public institutions coming from net tuition revenue. Net tuition revenue used for capital debt service is included in net tuition revenue but excluded from total education revenue in calculating the above figures. Total education revenue includes federal stimulus funding.
  2. Year change columns show percentage point increases or decreases, not percent change.
  3. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia. Data for the District of Columbia are not available prior to 2011.
  4. The years 1980 and 2001 are included in this table because they are the starting points of the historical SHEF dataset and modern SHEF data collection, respectively.
  5. Fiscal year 2024 student share includes estimated uncategorizable state support for New Mexico and South Carolina and estimated net tuition and fee revenue for Pennsylvania.
  6. Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations, a component of total education revenue, in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details.
  7. Texas developed a new methodology to capture state funding to institutions of higher education and updated FTE enrollment starting in 2017. Years prior to 2017 do not reflect this new methodology, which may affect some year-to-year comparisons.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Figure 4.3

Net Tuition as a Percentage of Total Education Revenue by State, FY 2024 (Adjusted)


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Notes:
  1. The student share is a measure of the proportion of total education revenue at public institutions coming from net tuition revenue. Net tuition revenue used for capital debt service is included in net tuition revenue, but excluded from total education revenue in calculating the above figures. Total education revenue includes federal stimulus funding.
  2. Fiscal year 2024 student share includes estimated uncategorizable state support for New Mexico and South Carolina and estimated net tuition and fee revenue for Pennsylvania.
  3. Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations, a component of total education revenue, in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

2. Sector Comparisons

The student share is perhaps the most varied SHEF metric when comparing two- and four-year public institutions. At two-year institutions, the fiscal year 2024 student share was less than a quarter (20.1%); it was just under half (49.5%) at four-year institutions (Table 4.3A).

  • The student share at two-year institutions is generally between 15% and 50%. Tennessee (3.8%) and California (5.3%) were the only states that reported student shares less than 10%. Only one state, South Dakota (57.3%), had a two-year student share greater than 50%. 
  • At four-year institutions, student share ranged from 14.4% in Washington, D.C., and 12.2% in Florida to 81.4% in Delaware in 2024. The four-year student share was greater than 50% in 29 states, which is one less state than in 2023.

Figure 4.3A shows the difference between the student share at each state’s two- and four-year public institutions. On the figure’s left side, the light blue bars show states with a higher two-year student share. Most states have a higher four-year student share (the dark blue bars). On average, the four-year student share was 29.4 percentage points above the two-year student share. The four-year student share was greater than the two-year student share in all but four states: Florida, New York, South Dakota, and Wyoming. This means that in those four states, students at two-year institutions were responsible for a greater portion of public institutional revenue than students attending four-year institutions. Arizona had the greatest difference in student share across institution types, where the four-year student share of 78.9% was 62.4 percentage points higher than the two-year student share of 16.6%.

Figure 4.3A

Difference in Two-Year and Four-Year Net Tuition as a Percentage of Total Education Revenue by State, FY 2024


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Notes:
  1. The student share is a measure of the proportion of total education revenue at public institutions coming from net tuition revenue. Net tuition revenue used for capital debt service is included in net tuition revenue, but excluded from total education revenue in calculating the above figures. Total education revenue includes federal stimulus funding.
  2. Percentage point differences show the number of percentage points by which the student share is higher at either two- or four-year institutions, not the percent difference between the two.
  3. Alaska and the District of Columbia are excluded from this figure because they do not have any public two-year institutions.
  4. Sector is determined at the institution level using the Carnegie Basic Classification (https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/). Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges and "less-than-two-year" degree-granting institutions not assigned a Carnegie classification are considered two-year institutions.
  5. Fiscal year 2024 sector-level student share includes estimated net tuition and fee revenue for Pennsylvania.
  6. Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations, a component of total education revenue, in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

State Spotlight : Florida

Florida is one of five states that has had a student share of less than 20% for students attending public four-year institutions since the start of the SHEF sector-level data collection in 2019, and the only state to have had a four-year student share under 20% across that entire five-year period. In fiscal year (FY) 2024, Florida had the lowest student share for students attending four-year institutions, reaching only 12.2%. To attain this low percentage of revenue coming from students and families in 2024, the state reduced the student share for students attending four-year universities in four of the last five years, totaling a decrease of 6.1 percentage points since 2019.

State of Florida

Several efforts in recent years resulted in Florida attaining the lowest four-year student share in the nation in FY 2024. First, the state legislature, which sets tuition rates, has not raised tuition for students at public four-year universities since 2013. The state has also increased state appropriations over time including a 12.6% single-year increase to four-year universities in FY 2024. In part, the state has increased education appropriations in recent years to replace tuition dollars waived for students enrolled in undergraduate majors deemed eligible under the Programs of Strategic Emphasis Waiver. This program that the legislature established in 2021 waives tuition for in-state residents in upper-division courses to complete a baccalaureate degree in an academic program the Board of Governors identifies as a state priority. Finally, the average cost to students is a metric in the state’s performance-based funding model, further incentivizing universities to maintain low tuition and fees.

Table 4.3A

Net Tuition as a Percentage of Total Education Revenue by Sector and State, FY 2019-2024

Two-Year Student Share Four-Year Student Share
2019 2023 2024 Index to U.S. Average Change Since 2023 Change Since 2019 2019 2023 2024 Index to U.S. Average Change Since 2023 Change Since 2019
Alabama 44.9% 22.1% 31.4% 1.57 9.3 -13.5 75.0% 63.2% 65.8% 1.33 2.6 -9.2
Alaska N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 23.2% 20.4% 19.9% 0.40 -0.5 -3.3
Arizona 17.8% 14.6% 16.6% 0.83 1.9 -1.3 81.5% 76.3% 78.9% 1.60 2.6 -2.6
Arkansas 37.5% 33.4% 35.4% 1.76 2.0 -2.1 53.7% 55.4% 63.4% 1.28 8.0 9.7
California 6.6% 5.3% 5.3% 0.26 -0.1 -1.4 43.7% 34.9% 33.7% 0.68 -1.2 -10.0
Colorado 41.7% 35.5% 33.6% 1.67 -2.0 -8.1 77.1% 72.0% 71.1% 1.44 -0.9 -6.0
Connecticut 38.7% 20.7% 27.5% 1.37 6.8 -11.3 58.4% 44.6% 46.5% 0.94 1.8 -11.9
Delaware 39.0% 31.5% 30.9% 1.54 -0.6 -8.1 81.7% 81.2% 81.4% 1.65 0.2 -0.3
Florida 36.5% 30.5% 28.8% 1.44 -1.8 -7.7 18.3% 14.0% 12.2% 0.25 -1.8 -6.1
Georgia 30.9% 25.6% 26.2% 1.31 0.6 -4.7 36.8% 29.6% 29.9% 0.60 0.3 -6.9
Hawaii 19.2% 13.9% 14.9% 0.74 1.0 -4.3 32.2% 30.1% 30.9% 0.62 0.8 -1.3
Idaho 35.5% 31.2% 30.4% 1.52 -0.8 -5.1 49.0% 52.9% 51.9% 1.05 -1.1 2.8
Illinois 30.4% 23.9% 22.0% 1.10 -1.9 -8.4 36.4% 31.5% 30.0% 0.61 -1.5 -6.4
Indiana 38.3% 35.3% 36.4% 1.82 1.1 -1.9 65.8% 68.9% 67.6% 1.37 -1.3 1.8
Iowa 54.9% 49.0% 49.4% 2.46 0.4 -5.5 68.1% 67.3% 68.2% 1.38 0.8 0.1
Kansas 25.3% 20.3% 17.7% 0.88 -2.5 -7.6 63.0% 54.9% 53.4% 1.08 -1.4 -9.6
Kentucky 44.6% 37.8% 38.9% 1.94 1.0 -5.7 60.4% 54.1% 54.0% 1.09 -0.1 -6.4
Louisiana 52.1% 45.4% 44.3% 2.21 -1.1 -7.8 49.0% 48.6% 46.3% 0.93 -2.4 -2.7
Maine 28.4% 11.7% 14.7% 0.73 3.0 -13.7 53.3% 47.2% 46.6% 0.94 -0.6 -6.7
Maryland 33.5% 26.3% 26.0% 1.30 -0.4 -7.6 55.2% 47.5% 44.8% 0.91 -2.7 -10.4
Massachusetts 32.2% 19.8% 14.2% 0.71 -5.6 -18.0 43.9% 43.0% 37.9% 0.77 -5.1 -6.0
Michigan 39.4% 30.2% 28.2% 1.41 -2.0 -11.2 74.3% 71.3% 71.7% 1.45 0.3 -2.7
Minnesota 43.4% 38.8% 35.4% 1.76 -3.5 -8.0 61.1% 59.3% 56.0% 1.13 -3.3 -5.1
Mississippi 42.8% 38.6% 37.7% 1.88 -0.9 -5.0 61.6% 54.9% 56.6% 1.14 1.7 -5.0
Missouri 30.4% 25.7% 25.2% 1.26 -0.5 -5.2 55.5% 55.8% 56.4% 1.14 0.6 0.9
Montana 24.0% 20.0% 20.3% 1.01 0.3 -3.7 58.4% 56.0% 56.7% 1.15 0.7 -1.8
Nebraska 20.3% 15.7% 15.0% 0.75 -0.7 -5.3 49.4% 44.5% 43.6% 0.88 -1.0 -5.8
Nevada 22.7% 19.7% 20.7% 1.03 1.0 -2.0 25.8% 27.3% 23.6% 0.48 -3.7 -2.2
New Hampshire 52.8% 40.6% 37.4% 1.86 -3.3 -15.4 83.9% 79.4% 76.8% 1.55 -2.6 -7.1
New Jersey 41.2% 33.6% 30.7% 1.53 -3.0 -10.6 56.5% 49.8% 44.5% 0.90 -5.4 -12.1
New Mexico 15.8% 9.0% 10.4% 0.52 1.3 -5.5 20.6% 16.5% 18.9% 0.38 2.4 -1.7
New York 31.9% 29.7% 30.5% 1.52 0.8 -1.4 33.8% 32.4% 29.9% 0.60 -2.5 -3.9
North Carolina 18.8% 15.5% 15.1% 0.75 -0.4 -3.7 39.5% 35.0% 34.5% 0.70 -0.6 -5.0
North Dakota 34.2% 31.3% 28.7% 1.43 -2.7 -5.5 58.2% 60.1% 55.1% 1.11 -5.1 -3.1
Ohio 33.5% 29.8% 31.6% 1.58 1.8 -1.9 65.4% 64.3% 63.9% 1.29 -0.5 -1.5
Oklahoma 40.6% 31.1% 28.1% 1.40 -3.0 -12.5 59.3% 61.4% 57.2% 1.16 -4.2 -2.2
Oregon 30.5% 20.7% 16.8% 0.84 -3.9 -13.7 71.7% 68.2% 69.7% 1.41 1.5 -2.1
Pennsylvania 45.3% 34.9% 34.7% 1.73 -0.2 -10.6 73.7% 66.2% 67.4% 1.36 1.2 -6.3
Rhode Island 47.6% 43.4% 42.9% 2.14 -0.5 -4.7 64.3% 63.7% 61.5% 1.24 -2.2 -2.9
South Carolina 34.3% 27.2% 33.9% 1.69 6.7 -0.4 77.5% 70.4% 64.2% 1.30 -6.2 -13.4
South Dakota 42.5% 59.3% 57.3% 2.86 -2.1 14.8 64.8% 58.4% 54.6% 1.10 -3.8 -10.1
Tennessee 17.3% 2.0% 3.8% 0.19 1.9 -13.5 51.3% 45.1% 48.6% 0.98 3.5 -2.7
Texas 21.9% 17.0% 16.8% 0.84 -0.2 -5.0 64.4% 64.3% 64.0% 1.29 -0.3 -0.4
Utah 24.2% 19.8% 17.2% 0.86 -2.6 -7.0 48.1% 44.0% 40.5% 0.82 -3.5 -7.6
Vermont 69.4% 52.0% 37.7% 1.88 -14.3 -31.7 89.4% 80.8% 81.0% 1.64 0.2 -8.4
Virginia 45.1% 30.6% 25.2% 1.26 -5.4 -19.9 64.6% 56.5% 51.9% 1.05 -4.6 -12.7
Washington 27.1% 15.8% 17.2% 0.86 1.4 -9.9 51.4% 50.4% 48.1% 0.97 -2.2 -3.3
West Virginia 37.3% 27.6% 30.1% 1.50 2.4 -7.2 68.2% 64.5% 64.8% 1.31 0.3 -3.4
Wisconsin 19.8% 14.5% 15.0% 0.75 0.5 -4.8 62.1% 61.3% 60.5% 1.22 -0.8 -1.6
Wyoming 13.6% 21.0% 21.9% 1.09 0.9 8.2 20.2% 17.7% 13.5% 0.27 -4.2 -6.7
D.C. N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 24.6% 13.7% 14.4% 0.29 0.6 -10.2
U.S. 25.7% 20.1% 20.1% 1.00 0.0 -5.7 55.1% 50.6% 49.5% 1.00 -1.2 -5.6
Notes:
  1. The student share is a measure of the proportion of total education revenue at public institutions coming from net tuition revenue. Net tuition revenue used for capital debt service is included in net tuition revenue but excluded from total education revenue in calculating the above figures. Total education revenue includes federal stimulus funding.
  2. Year change columns show percentage point increases or decreases, not percent change.
  3. The U.S. calculation does not include the District of Columbia. There are no two-year public institutions in Alaska or the District of Columbia.
  4. The year 2019 is included in this table because it is the starting point of the sector-level SHEF dataset.
  5. Sector is determined at the institution level using the Carnegie Basic Classification (https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/). Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges and "less-than-two-year" degree-granting institutions not assigned a Carnegie classification are considered two-year institutions.
  6. Fiscal year 2024 sector-level student share includes estimated two- and four-year net tuition and fee revenue for Pennsylvania.
  7. Each year, approximately one-third of education appropriations, a component of total education revenue, in Illinois go toward the state’s retirement pension system. See the Illinois State Spotlight for more details.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
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