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). For the third year, we also present sector-level breakouts for each of these metrics.

Student Enrollment

Map 3.1

Net Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Enrollment, FY 2022

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Historically, FTE enrollment i i Net full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment Full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment converts student credit hours to full-time academic year students. FTE excludes medical students. VIEW ALL DATA DEFINITIONS has increased in each decade. Starting in 2009, enrollment increased rapidly during and immediately following the Great Recession, having peaked at 11.65 million students in 2011. Now, the most recent decade has seen a reverse in the trend:

  • 6.85 million in 1980.
  • 7.77 million in 1990.
  • 8.38 million in 2000.
  • 11.38 million in 2010.
  • 10.91 million in 2020.
  • 10.31 million in 2022.

Since 2011, FTE enrollment has declined for 11 straight years to 10.31 million in 2022. Between 2015 and 2020, these declines were less than 1.0% annually. In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a year-over-year decline of 3.2% in FTE enrollment, the largest decline since the start of the SHEF dataset in 1980. FTE enrollment continued to decline in 2022, marking the second largest drop in enrollment with a decrease of 2.5%. As a result, public institutions enrolled 10,306,924 FTE students in 2022, down 11.6% from the peak in 2011, and only 0.4% above 2008 levels. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, FTE enrollment has most recently declined at unprecedented rates. 23 23National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. (2022). Fall 2022 enrollment (as of September 2022). nscresearchcenter.org/stay-informed/ VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES

1. State Comparisons

Figure 3.1 shows net FTE enrollment for each state in fiscal year 2022. Table 3.1 provides additional detail on how enrollment has changed over time in each state.

  • Across the states, FTE enrollment ranged from roughly 2,758 students in Washington, D.C., and 12,440 in Alaska to 1.6 million students in California. Only California and Texas had more than one million FTE enrolled students in 2022, and 25.2% of all students attending a public institution in the U.S. attended an institution in either California or Texas.
  • Enrollment declined in 41 states between 2021 and 2022. These declines ranged from 0.2% in North Dakota (representing only 78 FTE) to 12.5% in Missouri (19,540 FTE). Enrollment declined by more than 5% in nine states compared to 17 states and Washington, D.C., in 2021.
  • Enrollment increased in nine states and Washington, D.C. Increases ranged from 0.2% (or 44 students) in Wyoming to 6.6% (or 4,334 students) in New Mexico.
  • Enrollment has declined in 45 states and Washington, D.C., since 2012, but in only one state compared to the start of the SHEF dataset: FTE enrollment in Illinois has declined 18.0% since 1980.

Figure 3.1

Public Higher Education Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Enrollment by State, FY 2022


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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 2022 net 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 1980-2022

1980 2001 2012 2017 2021 2022 % Change Since 2021 % Change Since 2017 % Change Since 2012 % Change Since 2001 % Change Since 1980
Alabama 138,620 165,833 206,364 198,619 194,930 191,445 -1.8% -3.6% -7.2% 15.4% 38.1%
Alaska 10,530 16,079 21,674 18,492 13,739 12,440 -9.5% -32.7% -42.6% -22.6% 18.1%
Arizona 120,148 194,629 275,238 286,335 292,192 309,160 5.8% 8.0% 12.3% 58.8% 157.3%
Arkansas 53,130 87,337 124,426 116,382 105,002 105,752 0.7% -9.1% -15.0% 21.1% 99.0%
California 979,142 1,322,308 1,525,443 1,590,692 1,596,101 1,584,060 -0.8% -0.4% 3.8% 19.8% 61.8%
Colorado 113,281 141,492 192,541 182,212 179,676 175,533 -2.3% -3.7% -8.8% 24.1% 55.0%
Connecticut 58,909 60,976 85,683 90,404 74,538 75,381 1.1% -16.6% -12.0% 23.6% 28.0%
Delaware 20,664 28,944 34,672 35,554 36,409 33,946 -6.8% -4.5% -2.1% 17.3% 64.3%
Florida 287,388 420,957 641,446 597,293 595,409 567,049 -4.8% -5.1% -11.6% 34.7% 97.3%
Georgia 157,155 234,998 379,844 348,606 356,921 348,450 -2.4% 0.0% -8.3% 48.3% 121.7%
Hawaii 30,465 31,810 40,883 36,827 34,151 32,620 -4.5% -11.4% -20.2% 2.5% 7.1%
Idaho 26,647 39,495 58,980 53,116 53,699 53,976 0.5% 1.6% -8.5% 36.7% 102.6%
Illinois 342,097 323,876 384,615 327,545 282,476 280,511 -0.7% -14.4% -27.1% -13.4% -18.0%
Indiana 142,061 193,130 262,545 248,664 237,621 235,412 -0.9% -5.3% -10.3% 21.9% 65.7%
Iowa 84,210 105,545 132,423 132,505 118,606 115,604 -2.5% -12.8% -12.7% 9.5% 37.3%
Kansas 87,216 100,476 141,354 134,716 123,169 119,978 -2.6% -10.9% -15.1% 19.4% 37.6%
Kentucky 89,389 119,500 159,306 147,168 137,518 133,629 -2.8% -9.2% -16.1% 11.8% 49.5%
Louisiana 106,686 168,121 181,590 160,057 163,735 158,195 -3.4% -1.2% -12.9% -5.9% 48.3%
Maine 26,250 29,287 37,897 34,287 32,864 32,111 -2.3% -6.3% -15.3% 9.6% 22.3%
Maryland 133,228 175,085 242,955 232,963 217,333 208,380 -4.1% -10.6% -14.2% 19.0% 56.4%
Massachusetts 122,952 128,404 170,221 165,736 145,913 138,528 -5.1% -16.4% -18.6% 7.9% 12.7%
Michigan 318,166 333,584 423,785 378,402 343,596 332,190 -3.3% -12.2% -21.6% -0.4% 4.4%
Minnesota 149,418 167,238 214,653 189,951 171,312 162,546 -5.1% -14.4% -24.3% -2.8% 8.8%
Mississippi 85,292 102,490 137,888 130,623 121,676 119,101 -2.1% -8.8% -13.6% 16.2% 39.6%
Missouri 120,468 156,588 196,360 195,255 156,493 136,953 -12.5% -29.9% -30.3% -12.5% 13.7%
Montana 25,452 33,660 40,847 38,078 33,459 33,685 0.7% -11.5% -17.5% 0.1% 32.3%
Nebraska 56,360 65,725 83,861 76,899 72,564 71,335 -1.7% -7.2% -14.9% 8.5% 26.6%
Nevada 19,367 48,107 65,238 74,913 75,873 74,078 -2.4% -1.1% 13.6% 54.0% 282.5%
New Hampshire 19,415 26,506 39,099 38,156 32,348 30,874 -4.6% -19.1% -21.0% 16.5% 59.0%
New Jersey 171,390 178,671 278,868 266,194 252,098 238,339 -5.5% -10.5% -14.5% 33.4% 39.1%
New Mexico 48,268 66,847 97,719 89,020 65,855 70,189 6.6% -21.2% -28.2% 5.0% 45.4%
New York 418,679 449,959 576,389 549,948 494,691 455,844 -7.9% -17.1% -20.9% 1.3% 8.9%
North Carolina 165,642 266,217 412,349 389,604 392,374 390,900 -0.4% 0.3% -5.2% 46.8% 136.0%
North Dakota 26,735 31,922 37,503 35,743 31,900 31,822 -0.2% -11.0% -15.1% -0.3% 19.0%
Ohio 291,000 337,379 423,509 390,840 374,222 368,517 -1.5% -5.7% -13.0% 9.2% 26.6%
Oklahoma 96,476 121,111 146,518 133,682 123,954 120,966 -2.4% -9.5% -17.4% -0.1% 25.4%
Oregon 96,946 111,006 165,094 150,305 129,767 124,310 -4.2% -17.3% -24.7% 12.0% 28.2%
Pennsylvania 243,296 288,334 369,046 348,672 315,101 299,671 -4.9% -14.1% -18.8% 3.9% 23.2%
Rhode Island 23,237 25,622 33,550 31,569 30,487 28,742 -5.7% -9.0% -14.3% 12.2% 23.7%
South Carolina 95,600 132,404 173,448 167,414 164,276 166,231 1.2% -0.7% -4.2% 25.5% 73.9%
South Dakota 18,623 22,064 33,540 32,295 31,957 30,645 -4.1% -5.1% -8.6% 38.9% 64.6%
Tennessee 124,022 159,838 190,710 182,223 178,576 173,240 -3.0% -4.9% -9.2% 8.4% 39.7%
Texas 466,900 667,534 1,013,647 1,034,453 1,044,747 1,014,462 -2.9% -1.9% 0.1% 52.0% 117.3%
Utah 47,061 91,953 126,594 123,075 129,312 128,774 -0.4% 4.6% 1.7% 40.0% 173.6%
Vermont 13,656 15,914 21,807 20,638 19,509 19,633 0.6% -4.9% -10.0% 23.4% 43.8%
Virginia 175,197 236,014 325,517 305,307 298,864 288,995 -3.3% -5.3% -11.2% 22.4% 65.0%
Washington 163,866 204,663 253,902 239,481 214,902 207,919 -3.2% -13.2% -18.1% 1.6% 26.9%
West Virginia 53,331 62,902 80,193 69,938 62,038 58,865 -5.1% -15.8% -26.6% -6.4% 10.4%
Wisconsin 174,163 196,523 233,284 213,143 198,362 194,947 -1.7% -8.5% -16.4% -0.8% 11.9%
Wyoming 14,048 20,198 26,174 23,300 20,947 20,991 0.2% -9.9% -19.8% 3.9% 49.4%
D.C. N/A N/A 4,034 3,239 2,711 2,758 1.7% -14.9% -31.6% N/A N/A
U.S. 6,852,242 8,709,255 11,521,192 11,057,294 10,573,262 10,306,924 -2.5% -6.8% -10.5% 18.3% 50.4%
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. Arkansas' FTE enrollment is estimated for fiscal year 2022.
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. i i Sector Sector is determined at the institution level using the Carnegie Basic Classification. Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges and "less-than-two-year" degree-granting institutions not assigned a Carnegie classification are considered two-year institutions. VIEW ALL DATA DEFINITIONS In 2022, there were 3.88 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 2,647 FTE in Vermont to 907,969 FTE in California. Twenty-three percent of students attending a U.S. public two-year institution in 2022 attended a California community college.

  • In the last year, enrollment declined 3.2% at two-year institutions. Thirty-seven states had declines, six of which (Delaware, Hawaii, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island) were greater than 10%. The largest two-year FTE enrollment decline was in Missouri (16.3%). These declines are fewer and comparatively less dramatic than those in 2021 when 14 states had declines of more than 10% in the two-year sector.
  • Two-year enrollment declined by more than 10% in each year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in three states: New York (12.9% in 2021 and 11.3% in 2022), Pennsylvania (11.8% in 2021 and 10.1% in 2022), and Rhode Island (14.4% in 2021 and 12.2% in 2022).
  • Two-year FTE enrollment increased in 12 states from 2021 to 2022. Enrollment increased by more than 5.0% in only one state: Vermont (6.6%). Of the 11 other states, increases ranged from 0.3% in Indiana to 4.6% in New Mexico. 

There were 6.43 million FTE enrolled students at four-year institutions in 2022, about 1.7 times the number of two-year students. Enrollment at four-year institutions ranged from 2,758 in Washington D.C., and 9,750 in Wyoming to 676,091 in California. Notably, California represented one-tenth (10.5%) of all four-year public enrollment in 2022.

  • From 2021 to 2022, FTE enrollment declined 2.1% at four-year institutions. Forty-two states had declines. This follows a 0.9% decline from 2020 to 2021. Only Missouri (10.8%) had an enrollment decline greater than 10% this year. The second and third largest declines were 9.5% in Alaska and 8.7% in Washington. 
  • Four-year FTE enrollment increased in only eight states and Washington, D.C., from 2021 to 2022. The largest enrollment increases were 9.4% in Arizona and 8.1% in New Mexico. 

Thirty-two states had enrollment declines in both sectors over the last year, and only three states (Idaho, New Mexico, and South Carolina) had enrollment increases across both sectors in 2022. The two-year sector generally had larger enrollment declines across states—in 31 states, enrollment took a larger hit in the two-year sector than in the four-year sector from 2021 to 2022. This is a smaller difference compared to 2021, when the enrollment decline was greater in the two-year sector in 29 states. In nine states, enrollment declined from 2021 to 2022 in the four-year sector only.

Figure 3.1A shows that states enroll different proportions of students across sectors. Overall, 37.6% of public FTE students attended a two-year institution in the United States—a decline of 2.3 percentage points from 2019. The percentage of FTE at two-year institutions varied from only 13.5% in Vermont to 57.3% in California. Only three states (California, Washington, and Wyoming) had more FTE students enrolled in the two-year sector than in the four-year sector.

Figure 3.1A

Percent of Public Higher Education Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Enrollment at Two-Year Institutions by State, FY 2021


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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 2022 net 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 2019-2022

Two-Year FTE Four-Year FTE
2019 2021 2022 % Change Since 2021 % Change Since 2019 2019 2021 2022 % Change Since 2021 % Change Since 2019
Alabama 59,288 51,745 52,783 2.0% -11.0% 143,485 143,185 138,662 -3.2% -3.4%
Alaska 0 0 0 N/A N/A 16,721 13,739 12,440 -9.5% -25.6%
Arizona 110,557 92,151 90,402 -1.9% -18.2% 182,299 200,041 218,758 9.4% 20.0%
Arkansas 30,934 27,633 26,722 -3.3% -13.6% 82,311 77,369 79,030 2.1% -4.0%
California 934,456 910,429 907,969 -0.3% -2.8% 672,687 685,672 676,091 -1.4% 0.5%
Colorado 56,000 56,515 55,170 -2.4% -1.5% 127,744 123,161 120,363 -2.3% -5.8%
Connecticut 26,419 20,295 21,142 4.2% -20.0% 57,374 54,243 54,239 0.0% -5.5%
Delaware 8,886 8,486 7,486 -11.8% -15.8% 27,524 27,923 26,460 -5.2% -3.9%
Florida 315,763 291,691 269,699 -7.5% -14.6% 293,197 303,718 297,350 -2.1% 1.4%
Georgia 86,540 77,837 74,285 -4.6% -14.2% 269,808 279,084 274,165 -1.8% 1.6%
Hawaii 14,820 13,697 12,126 -11.5% -18.2% 20,434 20,455 20,494 0.2% 0.3%
Idaho 15,992 14,782 14,914 0.9% -6.7% 38,429 38,917 39,063 0.4% 1.6%
Illinois 140,713 116,619 115,921 -0.6% -17.6% 166,254 165,857 164,590 -0.8% -1.0%
Indiana 63,913 58,773 58,967 0.3% -7.7% 182,388 178,849 176,445 -1.3% -3.3%
Iowa 57,239 51,791 50,859 -1.8% -11.1% 72,148 66,815 64,745 -3.1% -10.3%
Kansas 52,895 47,174 46,029 -2.4% -13.0% 79,358 75,995 73,949 -2.7% -6.8%
Kentucky 43,446 40,579 39,127 -3.6% -9.9% 98,556 96,940 94,502 -2.5% -4.1%
Louisiana 43,091 39,608 37,533 -5.2% -12.9% 120,841 124,127 120,662 -2.8% -0.1%
Maine 9,773 8,925 8,292 -7.1% -15.2% 24,174 23,939 23,819 -0.5% -1.5%
Maryland 89,990 76,482 71,365 -6.7% -20.7% 139,253 140,851 137,015 -2.7% -1.6%
Massachusetts 49,799 41,860 38,394 -8.3% -22.9% 110,528 104,053 100,134 -3.8% -9.4%
Michigan 116,340 102,319 99,394 -2.9% -14.6% 249,975 241,277 232,796 -3.5% -6.9%
Minnesota 76,219 69,472 64,710 -6.9% -15.1% 108,148 101,840 97,835 -3.9% -9.5%
Mississippi 58,299 52,358 51,174 -2.3% -12.2% 71,200 69,318 67,927 -2.0% -4.6%
Missouri 59,765 48,416 40,516 -16.3% -32.2% 122,734 108,077 96,436 -10.8% -21.4%
Montana 6,678 5,964 5,936 -0.5% -11.1% 29,697 27,495 27,749 0.9% -6.6%
Nebraska 26,142 22,681 22,531 -0.7% -13.8% 49,798 49,883 48,804 -2.2% -2.0%
Nevada 29,026 27,955 26,922 -3.7% -7.2% 47,398 47,918 47,156 -1.6% -0.5%
New Hampshire 9,853 8,066 7,515 -6.8% -23.7% 26,500 24,282 23,359 -3.8% -11.9%
New Jersey 99,904 87,901 82,173 -6.5% -17.7% 162,374 164,197 156,166 -4.9% -3.8%
New Mexico 37,798 28,678 29,992 4.6% -20.7% 39,242 37,176 40,197 8.1% 2.4%
New York 210,891 174,908 155,063 -11.3% -26.5% 327,088 319,783 300,781 -5.9% -8.0%
North Carolina 179,659 174,757 172,214 -1.5% -4.1% 214,263 217,617 218,686 0.5% 2.1%
North Dakota 7,028 6,493 6,524 0.5% -7.2% 26,753 25,407 25,298 -0.4% -5.4%
Ohio 99,164 110,206 111,675 1.3% 12.6% 287,287 264,015 256,842 -2.7% -10.6%
Oklahoma 40,585 37,883 36,006 -5.0% -11.3% 88,260 86,071 84,960 -1.3% -3.7%
Oregon 60,770 50,320 46,129 -8.3% -24.1% 83,519 79,447 78,181 -1.6% -6.4%
Pennsylvania 79,979 68,971 61,998 -10.1% -22.5% 251,685 246,130 237,673 -3.4% -5.6%
Rhode Island 9,333 8,231 7,224 -12.2% -22.6% 22,645 22,256 21,518 -3.3% -5.0%
South Carolina 57,624 53,730 55,122 2.6% -4.3% 109,116 110,545 111,109 0.5% 1.8%
South Dakota 5,810 5,848 5,829 -0.3% 0.3% 27,006 26,109 24,816 -5.0% -8.1%
Tennessee 72,783 66,125 62,292 -5.8% -14.4% 111,635 112,451 110,948 -1.3% -0.6%
Texas 487,864 445,292 427,215 -4.1% -12.4% 578,843 599,455 587,247 -2.0% 1.5%
Utah 25,832 24,658 24,470 -0.8% -5.3% 102,270 104,654 104,304 -0.3% 2.0%
Vermont 2,652 2,482 2,647 6.6% -0.2% 17,806 17,027 16,986 -0.2% -4.6%
Virginia 100,141 94,137 87,994 -6.5% -12.1% 201,878 204,727 201,002 -1.8% -0.4%
Washington 123,981 103,034 105,800 2.7% -14.7% 112,000 111,868 102,119 -8.7% -8.8%
West Virginia 11,076 9,424 8,718 -7.5% -21.3% 55,501 52,614 50,147 -4.7% -9.6%
Wisconsin 72,054 58,255 58,595 0.6% -18.7% 137,600 140,108 136,351 -2.7% -0.9%
Wyoming 11,214 10,802 11,241 4.1% 0.2% 10,980 10,145 9,750 -3.9% -11.2%
D.C. 0 0 0 N/A N/A 3,518 2,711 2,758 1.7% -21.6%
U.S. 4,388,978 4,006,438 3,876,804 -3.2% -11.7% 6,598,714 6,566,825 6,430,119 -2.1% -2.6%
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. Arkansas' FTE enrollment is estimated for fiscal year 2022.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

Education Appropriations

Map 3.2

Education Appropriations per FTE, FY 2022

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Fiscal year 2022 marks the 10th straight year of per-FTE increases in education appropriations. i i Education appropriations Education appropriations measure state and local support available for public higher education operating expenses and exclude research, hospitals, and medical education. State-level and sector-level education appropriations include federal stimulus funding. Sector-level education appropriations do not include agency funding. VIEW ALL DATA DEFINITIONS Inflation-adjusted education appropriations per FTE increased 4.9% from 2021 to 2022, reaching $10,237 (Table 3.2).

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 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. 24 24Federal 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

For the first time since the Great Recession, education appropriations per FTE exceeded 2008 levels, both including and excluding federal stimulus (3.1% and 0.6% higher, respectively). However, 2022 education appropriations per FTE remained below 2001 levels, another pre-recession high point, both when including (6.4%) and excluding (8.6%) federal stimulus.

1. State Comparisons

States vary widely in their per-student funding for higher education. Education appropriations per FTE in 2022 ranged from $3,699 in New Hampshire to $22,970 in Illinois 25 25In 2022, Illinois allocated a one-time payment of $250 million to the state’s prepaid tuition program. These funds will be disbursed over a span of years, rather than in 2022 alone. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES and $27,187 in Washington, D.C. (Figure 3.2).

  • Despite national-level increases, education appropriations per FTE declined in 21 states and Washington, D.C., from 2021 to 2022. Three states, Minnesota (21.8%, or $2,729 per FTE), New Hampshire (20.1%, or $931 per FTE), and Wyoming (35.1%, or $9,801 per FTE), and Washington, D.C. (28.0%, or $10,572 per FTE), had a decline greater than 20%. These declines were entirely due to states decreasing the amount of stimulus funds allocated to higher education in 2022.
  • Education appropriations per FTE increased in 29 states in the last year. In six states, increases were greater than 10%. The largest increases were in Georgia (30.3%, or $3,174), New Jersey (25.0%, or $1,790 ), and Connecticut (23.9%, or $2,859). The increase in Georgia was largely, but not entirely, due to federal stimulus funds. The increase in New Jersey was primarily due to state investment in public operating. In Connecticut, the increase was due to a combination of federal stimulus funds and state investment in public operating.

Although nationally, education appropriations have recovered to 2008 levels, the majority of states continue funding higher education at a lower level than prior to the Great Recession. Twenty-eight states have not yet recovered from the 2008 Great Recession (meaning their education appropriations per FTE in 2022 remain below 2008 levels). Arizona (40.9% below) and Louisiana (32.2% below), are furthest from recovery. Another eight states remain at least 20% below 2008 levels. Additionally, in 36 states, education appropriations per FTE remain below the level seen in 2001 prior to the tech bust.

Federal stimulus funding has a heavy impact on the above figures. On average, states allocated $241 per FTE in federal stimulus funding to public higher education. In 2022, three states and Washington, D.C., allocated more than $1,000 per FTE in federal stimulus funding to public higher education: Vermont ($2,707), Georgia ($2,340), and Connecticut ($1,425). After excluding federal stimulus funding from all years in which it was allocated (2009-2012 and 2020-2022):

  • Education appropriations per FTE declined in 10 states and Washington, D.C., from 2021 to 2022. The largest declines were in Vermont (19.9%) and Wyoming (15.1%). These were the only two states with declines greater than 10.0%.
  • Education appropriations per student increased in 40 states in the last year. The largest increase was in Colorado (83.7%), due entirely to Colorado relying on federal stimulus funding for 46.5% of education appropriations per FTE in 2021. 
  • Excluding stimulus funding, the only other states with increases in education appropriations per FTE exceeding 20% in the last year were New Jersey (26.5%) and Louisiana (20.7%).
  • Although U.S. average education appropriations per FTE are higher than prior to the 2008 recession, even when excluding stimulus, 30 states have not yet recovered. Additionally, 37 have not yet recovered from the 2001 recession.

Figure 3.2

Public Higher Education Appropriations per FTE by State, FY 2022 (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 2022 net FTE enrollment is estimated for Arkansas and education appropriations for Illinois and Texas include estimated local appropriations.
  4. Constant 2022 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 3.2

Public Higher Education Appropriations per FTE by State, FY 1980-2022 (Constant Adjusted Dollars)

1980 2001 2012 2017 2021 2022 % Change Since 2021 % Change Since 2017 % Change Since 2012 % Change Since 2001 % Change Since 1980
Alabama $7,653 $8,987 $7,183 $7,248 $8,005 $8,867 10.8% 22.3% 23.4% -1.3% 15.9%
Alaska $24,506 $15,104 $16,029 $16,339 $18,520 $18,436 -0.5% 12.8% 15.0% 22.1% -24.8%
Arizona $8,492 $9,597 $6,470 $6,201 $6,552 $6,127 -6.5% -1.2% -5.3% -36.2% -27.9%
Arkansas $10,096 $10,769 $9,706 $8,892 $9,432 $9,596 1.7% 7.9% -1.1% -10.9% -5.0%
California $9,156 $10,029 $7,196 $9,244 $10,643 $11,694 9.9% 26.5% 62.5% 16.6% 27.7%
Colorado $5,808 $7,018 $3,558 $4,667 $6,279 $6,711 6.9% 43.8% 88.6% -4.4% 15.5%
Connecticut $8,595 $16,820 $12,059 $10,148 $11,967 $14,827 23.9% 46.1% 23.0% -11.8% 72.5%
Delaware $8,135 $9,391 $6,385 $6,319 $7,414 $7,473 0.8% 18.3% 17.0% -20.4% -8.1%
Florida $7,202 $10,893 $6,141 $7,632 $8,865 $9,178 3.5% 20.3% 49.5% -15.7% 27.4%
Georgia $10,018 $15,461 $8,578 $10,306 $10,466 $13,640 30.3% 32.4% 59.0% -11.8% 36.2%
Hawaii $9,787 $9,778 $9,133 $12,112 $14,787 $14,097 -4.7% 16.4% 54.4% 44.2% 44.0%
Idaho $13,455 $14,294 $7,670 $10,582 $11,227 $11,009 -1.9% 4.0% 43.5% -23.0% -18.2%
Illinois $10,150 $15,347 $14,975 $19,113 $22,040 $22,970 4.2% 20.2% 53.4% 49.7% 126.3%
Indiana $10,040 $9,940 $6,515 $7,031 $6,746 $7,004 3.8% -0.4% 7.5% -29.5% -30.2%
Iowa $10,804 $11,804 $6,295 $6,132 $6,655 $6,641 -0.2% 8.3% 5.5% -43.7% -38.5%
Kansas $10,229 $11,641 $7,194 $7,166 $9,237 $8,749 -5.3% 22.1% 21.6% -24.8% -14.5%
Kentucky $11,125 $13,494 $8,729 $8,275 $8,594 $9,022 5.0% 9.0% 3.4% -33.1% -18.9%
Louisiana $9,958 $8,783 $7,203 $6,195 $6,596 $7,224 9.5% 16.6% 0.3% -17.8% -27.5%
Maine $7,452 $10,982 $7,593 $8,405 $8,798 $8,938 1.6% 6.3% 17.7% -18.6% 19.9%
Maryland $7,749 $10,382 $7,201 $8,458 $9,642 $9,759 1.2% 15.4% 35.5% -6.0% 25.9%
Massachusetts $8,568 $11,534 $6,807 $8,211 $10,164 $10,513 3.4% 28.0% 54.4% -8.9% 22.7%
Michigan $10,716 $13,110 $6,411 $7,775 $8,766 $9,909 13.0% 27.4% 54.6% -24.4% -7.5%
Minnesota $11,337 $11,462 $6,500 $8,208 $12,532 $9,802 -21.8% 19.4% 50.8% -14.5% -13.5%
Mississippi $9,307 $11,309 $7,471 $8,019 $8,685 $7,507 -13.6% -6.4% 0.5% -33.6% -19.3%
Missouri $11,446 $13,675 $7,963 $7,858 $10,753 $11,376 5.8% 44.8% 42.9% -16.8% -0.6%
Montana $8,099 $6,232 $5,385 $6,318 $8,146 $6,709 -17.6% 6.2% 24.6% 7.7% -17.2%
Nebraska $9,290 $9,228 $9,030 $11,050 $11,853 $12,207 3.0% 10.5% 35.2% 32.3% 31.4%
Nevada $9,333 $9,764 $8,168 $7,734 $6,904 $8,022 16.2% 3.7% -1.8% -17.8% -14.0%
New Hampshire $4,868 $5,376 $1,903 $2,829 $4,630 $3,699 -20.1% 30.7% 94.4% -31.2% -24.0%
New Jersey $8,561 $11,539 $7,831 $8,005 $7,175 $8,965 25.0% 12.0% 14.5% -22.3% 4.7%
New Mexico $11,615 $11,760 $10,140 $11,938 $16,330 $16,600 1.7% 39.0% 63.7% 41.2% 42.9%
New York $11,985 $11,294 $10,245 $12,278 $12,697 $13,897 9.5% 13.2% 35.7% 23.0% 16.0%
North Carolina $11,173 $14,419 $10,836 $11,629 $11,828 $12,513 5.8% 7.6% 15.5% -13.2% 12.0%
North Dakota $9,348 $7,925 $9,261 $10,533 $9,721 $9,409 -3.2% -10.7% 1.6% 18.7% 0.6%
Ohio $8,927 $10,697 $6,140 $7,320 $8,002 $7,214 -9.8% -1.5% 17.5% -32.6% -19.2%
Oklahoma $9,028 $11,009 $8,587 $7,832 $7,480 $7,670 2.5% -2.1% -10.7% -30.3% -15.0%
Oregon $7,729 $8,348 $4,484 $5,579 $7,522 $8,068 7.3% 44.6% 79.9% -3.4% 4.4%
Pennsylvania $10,478 $10,462 $4,971 $5,040 $6,366 $6,090 -4.3% 20.8% 22.5% -41.8% -41.9%
Rhode Island $11,141 $9,630 $5,812 $5,970 $6,872 $6,729 -2.1% 12.7% 15.8% -30.1% -39.6%
South Carolina $10,267 $8,788 $5,483 $6,696 $8,088 $7,150 -11.6% 6.8% 30.4% -18.6% -30.4%
South Dakota $10,078 $8,321 $6,126 $7,616 $8,163 $8,003 -2.0% 5.1% 30.6% -3.8% -20.6%
Tennessee $9,835 $10,284 $8,409 $10,582 $12,874 $12,354 -4.0% 16.7% 46.9% 20.1% 25.6%
Texas $8,987 $10,416 $8,684 $8,270 $8,738 $9,084 4.0% 9.9% 4.6% -12.8% 1.1%
Utah $10,759 $9,313 $6,607 $8,492 $9,269 $9,750 5.2% 14.8% 47.6% 4.7% -9.4%
Vermont $4,832 $4,400 $3,317 $3,025 $7,836 $6,363 -18.8% 110.3% 91.8% 44.6% 31.7%
Virginia $8,176 $10,154 $5,416 $6,689 $7,651 $8,283 8.3% 23.8% 52.9% -18.4% 1.3%
Washington $9,524 $9,142 $5,847 $7,956 $10,961 $10,154 -7.4% 27.6% 73.7% 11.1% 6.6%
West Virginia $8,356 $7,981 $6,506 $5,588 $6,676 $7,299 9.3% 30.6% 12.2% -8.5% -12.7%
Wisconsin $11,010 $12,287 $8,470 $8,435 $9,673 $9,510 -1.7% 12.7% 12.3% -22.6% -13.6%
Wyoming $17,044 $13,890 $17,240 $20,010 $27,942 $18,140 -35.1% -9.3% 5.2% 30.6% 6.4%
D.C. N/A N/A $16,762 $20,119 $37,760 $27,187 -28.0% 35.1% 62.2% N/A N/A
U.S. $9,572 $10,938 $7,610 $8,686 $9,762 $10,237 4.9% 17.9% 34.5% -6.4% 6.9%
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. 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. 26 26Unlike 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 uncategorizable state support and uncategorizable financial aid are not allocated to either sector and are excluded from the sector-level data. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES

In the last year, inflation-adjusted state and local education appropriations increased 3.8% at two-year institutions, reaching $10,141 per FTE. Because one in five FTE students at two-year institutions are located in California, the U.S. weighted average is heavily affected by California’s relatively high education appropriations. When excluding California, the U.S. average state and local education appropriations at two-year institutions is nearly $1,000 less per FTE ($8,953 per FTE). 

Two-year public education appropriations per FTE ranged widely across states, from $4,791 in Louisiana to $17,243 per FTE in Illinois. 27 27A large portion of education appropriations in Illinois are not available for operations at public institutions. Additionally, Illinois received a one-time payment of $250 million for the state’s prepaid tuition program that will be disbursed over a span of years. See the Illinois state spotlight to learn more. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES In the last year, two-year education appropriations per FTE declined in 15 states. The largest decline was in Wyoming (28.6%). Three other states, Minnesota (24.8%), Mississippi (22.2%), and South Dakota (21.2%) had declines greater than 20%. The declines in Minnesota, Mississippi, and Wyoming were due to federal stimulus, whereas the decline in South Dakota was due to public operating. Thirty-five states had increases in two-year education appropriations per FTE, and 12 states had single-year increases greater than 10%. The largest increases were in Georgia (20.2%), New Jersey (25.1%), and Nevada (26.9%). In Georgia, this increase was primarily due to federal stimulus, whereas the increases in New Jersey and Nevada were largely due to increases in public operating.

At four-year institutions, education appropriations per FTE increased 4.0% from 2021 to 2022, reaching $9,596. Appropriations ranged even more widely in the four-year sector, from less than $5,000 per student in Arizona and New Hampshire to over $20,000 per student in Illinois and Washington, D.C. 28 28A large portion of education appropriations in Illinois are not available for operations at public institutions. Additionally, Illinois received a one-time payment of $250 million for the state’s prepaid tuition program that will be disbursed over a span of years. See the Illinois state spotlight to learn more. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES From 2021 to 2022, four-year education appropriations per FTE declined in 23 states and Washington, D.C. 

The largest declines in four-year education appropriations per FTE were in Wyoming (37.0%), New Hampshire (26.7%), and Vermont (20.5%). Notably, these three states had the largest increases in four-year education appropriations per FTE in 2021. 29 29The top four-year sector year-over-year increases in 2021 were Vermont (70.9%), Wyoming (46.4%), and New Hampshire (42.1%). VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES All three fluctuations were, in large part, due to states allocating additional funds to aid institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 (federal stimulus funds in New Hampshire and Wyoming, and a mix of federal stimulus funds and a one-time bridge appropriation in Vermont). The largest increases this year were in Georgia (34.6%), New Jersey (25.8%), and Michigan (22.0%). The increase in Georgia came primarily from federal stimulus, while the increases in Michigan and New Jersey were the results of states investing in public operations at four-year institutions. Four other states (Alabama, California, Connecticut, and Nevada) increased education appropriations per FTE for four-year institutions by more than 10%.

Sector-level education appropriations in 2022 included $55 per FTE in federal stimulus for two-year institutions and $169 per FTE in federal stimulus for four-year institutions. Excluding federal stimulus funding, education appropriations at both two- and four-year institutions increased 5.7% from 2021 to 2022. 

  • Without federal stimulus funding, two-year education appropriations declined in 13 states. The largest declines were in Vermont (26.9%), South Dakota (14.8%), Tennessee (13.7%), and Wyoming (13.2%).
  • Twelve states and Washington, D.C., had declines in four-year education appropriations when excluding federal stimulus funding. The largest declines were in Vermont (17.3%), Hawaii (16.7%), Wyoming (15.8%), and Montana (5.6%). No other states had declines greater than 5%.

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 2019 and 2020, four-year institutions received more in education appropriations per student than two-year institutions, but in 2021 and 2022, they received approximately $540 less per FTE in both years. This means that in 2022, two-year education appropriations per FTE were 5.7% higher than four-year education appropriations, with 28 states reporting higher funding in the two-year sector. If research, agriculture, and medical (RAM) appropriations were included in the education appropriations total, four-year institutions would receive $1,319 more than two-year institutions per-FTE, or 13.0% higher.
  • Arizona had the largest education appropriation disparity favoring the two-year sector (111.0% 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 73.1% 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 appropriations, which only support four-year institutions. 

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 2022.

  • Two-year public institutions received $6,297 per FTE in state general operating appropriations, 76.9% of the four-year general operating appropriation ($8,191).
  • State financial aid awards averaged $562 at two-year institutions, 46.2% of the $1,216 awarded to students attending four-year institutions.
  • Local appropriations were 168.6 times higher at two-year institutions ($3,226) compared to four-year institutions ($19 per FTE). There were two-year local appropriations in 29 states, compared to only seven for four-year institutions.
  • RAM averaged $1,864 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 i i Sector-level state and local support Sector-level state and local support is the sum of state and local operating appropriations, state financial aid, and state research, agricultural, or medical appropriations at public two- and four-year institutions. Sector-level state and local support includes any portion of federal stimulus funding allocated specifically to each sector and does not include agency funding. VIEW ALL DATA DEFINITIONS was $10,141, 88.5% of the amount at four-year institutions ($11,464).

Figure 3.2A

Percent Difference in Two-Year and Four-Year Public Higher Education Appropriations per FTE by State, FY 2022


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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. Fiscal year 2022 two-year education appropriations for Illinois and Texas include estimated local appropriations.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Table 3.2A

Public Higher Education Appropriations per FTE by Sector and State, FY 2019-2022 (Constant Adjusted Dollars)

Two-Year Education Appropriations Four-Year Education Appropriations
2019 2021 2022 Index to U.S. Average % Change Since 2021 % Change Since 2019 2019 2021 2022 Index to U.S. Average % Change Since 2021 % Change Since 2019
Alabama $7,929 $9,465 $10,446 1.03 10.4% 31.7% $7,626 $7,743 $8,587 0.89 10.9% 12.6%
Alaska $0 $0 $0 N/A N/A N/A $16,862 $17,976 $17,894 1.86 -0.5% 6.1%
Arizona $10,450 $12,216 $12,650 1.25 3.6% 21.1% $3,896 $4,120 $3,619 0.38 -12.2% -7.1%
Arkansas $8,789 $9,697 $9,851 0.97 1.6% 12.1% $8,609 $9,025 $9,132 0.95 1.2% 6.1%
California $9,445 $10,594 $11,033 1.09 4.1% 16.8% $9,233 $9,242 $10,187 1.06 10.2% 10.3%
Colorado $6,544 $6,956 $8,029 0.79 15.4% 22.7% $4,496 $5,337 $5,293 0.55 -0.8% 17.7%
Connecticut $9,565 $12,670 $14,367 1.42 13.4% 50.2% $10,542 $11,595 $13,322 1.39 14.9% 26.4%
Delaware $9,716 $10,907 $11,674 1.15 7.0% 20.2% $6,015 $7,131 $7,352 0.77 3.1% 22.2%
Florida $5,182 $5,552 $5,913 0.58 6.5% 14.1% $12,855 $12,610 $12,725 1.33 0.9% -1.0%
Georgia $7,549 $7,844 $9,428 0.93 20.2% 24.9% $11,134 $10,526 $14,165 1.48 34.6% 27.2%
Hawaii $11,364 $12,333 $13,072 1.29 6.0% 15.0% $14,281 $14,100 $12,643 1.32 -10.3% -11.5%
Idaho $5,975 $6,594 $6,528 0.64 -1.0% 9.2% $9,956 $9,933 $9,508 0.99 -4.3% -4.5%
Illinois $13,353 $17,345 $17,243 1.70 -0.6% 29.1% $21,224 $23,503 $23,496 2.45 0.0% 10.7%
Indiana $6,287 $6,335 $6,441 0.64 1.7% 2.4% $7,582 $6,862 $7,084 0.74 3.2% -6.6%
Iowa $5,081 $5,981 $6,126 0.60 2.4% 20.6% $7,318 $7,727 $7,549 0.79 -2.3% 3.2%
Kansas $9,521 $11,194 $11,361 1.12 1.5% 19.3% $6,599 $8,035 $7,299 0.76 -9.2% 10.6%
Kentucky $6,681 $7,143 $7,229 0.71 1.2% 8.2% $8,711 $9,099 $9,678 1.01 6.4% 11.1%
Louisiana $3,992 $4,208 $4,791 0.47 13.8% 20.0% $6,913 $6,439 $7,071 0.74 9.8% 2.3%
Maine $7,981 $8,907 $9,206 0.91 3.4% 15.3% $7,866 $8,208 $8,296 0.86 1.1% 5.5%
Maryland $8,247 $9,726 $10,455 1.03 7.5% 26.8% $8,689 $9,318 $9,114 0.95 -2.2% 4.9%
Massachusetts $7,193 $8,843 $9,770 0.96 10.5% 35.8% $8,991 $10,290 $10,415 1.09 1.2% 15.8%
Michigan $10,599 $12,624 $12,983 1.28 2.8% 22.5% $7,051 $7,331 $8,943 0.93 22.0% 26.8%
Minnesota $7,190 $11,205 $8,431 0.83 -24.8% 17.3% $8,648 $10,153 $9,362 0.98 -7.8% 8.3%
Mississippi $6,769 $9,719 $7,561 0.75 -22.2% 11.7% $7,216 $8,073 $7,523 0.78 -6.8% 4.2%
Missouri $7,326 $10,636 $12,482 1.23 17.4% 70.4% $8,045 $10,462 $10,373 1.08 -0.9% 28.9%
Montana $5,944 $7,697 $6,641 0.65 -13.7% 11.7% $6,742 $8,815 $7,183 0.75 -18.5% 6.5%
Nebraska $12,314 $14,602 $14,899 1.47 2.0% 21.0% $10,386 $10,748 $11,108 1.16 3.4% 7.0%
Nevada $6,559 $5,307 $6,737 0.66 26.9% 2.7% $9,658 $8,293 $9,297 0.97 12.1% -3.7%
New Hampshire $4,956 $7,196 $6,924 0.68 -3.8% 39.7% $2,495 $4,103 $3,009 0.31 -26.7% 20.6%
New Jersey $4,453 $4,245 $5,311 0.52 25.1% 19.3% $8,357 $7,515 $9,454 0.99 25.8% 13.1%
New Mexico $11,116 $15,094 $16,352 1.61 8.3% 47.1% $15,607 $16,695 $16,187 1.69 -3.0% 3.7%
New York $9,583 $9,530 $11,347 1.12 19.1% 18.4% $14,487 $13,646 $14,409 1.50 5.6% -0.5%
North Carolina $8,824 $9,268 $9,597 0.95 3.6% 8.8% $13,573 $12,900 $13,711 1.43 6.3% 1.0%
North Dakota $7,778 $8,691 $8,402 0.83 -3.3% 8.0% $8,018 $8,305 $8,236 0.86 -0.8% 2.7%
Ohio $8,409 $7,800 $7,179 0.71 -8.0% -14.6% $6,633 $8,067 $7,111 0.74 -11.9% 7.2%
Oklahoma $6,468 $6,693 $7,238 0.71 8.2% 11.9% $7,447 $7,150 $7,298 0.76 2.1% -2.0%
Oregon $7,696 $9,910 $11,025 1.09 11.3% 43.3% $4,952 $5,938 $6,225 0.65 4.8% 25.7%
Pennsylvania $5,894 $7,142 $7,358 0.73 3.0% 24.8% $5,411 $5,507 $5,622 0.59 2.1% 3.9%
Rhode Island $5,790 $7,149 $7,241 0.71 1.3% 25.1% $5,356 $5,981 $5,984 0.62 0.0% 11.7%
South Carolina $7,483 $8,210 $7,307 0.72 -11.0% -2.3% $6,149 $8,134 $6,914 0.72 -15.0% 12.4%
South Dakota $5,431 $6,926 $5,456 0.54 -21.2% 0.5% $6,628 $7,177 $7,159 0.75 -0.2% 8.0%
Tennessee $9,716 $12,024 $10,376 1.02 -13.7% 6.8% $11,166 $12,055 $11,752 1.22 -2.5% 5.2%
Texas $7,101 $8,264 $8,549 0.84 3.4% 20.4% $7,684 $7,943 $8,050 0.84 1.3% 4.8%
Utah $10,060 $10,474 $11,015 1.09 5.2% 9.5% $8,664 $8,917 $9,234 0.96 3.6% 6.6%
Vermont $2,891 $5,475 $5,384 0.53 -1.7% 86.2% $2,989 $6,520 $5,184 0.54 -20.5% 73.4%
Virginia $5,286 $5,937 $6,579 0.65 10.8% 24.5% $7,013 $8,052 $8,245 0.86 2.4% 17.6%
Washington $7,126 $10,421 $9,161 0.90 -12.1% 28.6% $8,905 $10,261 $10,440 1.09 1.7% 17.2%
West Virginia $7,549 $9,539 $10,288 1.01 7.9% 36.3% $5,626 $6,421 $6,437 0.67 0.3% 14.4%
Wisconsin $12,864 $15,349 $14,788 1.46 -3.7% 15.0% $5,993 $6,604 $6,599 0.69 -0.1% 10.1%
Wyoming $18,075 $19,816 $14,155 1.40 -28.6% -21.7% $20,236 $30,289 $19,088 1.99 -37.0% -5.7%
D.C. $0 $0 $0 N/A N/A N/A $19,352 $31,050 $25,835 2.69 -16.8% 33.5%
U.S. $8,513 $9,767 $10,141 1.00 3.8% 19.1% $8,866 $9,225 $9,596 1.00 4.0% 8.2%
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. Fiscal year 2022 education appropriations include estimated two-year local appropriations for Illinois and Texas.
  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
Table 3.2B

Components of Public Higher Education Appropriations per FTE by Sector and State, FY 2022 (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 $10,302 $124 $20 $10,446 $10,446 $8,253 $335 $0 $8,587 $3,220 $11,835
Alaska $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $16,864 $834 $60 $17,894 $1,303 $19,197
Arizona $1,611 $7 $11,032 $12,650 $12,650 $3,533 $86 $0 $3,619 $1,198 $4,816
Arkansas $7,911 $404 $1,536 $9,851 $9,851 $7,685 $1,447 $0 $9,132 $3,377 $12,519
California $7,630 $401 $3,002 $11,033 $11,033 $8,259 $1,928 $0 $10,187 $1,410 $11,598
Colorado $4,522 $1,117 $2,390 $8,029 $8,029 $4,275 $1,018 $0 $5,293 $1,275 $6,568
Connecticut $13,712 $337 $0 $14,367 $14,367 $12,588 $295 $0 $13,322 $5,111 $18,433
Delaware $11,360 $114 $0 $11,674 $11,674 $5,474 $566 $0 $7,352 $361 $7,713
Florida $5,191 $552 $166 $5,913 $5,913 $10,222 $2,503 $0 $12,725 $1,754 $14,479
Georgia $7,439 $887 $0 $9,428 $9,428 $8,546 $2,919 $0 $14,165 $1,727 $15,892
Hawaii $12,468 $358 $0 $13,072 $13,072 $11,506 $94 $0 $12,643 $4,402 $17,045
Idaho $3,710 $130 $2,688 $6,528 $6,528 $9,098 $410 $0 $9,508 $1,662 $11,170
Illinois $8,134 $479 $8,448 $17,243 $17,243 $21,986 $1,444 $0 $23,496 $1,241 $24,771
Indiana $5,655 $744 $0 $6,441 $6,441 $5,775 $1,279 $0 $7,084 $1,712 $8,796
Iowa $4,603 $584 $856 $6,126 $6,126 $7,436 $113 $0 $7,549 $2,019 $9,583
Kansas $4,445 $252 $6,664 $11,361 $11,361 $6,471 $434 $394 $7,299 $3,177 $10,562
Kentucky $5,348 $1,855 $0 $7,229 $7,229 $7,642 $1,660 $350 $9,678 $1,550 $11,229
Louisiana $4,159 $632 $0 $4,791 $4,791 $4,199 $2,872 $0 $7,071 $2,826 $9,922
Maine $8,287 $883 $0 $9,206 $9,206 $7,476 $498 $0 $8,296 $1,456 $9,752
Maryland $4,838 $148 $5,469 $10,455 $10,455 $8,623 $492 $0 $9,114 $1,975 $11,090
Massachusetts $9,102 $653 $0 $9,770 $9,770 $9,841 $574 $0 $10,415 $482 $10,898
Michigan $5,057 $670 $7,256 $12,983 $12,983 $8,931 $13 $0 $8,943 $855 $9,798
Minnesota $7,875 $555 $0 $8,431 $8,431 $8,354 $1,008 $0 $9,362 $2,165 $11,527
Mississippi $5,865 $155 $1,540 $7,561 $7,561 $6,858 $615 $0 $7,523 $5,086 $12,609
Missouri $4,869 $1,730 $5,684 $12,482 $12,482 $9,542 $768 $0 $10,373 $70 $10,443
Montana $4,905 $37 $1,698 $6,641 $6,641 $7,133 $49 $0 $7,183 $1,513 $8,695
Nebraska $4,994 $265 $9,171 $14,899 $14,899 $10,760 $347 $0 $11,108 $4,529 $15,637
Nevada $5,930 $563 $0 $6,737 $6,737 $6,965 $1,781 $13 $9,297 $1,911 $11,208
New Hampshire $6,554 $370 $0 $6,924 $6,924 $2,789 $44 $0 $3,009 $500 $3,509
New Jersey $2,117 $798 $2,397 $5,311 $5,311 $7,765 $1,689 $0 $9,454 $1,726 $11,180
New Mexico $7,366 $220 $8,766 $16,352 $16,352 $15,780 $407 $0 $16,187 $3,759 $19,995
New York $4,245 $768 $6,334 $11,347 $11,347 $12,706 $1,535 $168 $14,409 $949 $15,358
North Carolina $7,298 $106 $1,928 $9,597 $9,597 $13,036 $675 $0 $13,711 $2,838 $16,550
North Dakota $7,775 $627 $0 $8,402 $8,402 $7,676 $561 $0 $8,236 $3,581 $11,817
Ohio $4,866 $30 $2,224 $7,179 $7,179 $6,669 $421 $0 $7,111 $1,079 $8,190
Oklahoma $4,918 $563 $1,757 $7,238 $7,238 $6,281 $1,017 $0 $7,298 $1,832 $9,131
Oregon $5,973 $896 $4,065 $11,025 $11,025 $5,591 $601 $0 $6,225 $1,488 $7,712
Pennsylvania $4,578 $385 $2,395 $7,358 $7,358 $4,699 $705 $0 $5,622 $376 $5,998
Rhode Island $6,165 $1,077 $0 $7,241 $7,241 $5,779 $184 $0 $5,984 $0 $5,984
South Carolina $3,461 $2,046 $1,723 $7,307 $7,307 $4,481 $2,428 $5 $6,914 $1,779 $8,696
South Dakota $5,217 $239 $0 $5,456 $5,456 $6,790 $368 $0 $7,159 $2,014 $9,174
Tennessee $6,184 $4,192 $0 $10,376 $10,376 $9,168 $2,584 $0 $11,752 $3,878 $15,629
Texas $2,676 $124 $5,710 $8,549 $8,549 $6,961 $813 $0 $8,050 $3,978 $12,027
Utah $10,878 $137 $0 $11,015 $11,015 $8,894 $340 $0 $9,234 $1,085 $10,319
Vermont $3,053 $729 $0 $5,384 $5,384 $3,174 $391 $0 $5,184 $1,018 $6,243
Virginia $5,368 $1,151 $60 $6,579 $6,579 $6,913 $1,269 $63 $8,245 $1,337 $9,595
Washington $8,121 $1,040 $0 $9,161 $9,161 $8,027 $2,413 $0 $10,440 $1,031 $11,471
West Virginia $8,546 $1,743 $0 $10,288 $10,288 $4,948 $1,489 $0 $6,437 $2,994 $9,431
Wisconsin $9,843 $390 $4,556 $14,788 $14,788 $5,616 $677 $0 $6,599 $1,525 $8,123
Wyoming $9,835 $480 $3,787 $14,155 $14,155 $15,992 $2,919 $0 $19,088 $4,389 $23,476
D.C. $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $24,078 $989 $0 $25,835 $6,688 $32,523
U.S. $6,297 $562 $3,226 $10,141 $10,141 $8,191 $1,216 $19 $9,596 $1,864 $11,464
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 many 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. Vermont’s state financial aid is estimated for fiscal year 2022.
  10. Fiscal year 2022 local appropriations are estimated for Illinois and Texas.
  11. Adjusted by the Cost of Living Index (COLI). 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 2022

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State public financial aid i i State public financial aid State public financial aid is any state appropriated student financial aid for public institutions, excluding loans and aid for students attending medical schools. VIEW ALL DATA DEFINITIONS 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 2.0% from 2021 to 2022 and reached an all-time high of $990 per FTE enrolled student. Nationally, state public financial aid has increased 42.8% since 2008 and 79.3% since 2001. 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 2.0% increase in the last year corresponded to an additional $19 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 2022, all states and Washington, D.C., had at least one public financial aid program. Public state financial aid ranged from under $100 per FTE in two states ($44 per FTE in Montana and $61 per FTE in Arizona) to over $2,000 per FTE in four states (Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Tennessee). Tennessee, with $3,234 in state financial aid per FTE, was the only state to exceed $3,000 per student.

Since 2001, per-student aid has increased in 38 states. Despite the longstanding increases in financial aid nationally, per-student aid has decreased in 21 states in the last year (Table 3.3). The largest percentage decrease was in Montana (45.1%), with a decrease of $36 per FTE. Outside of Montana, the largest decreases in financial aid were in Washington (13.5% or $274 per FTE) and Alabama (13.1% or $45 per FTE). 

Financial aid per FTE increased in 29 states and Washington, D.C., from 2021 to 2022. Of these states, 15 and Washington, D.C., saw increases greater than 10%. There were notable increases in both per FTE dollar amounts and percentage changes. In three states (Kansas, Missouri, Virginia) and Washington, D.C., financial aid increased more than $200 per FTE. Michigan (211.4%, or $158 per FTE) and Kansas (166.5%, or $223 per FTE) had the highest percentage increases. Both increases were largely due to these states recently implementing financial aid programs that support students in the two-year sector. 30 30Some states, like California and Michigan, also use federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) allocations for state financial aid programs; these funds are not included in SHEF education appropriations. Michigan’s TANF allocations for state financial aid represent a large portion of the state’s total financial aid allocations. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES 31 31See State Spotlight: Michigan for more information. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES

Measurement Note: Financial Aid Reporting

financial aid reporting

Starting in 2020, 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 3.3

Public Higher Education State Financial Aid per FTE by State, FY 2022 (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. Fiscal year 2022 state public financial aid includes estimates for Vermont.
  4. Constant 2022 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 2001-2022 (Constant Adjusted Dollars)

2001 2012 2017 2021 2022 % Change Since 2021 % Change Since 2017 % Change Since 2012 % Change Since 2001
Alabama $162 $331 $522 $340 $296 -13.1% -43.4% -10.5% 82.3%
Alaska $0 $270 $795 $842 $859 2.0% 8.1% 217.8% N/A
Arizona $31 $53 $45 $41 $61 50.5% 34.7% 15.7% 95.7%
Arkansas $682 $1,674 $1,147 $1,246 $1,202 -3.5% 4.9% -28.2% 76.2%
California $389 $891 $633 $1,075 $1,113 3.5% 75.9% 24.9% 185.9%
Colorado $723 $600 $820 $1,091 $1,173 7.5% 43.0% 95.4% 62.2%
Connecticut $516 $403 $315 $324 $304 -6.3% -3.7% -24.7% -41.1%
Delaware $481 $439 $396 $393 $429 9.3% 8.4% -2.2% -10.7%
Florida $884 $889 $655 $1,570 $1,515 -3.5% 131.4% 70.3% 71.4%
Georgia $1,949 $1,794 $2,158 $2,480 $2,418 -2.5% 12.0% 34.8% 24.1%
Hawaii $10 $80 $70 $125 $186 48.6% 164.0% 132.0% 1677.8%
Idaho $110 $153 $261 $390 $346 -11.2% 32.6% 126.1% 215.2%
Illinois $1,135 $803 $733 $1,064 $1,077 1.3% 46.9% 34.1% -5.1%
Indiana $633 $1,043 $1,190 $1,233 $1,096 -11.1% -7.9% 5.1% 73.1%
Iowa $56 $104 $69 $227 $306 34.7% 343.1% 192.9% 449.8%
Kansas $123 $112 $100 $134 $357 166.5% 257.6% 219.7% 190.3%
Kentucky $332 $1,170 $1,410 $1,643 $1,690 2.8% 19.8% 44.4% 408.4%
Louisiana $902 $1,355 $1,748 $2,290 $2,358 2.9% 34.9% 74.0% 161.4%
Maine $457 $286 $619 $560 $626 11.6% 1.0% 118.7% 36.9%
Maryland $386 $329 $370 $336 $380 13.2% 2.6% 15.6% -1.6%
Massachusetts $629 $344 $345 $512 $608 18.7% 76.2% 76.5% -3.4%
Michigan $753 $3 $18 $75 $232 211.4% 1165.5% 8303.8% -69.2%
Minnesota $762 $540 $766 $821 $893 8.8% 16.5% 65.4% 17.1%
Mississippi $569 $269 $353 $410 $407 -0.8% 15.2% 51.1% -28.5%
Missouri $318 $500 $724 $867 $1,073 23.7% 48.2% 114.4% 237.7%
Montana $145 $111 $67 $80 $44 -45.1% -34.3% -60.7% -69.7%
Nebraska $56 $167 $231 $280 $315 12.7% 36.3% 88.6% 463.0%
Nevada $959 $1,101 $1,180 $1,271 $1,238 -2.5% 4.9% 12.4% 29.1%
New Hampshire $38 $0 $39 $99 $115 16.4% 195.1% N/A 198.8%
New Jersey $945 $924 $1,139 $1,305 $1,436 10.0% 26.1% 55.4% 52.0%
New Mexico $1,172 $306 $320 $378 $342 -9.5% 6.9% 11.7% -70.8%
New York $1,084 $1,257 $1,365 $1,307 $1,313 0.5% -3.8% 4.5% 21.1%
North Carolina $325 $505 $482 $436 $435 -0.3% -9.7% -13.9% 34.0%
North Dakota $54 $387 $517 $578 $594 2.8% 14.8% 53.4% 990.8%
Ohio $333 $194 $263 $329 $350 6.5% 33.3% 80.0% 5.0%
Oklahoma $369 $940 $943 $849 $863 1.7% -8.5% -8.2% 133.6%
Oregon $207 $265 $528 $611 $699 14.4% 32.4% 164.1% 237.6%
Pennsylvania $902 $847 $692 $781 $775 -0.8% 11.9% -8.5% -14.1%
Rhode Island $180 $275 $247 $460 $433 -5.8% 75.4% 57.5% 140.5%
South Carolina $540 $1,912 $1,936 $2,329 $2,231 -4.2% 15.2% 16.6% 313.4%
South Dakota $8 $153 $297 $361 $358 -0.7% 20.3% 134.1% 4592.6%
Tennessee $319 $2,161 $2,859 $3,309 $3,234 -2.3% 13.1% 49.6% 913.4%
Texas $22 $317 $524 $549 $597 8.8% 14.0% 88.3% 2647.4%
Utah $95 $116 $208 $248 $298 20.3% 43.4% 156.7% 215.0%
Vermont $515 $467 $495 $438 $446 1.8% -9.8% -4.4% -13.3%
Virginia $537 $622 $833 $990 $1,202 21.4% 44.4% 93.4% 124.0%
Washington $729 $1,161 $1,220 $2,027 $1,753 -13.5% 43.8% 51.0% 140.6%
West Virginia $429 $1,354 $1,428 $1,436 $1,431 -0.4% 0.2% 5.7% 233.8%
Wisconsin $440 $625 $658 $628 $580 -7.6% -11.9% -7.3% 31.9%
Wyoming $1,100 $1,396 $1,543 $1,887 $1,763 -6.6% 14.3% 26.3% 60.3%
D.C. N/A $2,107 $1,228 $779 $1,030 32.2% -16.1% -51.1% N/A
U.S. $552 $724 $751 $971 $990 2.0% 31.9% 36.8% 79.3%
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. Vermont’s state financial aid is estimated for fiscal year 2022.
  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 3.3A presents state financial aid allocated to FTE students attending 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. 32 32Overall, 2.0% 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 seven states, more than 5% of aid could not be classified by sector: Minnesota (5.9%), Alabama (10.6%), Michigan (12.3%), Texas (12.5%), Ohio (14.4%), Colorado (14.6%), and Pennsylvania (20.9%). VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES

At two-year institutions, state public financial aid increased 10.6% from 2021 to 2022 (a $54 increase per student), reaching $562 per FTE. Aid ranged from $7 in Arizona to $4,192 in Tennessee. Only one other state, South Carolina, exceeded $2,000 per FTE in financial aid for students attending public two-year institutions. Overall, in 2022, three states (Arizona, Montana, and Ohio) awarded less than $100 in financial aid per FTE at two-year institutions, and nine (Colorado, Kentucky, Missouri, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia) awarded more than $1,000 per FTE.

Over the last year, aid to two-year institutions increased in 26 states. The largest increase was in Kansas (876.2%, or $226 per FTE) due to the implementation of a large financial aid program, the Kansas Promise Scholarship. Of the 23 states with declines, the largest were in Montana (41.8%) and Idaho (37.7%).

State Spotlight : Michigan

MI

Historically, most of Michigan’s state public financial aid funding has been concentrated in the four-year sector. In 2019 and 2020, 65.3% and 70.0% of all state public financial aid dollars went to the four-year sector, while only 8.5% (2019) and 9.2% (2020) flowed to students attending two-year colleges. In 2021, there was a dramatic shift in sector-level financial aid allocation that led to a 3,011.9% increase in Michigan’s two-year state public financial aid per FTE: Michigan’s governor introduced two new financial aid programs (Futures for Frontliners and Michigan Reconnect), both of which provide free tuition and fees for eligible students enrolled in Michigan’s community colleges. This trend continued in 2022 with an increase of 286.1% in the two-year sector. As a result, two-year public aid in Michigan increased from $173 per FTE in 2021 to $670 per FTE in 2022, making up 84.0% of Michigan’s state public financial aid.

The first program, Futures for Frontliners, was initially funded with $18 million in federal GEER funds (not included in state public financial aid reported in SHEF) in 2021 and $25 million in state appropriations for 2022. The second program, Michigan Reconnect, received $30 million in state funds in 2021 and $55 million in state funds in fiscal year 2022. Michigan Reconnect is also projected to receive $55 million in fiscal year 2023. Both of these financial aid programs are funded through Michigan’s Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity budget.

At four-year institutions, state public financial aid declined 0.9% in the last year, or $11 per FTE, totaling $1,216 per FTE nationally. Aid ranged from $13 per FTE in Michigan to $2,919 in Wyoming. Five states (Arizona, Hawaii, Michigan, Montana, and New Hampshire) awarded less than $100 per FTE in financial aid to students attending four-year institutions, while 20 states awarded more than $1,000 per FTE.

From 2021 to 2022, four-year aid allocations increased in 26 states and Washington, D.C, the largest of which was 111.2% ($228 per FTE) in Kansas. Twenty-four states had decreases in per-FTE financial aid. Montana had the largest percentage decrease (45.6%, representing $41 per FTE). However, Tennessee had the largest real dollar decline (19.3% or $617 per FTE), partially due to a shift in the portion of state public financial aid funds allocated to students attending two-year institutions. The portion of state public financial aid allocated to students attending four-year institutions in Tennessee decreased 10.0 percentage points (62.3% in 2021 to 52.3% in 2022), while the portion allocated to the two-year sector increased from 37.7% in 2021 to 47.7% in 2022. 

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 (73.6% higher, on national average), the four-year sector also has much higher tuition rates. Michigan had the largest disparity in financial aid, favoring its two-year sector (192.5% higher), while Ohio had the largest disparity, favoring its four-year sector (173.0% higher).

Figure 3.3A

Percent Difference in Two-Year and Four-Year Public Higher Education State Financial Aid per FTE by State, FY 2022


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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. Fiscal year 2022 sector-level state financial aid is estimated for Vermont.
  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.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Table 3.3A

Public Higher Education State Financial Aid per FTE by Sector and State, FY 2019-2022 (Constant Adjusted Dollars)

Two-Year Financial Aid Four-Year Financial Aid
2019 2021 2022 Index to U.S. Average % Change Since 2021 % Change Since 2019 2019 2021 2022 Index to U.S. Average % Change Since 2021 % Change Since 2019
Alabama $176 $141 $124 0.22 -12.3% -29.8% $553 $390 $335 0.28 -14.1% -39.5%
Alaska $0 $0 $0 N/A N/A N/A $760 $817 $834 0.69 2.0% 9.7%
Arizona $6 $7 $7 0.01 -3.0% 9.0% $66 $57 $86 0.07 49.0% 30.1%
Arkansas $308 $455 $404 0.72 -11.2% 31.4% $1,427 $1,495 $1,447 1.19 -3.2% 1.4%
California $261 $317 $401 0.71 26.6% 53.6% $1,193 $1,947 $1,928 1.59 -0.9% 61.7%
Colorado $996 $1,034 $1,117 1.99 8.0% 12.2% $879 $957 $1,018 0.84 6.5% 15.9%
Connecticut $338 $384 $337 0.60 -12.1% -0.3% $297 $306 $295 0.24 -3.7% -0.9%
Delaware $106 $106 $114 0.20 7.9% 7.9% $555 $523 $566 0.47 8.3% 2.0%
Florida $518 $535 $552 0.98 3.1% 6.5% $2,485 $2,687 $2,503 2.06 -6.8% 0.7%
Georgia $882 $921 $887 1.58 -3.7% 0.6% $2,836 $3,005 $2,919 2.40 -2.9% 2.9%
Hawaii $151 $174 $358 0.64 105.2% 136.7% $101 $99 $94 0.08 -5.0% -6.9%
Idaho $222 $209 $130 0.23 -37.7% -41.3% $413 $438 $410 0.34 -6.3% -0.7%
Illinois $351 $477 $479 0.85 0.5% 36.4% $1,320 $1,423 $1,444 1.19 1.5% 9.4%
Indiana $701 $855 $744 1.32 -13.0% 6.1% $1,544 $1,430 $1,279 1.05 -10.6% -17.2%
Iowa $130 $404 $584 1.04 44.8% 349.7% $70 $110 $113 0.09 3.5% 62.2%
Kansas $23 $26 $252 0.45 876.2% 1007.5% $208 $205 $434 0.36 111.2% 108.6%
Kentucky $1,668 $1,832 $1,855 3.30 1.3% 11.2% $1,519 $1,602 $1,660 1.37 3.6% 9.3%
Louisiana $472 $540 $632 1.12 16.9% 33.7% $2,843 $2,826 $2,872 2.36 1.6% 1.0%
Maine $773 $744 $883 1.57 18.8% 14.3% $468 $457 $498 0.41 8.8% 6.4%
Maryland $83 $154 $148 0.26 -4.0% 78.2% $452 $426 $492 0.40 15.5% 8.6%
Massachusetts $406 $532 $653 1.16 22.8% 60.7% $383 $491 $574 0.47 17.1% 50.1%
Michigan $7 $173 $670 1.19 286.1% 9796.4% $24 $15 $13 0.01 -13.9% -47.1%
Minnesota $561 $567 $555 0.99 -2.0% -0.9% $1,016 $973 $1,008 0.83 3.5% -0.8%
Mississippi $141 $163 $155 0.28 -4.8% 10.2% $582 $616 $615 0.51 0.0% 5.8%
Missouri $926 $1,414 $1,730 3.08 22.4% 86.8% $610 $598 $768 0.63 28.3% 25.9%
Montana $26 $64 $37 0.07 -41.8% 44.7% $53 $91 $49 0.04 -45.6% -7.2%
Nebraska $225 $250 $265 0.47 6.2% 17.7% $256 $301 $347 0.29 15.3% 35.6%
Nevada $580 $570 $563 1.00 -1.2% -3.0% $1,906 $1,843 $1,781 1.46 -3.3% -6.5%
New Hampshire $336 $324 $370 0.66 14.3% 10.3% $4 $33 $44 0.04 31.1% 882.5%
New Jersey $678 $756 $798 1.42 5.5% 17.6% $1,564 $1,552 $1,689 1.39 8.8% 8.0%
New Mexico $289 $252 $220 0.39 -12.7% -23.8% $297 $446 $407 0.33 -8.7% 37.2%
New York $1,177 $827 $768 1.37 -7.0% -34.7% $1,655 $1,510 $1,535 1.26 1.7% -7.2%
North Carolina $112 $110 $106 0.19 -3.4% -5.1% $722 $679 $675 0.56 -0.6% -6.5%
North Dakota $464 $587 $627 1.12 6.8% 35.2% $502 $552 $561 0.46 1.7% 11.8%
Ohio $38 $34 $30 0.05 -10.0% -19.9% $359 $425 $421 0.35 -0.9% 17.5%
Oklahoma $696 $535 $563 1.00 5.4% -19.0% $1,136 $1,016 $1,017 0.84 0.1% -10.4%
Oregon $757 $803 $896 1.59 11.6% 18.2% $469 $506 $601 0.49 18.9% 28.2%
Pennsylvania $356 $383 $385 0.68 0.4% 8.0% $645 $716 $705 0.58 -1.6% 9.3%
Rhode Island $865 $1,101 $1,077 1.92 -2.2% 24.5% $191 $187 $184 0.15 -1.6% -3.6%
South Carolina $2,421 $2,399 $2,046 3.64 -14.7% -15.5% $2,364 $2,400 $2,428 2.00 1.1% 2.7%
South Dakota $205 $230 $239 0.43 4.0% 16.8% $361 $372 $368 0.30 -1.1% 2.1%
Tennessee $3,165 $3,294 $4,192 7.46 27.3% 32.5% $2,633 $3,201 $2,584 2.12 -19.3% -1.9%
Texas $119 $125 $124 0.22 -0.8% 3.8% $824 $837 $813 0.67 -2.9% -1.2%
Utah $86 $136 $137 0.24 0.8% 58.6% $282 $278 $340 0.28 22.5% 20.8%
Vermont $903 $758 $729 1.30 -3.9% -19.3% $403 $381 $391 0.32 2.7% -2.9%
Virginia $630 $720 $1,151 2.05 59.8% 82.6% $1,050 $1,148 $1,269 1.04 10.6% 20.8%
Washington $809 $1,197 $1,040 1.85 -13.1% 28.5% $1,827 $2,318 $2,413 1.98 4.1% 32.0%
West Virginia $1,071 $1,540 $1,743 3.10 13.2% 62.7% $1,584 $1,531 $1,489 1.22 -2.7% -6.0%
Wisconsin $529 $440 $390 0.69 -11.5% -26.3% $722 $722 $677 0.56 -6.2% -6.2%
Wyoming $684 $596 $480 0.85 -19.3% -29.7% $2,187 $2,932 $2,919 2.40 -0.4% 33.5%
D.C. $0 $0 $0 N/A N/A N/A $1,207 $748 $989 0.81 32.2% -18.1%
U.S. $471 $508 $562 1.00 10.6% 19.2% $1,082 $1,227 $1,216 1.00 -0.9% 12.4%
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. 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. Vermont’s state financial aid is estimated for fiscal year 2022.
  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 by state and sector. i i State public financial aid as a percentage of education appropriations State public financial aid as percentage of education appropriations is any state appropriated student financial aid for public institutions (excluding loans and aid for students attending medical schools) as a proportion of total state and local support available for public higher education operating expenses. This measure excludes RAM.   VIEW ALL DATA DEFINITIONS

The percentage of education appropriations allocated to state financial aid has increased over time. In 2001, 5.0% of education appropriations were directed toward student financial aid; by 2022, this proportion had increased to 9.7% (an increase of 4.6 percentage points).

1. State Comparisons

States vary considerably in how much of their total funding is allocated to student financial aid (Table 3.4). On the low end, Montana has a very small aid program that comprises only 0.7% of its total education appropriations. On the high end, the financial aid allocation accounts for 32.6% of Louisiana’s total funding for public higher education (Figure 3.4).

Financial aid as a percentage of education appropriations has increased in 43 states since 2001, when SHEEO first collected financial aid data. The proportion increased by more than 10 percentage points in five states (Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia). The largest increase in financial aid as a percentage of education appropriations was in South Carolina (25.1 percentage points). Of the seven states with declines in the proportion of education appropriations allocated to financial aid, only one state, New Mexico (7.9), had a decline greater than 5 percentage points.

Table 3.4

Public Higher Education State Financial Aid as a Percentage of Education Appropriations by State, FY 2001-2022

2001 2007 2012 2017 2021 2022 Change Since 2021 Change Since 2017 Chance Since 2012 Change Since 2007 Chance Since 2001
Alabama 1.8% 2.9% 4.6% 7.2% 4.3% 3.3% -0.9 -3.9 -1.3 0.4 1.5
Alaska 0.0% 0.2% 1.7% 4.9% 4.5% 4.7% 0.1 -0.2 3.0 4.5 4.7
Arizona 0.3% 0.5% 0.8% 0.7% 0.6% 1.0% 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.7
Arkansas 6.3% 4.6% 17.3% 12.9% 13.2% 12.5% -0.7 -0.4 -4.7 7.9 6.2
California 3.9% 5.4% 12.4% 6.8% 10.1% 9.5% -0.6 2.7 -2.9 4.2 5.6
Colorado 10.3% 14.0% 16.9% 17.6% 17.4% 17.5% 0.1 -0.1 0.6 3.5 7.2
Connecticut 3.1% 2.4% 3.3% 3.1% 2.7% 2.0% -0.7 -1.1 -1.3 -0.3 -1.0
Delaware 5.1% 5.3% 6.9% 6.3% 5.3% 5.7% 0.4 -0.5 -1.1 0.5 0.6
Florida 8.1% 12.9% 14.5% 8.6% 17.7% 16.5% -1.2 7.9 2.0 3.6 8.4
Georgia 12.6% 17.2% 20.9% 20.9% 23.7% 17.7% -6.0 -3.2 -3.2 0.5 5.1
Hawaii 0.1% 0.2% 0.9% 0.6% 0.8% 1.3% 0.5 0.7 0.4 1.1 1.2
Idaho 0.8% 1.8% 2.0% 2.5% 3.5% 3.1% -0.3 0.7 1.1 1.4 2.4
Illinois 7.4% 8.4% 5.4% 3.8% 4.8% 4.7% -0.1 0.9 -0.7 -3.7 -2.7
Indiana 6.4% 11.0% 16.0% 16.9% 18.3% 15.6% -2.6 -1.3 -0.4 4.6 9.3
Iowa 0.5% 1.1% 1.7% 1.1% 3.4% 4.6% 1.2 3.5 2.9 3.5 4.1
Kansas 1.1% 1.3% 1.6% 1.4% 1.5% 4.1% 2.6 2.7 2.5 2.7 3.0
Kentucky 2.5% 12.1% 13.4% 17.0% 19.1% 18.7% -0.4 1.7 5.3 6.6 16.3
Louisiana 10.3% 10.0% 18.8% 28.2% 34.7% 32.6% -2.1 4.4 13.8 22.6 22.4
Maine 4.2% 4.0% 3.8% 7.4% 6.4% 7.0% 0.6 -0.4 3.2 3.0 2.8
Maryland 3.7% 5.7% 4.6% 4.4% 3.5% 3.9% 0.4 -0.5 -0.7 -1.8 0.2
Massachusetts 5.5% 4.1% 5.1% 4.2% 5.0% 5.8% 0.7 1.6 0.7 1.7 0.3
Michigan 5.7% 6.6% 0.0% 0.2% 0.9% 2.3% 1.5 2.1 2.3 -4.3 -3.4
Minnesota 6.6% 8.2% 8.3% 9.3% 6.5% 9.1% 2.6 -0.2 0.8 0.9 2.5
Mississippi 5.0% 3.9% 3.6% 4.4% 4.7% 5.4% 0.7 1.0 1.8 1.5 0.4
Missouri 2.3% 2.1% 6.3% 9.2% 8.1% 9.4% 1.4 0.2 3.1 7.3 7.1
Montana 2.3% 3.0% 2.1% 1.1% 1.0% 0.7% -0.3 -0.4 -1.4 -2.4 -1.7
Nebraska 0.6% 1.2% 1.9% 2.1% 2.4% 2.6% 0.2 0.5 0.7 1.4 2.0
Nevada 9.8% 10.1% 13.5% 15.3% 18.4% 15.4% -3.0 0.2 2.0 5.4 5.6
New Hampshire 0.7% 1.1% 0.0% 1.4% 2.1% 3.1% 1.0 1.7 3.1 2.0 2.4
New Jersey 8.2% 8.9% 11.8% 14.2% 18.2% 16.0% -2.2 1.8 4.2 7.2 7.8
New Mexico 10.0% 5.2% 3.0% 2.7% 2.3% 2.1% -0.3 -0.6 -1.0 -3.2 -7.9
New York 9.6% 10.3% 12.3% 11.1% 10.3% 9.5% -0.8 -1.7 -2.8 -0.9 -0.2
North Carolina 2.3% 3.1% 4.7% 4.1% 3.7% 3.5% -0.2 -0.7 -1.2 0.3 1.2
North Dakota 0.7% 1.1% 4.2% 4.9% 5.9% 6.3% 0.4 1.4 2.1 5.2 5.6
Ohio 3.1% 5.8% 3.2% 3.6% 4.1% 4.9% 0.7 1.3 1.7 -1.0 1.7
Oklahoma 3.4% 8.2% 11.0% 12.0% 11.3% 11.3% -0.1 -0.8 0.3 3.1 7.9
Oregon 2.5% 6.2% 5.9% 9.5% 8.1% 8.7% 0.5 -0.8 2.8 2.5 6.2
Pennsylvania 8.6% 11.8% 17.0% 13.7% 12.3% 12.7% 0.5 -1.0 -4.3 1.0 4.1
Rhode Island 1.9% 3.7% 4.7% 4.1% 6.7% 6.4% -0.3 2.3 1.7 2.7 4.6
South Carolina 6.1% 23.3% 34.9% 28.9% 28.8% 31.2% 2.4 2.3 -3.7 7.9 25.1
South Dakota 0.1% 1.3% 2.5% 3.9% 4.4% 4.5% 0.1 0.6 2.0 3.2 4.4
Tennessee 3.1% 15.1% 25.7% 27.0% 25.7% 26.2% 0.5 -0.8 0.5 11.1 23.1
Texas 0.2% 0.8% 3.6% 6.3% 6.3% 6.6% 0.3 0.2 2.9 5.8 6.4
Utah 1.0% 1.5% 1.8% 2.4% 2.7% 3.1% 0.4 0.6 1.3 1.6 2.0
Vermont 11.7% 12.8% 14.1% 16.4% 5.6% 7.0% 1.4 -9.3 -7.1 -5.7 -4.7
Virginia 5.3% 7.0% 11.5% 12.4% 12.9% 14.5% 1.6 2.1 3.0 7.5 9.2
Washington 8.0% 11.0% 19.9% 15.3% 18.5% 17.3% -1.2 1.9 -2.6 6.3 9.3
West Virginia 5.4% 20.4% 20.8% 25.6% 21.5% 19.6% -1.9 -6.0 -1.2 -0.8 14.2
Wisconsin 3.6% 5.5% 7.4% 7.8% 6.5% 6.1% -0.4 -1.7 -1.3 0.6 2.5
Wyoming 7.9% 4.2% 8.1% 7.7% 6.8% 9.7% 3.0 2.0 1.6 5.6 1.8
D.C. N/A N/A 12.6% 6.1% 2.1% 3.8% 1.7 -2.3 -8.8 N/A N/A
U.S. 5.0% 7.0% 9.5% 8.6% 9.9% 9.7% -0.3 1.0 0.2 2.6 4.6
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. Vermont’s state financial aid is estimated for fiscal year 2022.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Figure 3.4

Public Higher Education State Financial Aid as a Percentage of Education Appropriations by State, FY 2022 (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 2022 state public financial aid is estimated for Vermont and two-year education appropriations for Illinois and Texas include estimated local appropriations.
  3. 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.
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 (Table 3.4A). In fiscal year 2022, 5.5% of funding at two-year institutions went to financial aid, compared to 12.7% of funding at four-year institutions.

  • The financial aid allocation at two-year institutions ranged from 0.1% in Arizona to 40.4% in Tennessee. Four states (Arizona, Delaware, Montana, and Ohio) had a two-year financial aid allocation of less than 1%.
  • At four-year institutions, Michigan had the lowest financial aid allocation (0.1%), and Louisiana had the highest (40.6%). Three states (Hawaii, Michigan, and Montana) 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 2022


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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 student 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. Fiscal year 2022 sector-level state public financial aid is estimated for Vermont and two-year education appropriations for Illinois and Texas include estimated local appropriations.
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 2019-2022

Two-Year Financial Aid Share Four-Year Financial Aid Share
2019 2021 2022 Index to U.S. Average Change Since 2021 Change Since 2019 2019 2021 2022 Index to U.S. Average Change Since 2021 Change Since 2019
Alabama 2.2% 1.5% 1.2% 0.21 -0.3 -1.0 7.2% 5.0% 3.9% 0.31 -1.1 -3.4
Alaska N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 4.5% 4.5% 4.7% 0.37 0.1 0.2
Arizona 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.01 0.0 0.0 1.7% 1.4% 2.4% 0.19 1.0 0.7
Arkansas 3.5% 4.7% 4.1% 0.74 -0.6 0.6 16.6% 16.6% 15.8% 1.25 -0.7 -0.7
California 2.8% 3.0% 3.6% 0.66 0.6 0.9 12.9% 21.1% 18.9% 1.49 -2.1 6.0
Colorado 15.2% 14.9% 13.9% 2.51 -1.0 -1.3 19.5% 17.9% 19.2% 1.52 1.3 -0.3
Connecticut 3.5% 3.0% 2.3% 0.42 -0.7 -1.2 2.8% 2.6% 2.2% 0.17 -0.4 -0.6
Delaware 1.1% 1.0% 1.0% 0.18 0.0 -0.1 9.2% 7.3% 7.7% 0.61 0.4 -1.5
Florida 10.0% 9.6% 9.3% 1.68 -0.3 -0.7 19.3% 21.3% 19.7% 1.55 -1.6 0.3
Georgia 11.7% 11.7% 9.4% 1.70 -2.3 -2.3 25.5% 28.5% 20.6% 1.63 -7.9 -4.9
Hawaii 1.3% 1.4% 2.7% 0.49 1.3 1.4 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.06 0.0 0.0
Idaho 3.7% 3.2% 2.0% 0.36 -1.2 -1.7 4.1% 4.4% 4.3% 0.34 -0.1 0.2
Illinois 2.6% 2.7% 2.8% 0.50 0.0 0.1 6.2% 6.1% 6.1% 0.48 0.1 -0.1
Indiana 11.1% 13.5% 11.5% 2.08 -2.0 0.4 20.4% 20.8% 18.1% 1.42 -2.8 -2.3
Iowa 2.6% 6.7% 9.5% 1.72 2.8 7.0 1.0% 1.4% 1.5% 0.12 0.1 0.5
Kansas 0.2% 0.2% 2.2% 0.40 2.0 2.0 3.2% 2.6% 5.9% 0.47 3.4 2.8
Kentucky 25.0% 25.6% 25.7% 4.63 0.0 0.7 17.4% 17.6% 17.2% 1.35 -0.5 -0.3
Louisiana 11.8% 12.8% 13.2% 2.38 0.3 1.4 41.1% 43.9% 40.6% 3.20 -3.3 -0.5
Maine 9.7% 8.3% 9.6% 1.73 1.2 -0.1 5.9% 5.6% 6.0% 0.47 0.4 0.1
Maryland 1.0% 1.6% 1.4% 0.26 -0.2 0.4 5.2% 4.6% 5.4% 0.43 0.8 0.2
Massachusetts 5.6% 6.0% 6.7% 1.21 0.7 1.0 4.3% 4.8% 5.5% 0.44 0.7 1.3
Michigan 0.1% 1.4% 5.2% 0.93 3.8 5.1 0.3% 0.2% 0.1% 0.01 -0.1 -0.2
Minnesota 7.8% 5.1% 6.6% 1.19 1.5 -1.2 11.7% 9.6% 10.8% 0.85 1.2 -1.0
Mississippi 2.1% 1.7% 2.1% 0.37 0.4 0.0 8.1% 7.6% 8.2% 0.65 0.6 0.1
Missouri 12.6% 13.3% 13.9% 2.50 0.6 1.2 7.6% 5.7% 7.4% 0.58 1.7 -0.2
Montana 0.4% 0.8% 0.6% 0.10 -0.3 0.1 0.8% 1.0% 0.7% 0.05 -0.3 -0.1
Nebraska 1.8% 1.7% 1.8% 0.32 0.1 0.0 2.5% 2.8% 3.1% 0.25 0.3 0.7
Nevada 8.8% 10.7% 8.4% 1.51 -2.4 -0.5 19.7% 22.2% 19.2% 1.51 -3.1 -0.6
New Hampshire 6.8% 4.5% 5.3% 0.96 0.8 -1.4 0.2% 0.8% 1.5% 0.11 0.6 1.3
New Jersey 15.2% 17.8% 15.0% 2.71 -2.8 -0.2 18.7% 20.7% 17.9% 1.41 -2.8 -0.9
New Mexico 2.6% 1.7% 1.3% 0.24 -0.3 -1.3 1.9% 2.7% 2.5% 0.20 -0.2 0.6
New York 12.3% 8.7% 6.8% 1.22 -1.9 -5.5 11.4% 11.1% 10.7% 0.84 -0.4 -0.8
North Carolina 1.3% 1.2% 1.1% 0.20 -0.1 -0.2 5.3% 5.3% 4.9% 0.39 -0.3 -0.4
North Dakota 6.0% 6.8% 7.5% 1.35 0.7 1.5 6.3% 6.6% 6.8% 0.54 0.2 0.6
Ohio 0.5% 0.4% 0.4% 0.08 0.0 0.0 5.4% 5.3% 5.9% 0.47 0.7 0.5
Oklahoma 10.8% 8.0% 7.8% 1.40 -0.2 -3.0 15.3% 14.2% 13.9% 1.10 -0.3 -1.3
Oregon 9.8% 8.1% 8.1% 1.47 0.0 -1.7 9.5% 8.5% 9.7% 0.76 1.1 0.2
Pennsylvania 6.0% 5.4% 5.2% 0.94 -0.1 -0.8 11.9% 13.0% 12.5% 0.99 -0.5 0.6
Rhode Island 14.9% 15.4% 14.9% 2.68 -0.5 -0.1 3.6% 3.1% 3.1% 0.24 -0.1 -0.5
South Carolina 32.4% 29.2% 28.0% 5.05 -1.2 -4.4 38.4% 29.5% 35.1% 2.77 5.6 -3.3
South Dakota 3.8% 3.3% 4.4% 0.79 1.1 0.6 5.4% 5.2% 5.1% 0.41 0.0 -0.3
Tennessee 32.6% 27.4% 40.4% 7.29 13.0 7.8 23.6% 26.6% 22.0% 1.73 -4.6 -1.6
Texas 1.7% 1.5% 1.4% 0.26 -0.1 -0.2 10.7% 10.5% 10.1% 0.80 -0.4 -0.6
Utah 0.9% 1.3% 1.2% 0.22 -0.1 0.4 3.3% 3.1% 3.7% 0.29 0.6 0.4
Vermont 31.2% 13.9% 13.5% 2.44 -0.3 -17.7 13.5% 5.8% 7.5% 0.60 1.7 -5.9
Virginia 11.9% 12.1% 17.5% 3.16 5.4 5.6 15.0% 14.3% 15.4% 1.21 1.1 0.4
Washington 11.4% 11.5% 11.4% 2.05 -0.1 0.0 20.5% 22.6% 23.1% 1.82 0.5 2.6
West Virginia 14.2% 16.1% 16.9% 3.06 0.8 2.7 28.2% 23.8% 23.1% 1.83 -0.7 -5.0
Wisconsin 4.1% 2.9% 2.6% 0.48 -0.2 -1.5 12.0% 10.9% 10.3% 0.81 -0.7 -1.8
Wyoming 3.8% 3.0% 3.4% 0.61 0.4 -0.4 10.8% 9.7% 15.3% 1.21 5.6 4.5
D.C. N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 6.2% 2.4% 3.8% 0.30 1.4 -2.4
U.S. 5.5% 5.2% 5.5% 1.00 0.3 0.0 12.2% 13.3% 12.7% 1.00 -0.6 0.5
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. Vermont’s state financial aid is estimated for fiscal year 2022.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

This section thoroughly examines the trends and interstate differences in net tuition 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 2022

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Inflation-adjusted net tuition and fee revenue i i Net tuition and fee revenue Net tuition and fee revenue is the total amount of tuition and fees, minus state and institutional financial aid and medical tuition and fees. Net tuition is affected by changes in tuition rates as well as proportional differences in out-of-state, international, and graduate student enrollment. VIEW ALL DATA DEFINITIONS has increased substantially over time. In 1980 (the start of the SHEF dataset), public institutions averaged $2,530 in net tuition revenue per FTE. Since that time, tuition revenue per FTE has increased 186.4%, and there have been only five years with a decline in net tuition revenue (2000, 2001, 2019, 2021, 2022). Overall, the average annual change in tuition and fee revenue is a 2.6% increase above inflation. These increases are primarily due to increases in tuition and fee rates and an increasing proportion of out-of-state, international, and graduate student enrollment. 

Recently, this trend has shifted; tuition and fee revenue has declined for three of the last four years. Public institutions received $7,244 in net tuition revenue from in-state and out-of-state students in 2022, down 1.0% from 2021 and down 5.8% over the last five years. 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 revenue per FTE ranged widely across the states due to variation 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 revenue was less than $3,000 per FTE in California, Florida, and Nevada. On the high end, net tuition revenue was over $15,000 in Delaware, Michigan, and Vermont. Five states and Washington, D.C., had net tuition revenue averages below $5,000 per FTE, and 13 states were above $10,000 per FTE.

  • Table 4.1 shows that net tuition revenue per FTE declined in 27 states and Washington, D.C., between 2021 and 2022. Washington, D.C., saw a decline of 31.8%, which was the only decrease greater than 10%. A large increase in financial aid accounts for most of the decline seen in Washington, D.C. Six other states saw year-over-year declines greater than 5% (Arizona, California, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and Ohio). 
  • Of the 23 states with net tuition revenue increases in the last year, only four had increases higher than 5% (Colorado, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming). 

In the last five years (since 2017), net tuition and fee revenue has declined in 28 states and Washington, D.C. Despite these recent declines, since 1980, net tuition revenue per FTE has increased in every state and has increased by more than 100% in 44 states. The smallest increase between 1980 and 2022 was 27.8% in Nevada; the largest increases, both more than 400%, were in Alabama and Hawaii. 

Figure 4.1

Public Higher Education Net Tuition Revenue per FTE by State, FY 2022 (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 2022 net tuition and fee revenue includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Arkansas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
  4. Constant 2022 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 1980-2022 (Constant Adjusted Dollars)

1980 2001 2012 2017 2021 2022 % Change Since 2021 % Change Since 2017 % Change Since 2012 % Change Since 2001 % Change Since 1980
Alabama $2,782 $6,623 $11,558 $14,677 $15,063 $14,642 -2.8% -0.2% 26.7% 121.1% 426.3%
Alaska $2,534 $3,364 $4,904 $5,064 $5,428 $5,252 -3.2% 3.7% 7.1% 56.1% 107.3%
Arizona $2,292 $4,504 $7,099 $9,517 $9,627 $8,913 -7.4% -6.3% 25.6% 97.9% 288.8%
Arkansas $3,104 $3,659 $5,443 $7,419 $7,567 $7,203 -4.8% -2.9% 32.3% 96.9% 132.0%
California $746 $1,138 $2,589 $3,338 $2,688 $2,539 -5.5% -23.9% -1.9% 123.1% 240.2%
Colorado $3,358 $4,994 $8,589 $10,740 $10,963 $11,512 5.0% 7.2% 34.0% 130.5% 242.8%
Connecticut $2,342 $5,718 $8,587 $11,130 $10,893 $11,145 2.3% 0.1% 29.8% 94.9% 375.9%
Delaware $4,963 $10,979 $16,885 $17,756 $17,535 $18,262 4.1% 2.9% 8.2% 66.3% 268.0%
Florida $1,813 $3,330 $3,534 $3,805 $2,443 $2,466 0.9% -35.2% -30.2% -25.9% 36.0%
Georgia $2,235 $2,739 $4,853 $6,064 $5,298 $5,308 0.2% -12.5% 9.4% 93.8% 137.5%
Hawaii $913 $2,376 $4,577 $5,071 $4,663 $4,699 0.8% -7.3% 2.7% 97.8% 414.7%
Idaho $2,271 $4,383 $6,076 $9,007 $8,947 $9,065 1.3% 0.6% 49.2% 106.8% 299.2%
Illinois $1,991 $3,514 $7,320 $9,259 $9,361 $9,433 0.8% 1.9% 28.9% 168.5% 373.8%
Indiana $3,828 $7,032 $10,497 $11,034 $10,999 $11,299 2.7% 2.4% 7.6% 60.7% 195.1%
Iowa $3,504 $6,408 $9,881 $10,713 $10,814 $10,607 -1.9% -1.0% 7.4% 65.5% 202.7%
Kansas $3,084 $4,619 $7,094 $7,900 $7,699 $7,236 -6.0% -8.4% 2.0% 56.7% 134.6%
Kentucky $2,895 $5,722 $9,612 $10,511 $9,920 $9,725 -2.0% -7.5% 1.2% 70.0% 236.0%
Louisiana $2,264 $3,138 $4,732 $6,474 $5,936 $5,756 -3.0% -11.1% 21.6% 83.5% 154.3%
Maine $3,527 $6,498 $8,352 $7,560 $7,537 $7,341 -2.6% -2.9% -12.1% 13.0% 108.2%
Maryland $2,775 $6,138 $7,759 $8,045 $8,170 $8,047 -1.5% 0.0% 3.7% 31.1% 190.0%
Massachusetts $2,534 $4,710 $5,751 $6,306 $5,971 $5,589 -6.4% -11.4% -2.8% 18.7% 120.5%
Michigan $4,523 $7,948 $13,230 $15,393 $15,934 $15,596 -2.1% 1.3% 17.9% 96.2% 244.8%
Minnesota $2,564 $4,844 $10,415 $10,450 $10,585 $10,370 -2.0% -0.8% -0.4% 114.1% 304.5%
Mississippi $3,233 $4,425 $6,862 $8,109 $8,507 $8,438 -0.8% 4.1% 23.0% 90.7% 161.0%
Missouri $3,228 $5,186 $7,806 $7,144 $8,093 $8,497 5.0% 18.9% 8.8% 63.8% 163.3%
Montana $2,127 $4,691 $6,496 $7,269 $7,403 $7,298 -1.4% 0.4% 12.4% 55.6% 243.1%
Nebraska $2,664 $4,506 $6,449 $7,240 $7,495 $6,929 -7.6% -4.3% 7.4% 53.8% 160.1%
Nevada $2,186 $2,811 $3,973 $4,036 $2,731 $2,793 2.3% -30.8% -29.7% -0.6% 27.8%
New Hampshire $5,794 $10,145 $10,342 $10,352 $10,031 $9,629 -4.0% -7.0% -6.9% -5.1% 66.2%
New Jersey $2,124 $7,263 $9,172 $10,885 $7,820 $7,969 1.9% -26.8% -13.1% 9.7% 275.2%
New Mexico $2,236 $1,470 $3,971 $4,033 $6,641 $6,707 1.0% 66.3% 68.9% 356.2% 200.0%
New York $2,923 $4,762 $5,649 $6,822 $6,058 $6,224 2.7% -8.8% 10.2% 30.7% 112.9%
North Carolina $2,201 $3,369 $4,801 $6,116 $5,435 $5,412 -0.4% -11.5% 12.7% 60.6% 145.9%
North Dakota $2,729 $5,371 $8,831 $9,747 $11,250 $10,847 -3.6% 11.3% 22.8% 101.9% 297.5%
Ohio $4,366 $7,407 $10,129 $10,418 $10,236 $9,708 -5.2% -6.8% -4.2% 31.1% 122.4%
Oklahoma $2,228 $2,985 $5,650 $7,723 $8,783 $9,072 3.3% 17.5% 60.6% 203.9% 307.2%
Oregon $2,549 $4,668 $7,083 $8,472 $9,190 $9,261 0.8% 9.3% 30.8% 98.4% 263.3%
Pennsylvania $4,939 $9,941 $9,779 $12,161 $11,631 $11,149 -4.1% -8.3% 14.0% 12.2% 125.8%
Rhode Island $3,402 $7,578 $8,561 $9,010 $10,339 $10,458 1.1% 16.1% 22.2% 38.0% 207.4%
South Carolina $2,467 $5,169 $9,392 $11,229 $11,349 $10,889 -4.1% -3.0% 15.9% 110.7% 341.4%
South Dakota $3,813 $7,096 $8,826 $9,827 $9,275 $9,103 -1.9% -7.4% 3.1% 28.3% 138.8%
Tennessee $2,861 $5,197 $7,351 $8,054 $7,156 $7,255 1.4% -9.9% -1.3% 39.6% 153.5%
Texas $2,052 $5,364 $5,226 $8,005 $8,252 $8,401 1.8% 4.9% 60.7% 56.6% 309.3%
Utah $2,677 $3,377 $6,107 $7,079 $6,457 $7,175 11.1% 1.3% 17.5% 112.4% 168.1%
Vermont $7,982 $14,164 $16,229 $17,649 $16,410 $15,674 -4.5% -11.2% -3.4% 10.7% 96.4%
Virginia $2,590 $4,835 $8,309 $9,127 $9,345 $8,936 -4.4% -2.1% 7.5% 84.8% 245.0%
Washington $2,431 $2,817 $5,352 $6,001 $5,813 $6,386 9.9% 6.4% 19.3% 126.7% 162.7%
West Virginia $1,964 $4,574 $6,981 $8,530 $8,051 $8,235 2.3% -3.5% 18.0% 80.0% 319.3%
Wisconsin $3,928 $4,283 $6,536 $7,413 $7,703 $7,469 -3.0% 0.8% 14.3% 74.4% 90.2%
Wyoming $2,777 $3,836 $2,901 $3,455 $3,480 $3,832 10.1% 10.9% 32.1% -0.1% 38.0%
D.C. N/A N/A $5,536 $8,037 $5,305 $3,617 -31.8% -55.0% -34.7% N/A N/A
U.S. $2,530 $4,447 $6,514 $7,691 $7,320 $7,244 -1.0% -5.8% 11.2% 62.9% 186.4%
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 2017 includes estimated two-year net tuition and fee revenue for Texas. Fiscal year 2021 includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Pennsylvania. Fiscal year 2022 includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Arkansas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
  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 revenue per FTE for the two- and four-year public sectors separately.

Net tuition revenue at two-year institutions averaged $2,577 per FTE in 2022, down 7.4% ($206 per FTE) from 2021, 7.9% ($220 per FTE) from 2020, and 10.8% ($313 per FTE) from 2019. In 2022, two-year net tuition ranged from a low of $124 per FTE in California (one of only two states with less than $1,000 per FTE in net tuition revenue) to over $6,000 per FTE in Illinois and Michigan.

In the last year, per-FTE tuition revenue decreased at two-year institutions in 42 states. Tennessee had the largest two-year tuition decline (62.0%). California was the only other state with a decline greater than 50%. Both were largely due to increases in state-funded financial aid. Of the seven states with increases, the largest was 11.4% in Utah. No other states had increases above 10%.

At four-year institutions, tuition revenue remained largely flat (0.2% decline), averaging $10,090 per FTE. This is 3.9 times the average tuition in the two-year sector. Only three states and Washington, D.C., averaged less than $5,000 in four-year net tuition revenue per FTE: Florida, Nevada, and Wyoming. Florida had the lowest four-year tuition ($2,414 per FTE). On the other hand, seven states had net tuition revenue greater than $15,000 per FTE: Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Michigan, South Carolina, and Vermont. Delaware had the highest four-year net tuition revenue ($24,592 per FTE).

From 2021 to 2022, four-year net tuition revenue decreased in 28 states and Washington, D.C. Five states and Washington, D.C., had declines greater than 5% in the last year (Arkansas, Arizona, Kansas, Massachusetts, and Nebraska). The largest percentage decline was 31.8% (or $1,619 per FTE) in Washington, D.C., followed closely by Arizona ($1,194). Declines in both Arizona and Washington, D.C., were due almost entirely to increases in financial aid. 

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 receive 118.6% more tuition and fee revenue than two-year institutions. Only Florida is on the figure’s left side (the light blue bars), with 12.3% higher per-FTE net tuition 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. California has the largest disparity in net tuition revenue across sectors, with 191.1% 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 2022


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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. Fiscal year 2022 sector-level net tuition and fee revenue includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Arkansas and Pennsylvania, and two-year net tuition and fee revenue for Massachusetts and Texas.
  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.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Table 4.1A

Public Higher Education Net Tuition Revenue per FTE by Sector and State, FY 2019-2022 (Constant Adjusted Dollars)

Two-Year Tuition Revenue Four-Year Tuition Revenue
2019 2021 2022 Index to U.S. Average % Change Since 2021 % Change Since 2019 2019 2021 2022 Index to U.S. Average % Change Since 2021 % Change Since 2019
Alabama $5,966 $6,084 $5,815 2.26 -4.4% -2.5% $19,294 $19,296 $18,978 1.88 -1.6% -1.6%
Alaska $0 $0 $0 N/A N/A N/A $5,085 $5,269 $5,098 0.51 -3.2% 0.3%
Arizona $2,265 $2,667 $2,236 0.87 -16.2% -1.3% $14,290 $13,156 $11,962 1.19 -9.1% -16.3%
Arkansas $4,857 $4,825 $4,642 1.80 -3.8% -4.4% $8,758 $8,694 $8,202 0.81 -5.7% -6.3%
California $392 $271 $124 0.05 -54.4% -68.5% $6,749 $5,556 $5,459 0.54 -1.7% -19.1%
Colorado $4,677 $4,184 $3,820 1.48 -8.7% -18.3% $15,151 $15,090 $16,117 1.60 6.8% 6.4%
Connecticut $6,044 $6,507 $5,523 2.14 -15.1% -8.6% $14,801 $12,671 $13,478 1.34 6.4% -8.9%
Delaware $6,211 $5,489 $5,412 2.10 -1.4% -12.9% $25,538 $23,826 $24,592 2.44 3.2% -3.7%
Florida $2,982 $2,810 $2,730 1.06 -2.9% -8.5% $2,885 $2,281 $2,414 0.24 5.8% -16.3%
Georgia $3,379 $3,560 $3,296 1.28 -7.4% -2.5% $6,485 $5,973 $6,043 0.60 1.2% -6.8%
Hawaii $2,668 $2,458 $2,252 0.87 -8.4% -15.6% $6,698 $6,408 $6,406 0.63 0.0% -4.4%
Idaho $3,289 $3,359 $3,220 1.25 -4.1% -2.1% $9,573 $10,596 $10,816 1.07 2.1% 13.0%
Illinois $5,826 $6,520 $6,098 2.37 -6.5% 4.7% $11,582 $10,886 $11,306 1.12 3.9% -2.4%
Indiana $3,828 $3,619 $3,265 1.27 -9.8% -14.7% $14,027 $14,075 $14,656 1.45 4.1% 4.5%
Iowa $6,178 $5,881 $5,820 2.26 -1.0% -5.8% $15,602 $15,552 $15,269 1.51 -1.8% -2.1%
Kansas $3,232 $3,536 $3,237 1.26 -8.5% 0.2% $11,239 $10,519 $9,948 0.99 -5.4% -11.5%
Kentucky $4,938 $4,771 $4,438 1.72 -7.0% -10.1% $12,831 $12,303 $12,138 1.20 -1.3% -5.4%
Louisiana $4,350 $4,575 $4,645 1.80 1.5% 6.8% $6,639 $6,312 $6,045 0.60 -4.2% -8.9%
Maine $3,169 $2,924 $2,554 0.99 -12.7% -19.4% $8,968 $8,785 $8,557 0.85 -2.6% -4.6%
Maryland $4,158 $4,254 $3,940 1.53 -7.4% -5.2% $10,720 $10,093 $9,988 0.99 -1.0% -6.8%
Massachusetts $3,413 $3,375 $2,962 1.15 -12.2% -13.2% $7,035 $6,853 $6,447 0.64 -5.9% -8.4%
Michigan $6,897 $6,757 $6,144 2.38 -9.1% -10.9% $20,457 $20,469 $20,285 2.01 -0.9% -0.8%
Minnesota $5,510 $5,581 $5,347 2.07 -4.2% -3.0% $13,602 $13,738 $13,528 1.34 -1.5% -0.5%
Mississippi $5,055 $5,493 $5,155 2.00 -6.2% 2.0% $11,531 $11,184 $11,309 1.12 1.1% -1.9%
Missouri $3,194 $3,766 $4,078 1.58 8.3% 27.7% $10,024 $9,806 $10,122 1.00 3.2% 1.0%
Montana $1,876 $1,810 $1,681 0.65 -7.1% -10.4% $9,481 $9,303 $9,175 0.91 -1.4% -3.2%
Nebraska $3,087 $2,967 $2,768 1.07 -6.7% -10.3% $9,891 $9,773 $9,053 0.90 -7.4% -8.5%
Nevada $1,922 $1,902 $1,822 0.71 -4.2% -5.2% $3,357 $3,566 $3,703 0.37 3.9% 10.3%
New Hampshire $5,537 $5,206 $5,029 1.95 -3.4% -9.2% $13,074 $12,627 $12,056 1.19 -4.5% -7.8%
New Jersey $3,125 $3,161 $3,172 1.23 0.3% 1.5% $10,871 $10,158 $10,368 1.03 2.1% -4.6%
New Mexico $2,079 $2,645 $2,420 0.94 -8.5% 16.4% $6,072 $9,540 $9,723 0.96 1.9% 60.1%
New York $4,520 $4,722 $5,085 1.97 7.7% 12.5% $7,362 $6,510 $6,530 0.65 0.3% -11.3%
North Carolina $2,038 $1,872 $1,793 0.70 -4.3% -12.0% $8,862 $8,049 $8,019 0.79 -0.4% -9.5%
North Dakota $4,040 $4,267 $3,867 1.50 -9.4% -4.3% $11,157 $12,573 $12,201 1.21 -3.0% 9.4%
Ohio $4,239 $3,448 $3,260 1.26 -5.5% -23.1% $12,533 $13,256 $12,733 1.26 -3.9% 1.6%
Oklahoma $4,426 $3,986 $4,059 1.57 1.8% -8.3% $10,854 $11,321 $11,634 1.15 2.8% 7.2%
Oregon $3,373 $3,223 $3,193 1.24 -0.9% -5.3% $12,577 $13,217 $13,084 1.30 -1.0% 4.0%
Pennsylvania $4,886 $4,627 $4,383 1.70 -5.3% -10.3% $15,194 $14,426 $13,706 1.36 -5.0% -9.8%
Rhode Island $5,263 $5,680 $5,554 2.15 -2.2% 5.5% $9,655 $11,274 $11,327 1.12 0.5% 17.3%
South Carolina $3,697 $3,723 $3,439 1.33 -7.6% -7.0% $16,443 $15,592 $15,100 1.50 -3.2% -8.2%
South Dakota $3,708 $3,788 $3,643 1.41 -3.8% -1.8% $10,760 $10,059 $9,944 0.99 -1.1% -7.6%
Tennessee $2,037 $1,885 $717 0.28 -62.0% -64.8% $11,238 $10,003 $10,674 1.06 6.7% -5.0%
Texas $2,336 $2,398 $2,385 0.93 -0.5% 2.1% $12,686 $12,639 $12,920 1.28 2.2% 1.8%
Utah $3,213 $3,127 $3,483 1.35 11.4% 8.4% $8,022 $7,330 $8,138 0.81 11.0% 1.4%
Vermont $6,549 $6,003 $4,361 1.69 -27.4% -33.4% $18,821 $17,522 $17,046 1.69 -2.7% -9.4%
Virginia $4,313 $4,210 $3,379 1.31 -19.7% -21.7% $12,565 $12,233 $11,867 1.18 -3.0% -5.6%
Washington $2,651 $2,329 $2,309 0.90 -0.9% -12.9% $9,424 $9,159 $10,321 1.02 12.7% 9.5%
West Virginia $4,378 $4,085 $4,001 1.55 -2.1% -8.6% $9,827 $9,399 $9,620 0.95 2.4% -2.1%
Wisconsin $3,167 $2,878 $2,631 1.02 -8.6% -16.9% $9,833 $9,909 $9,743 0.97 -1.7% -0.9%
Wyoming $2,855 $3,053 $3,212 1.25 5.2% 12.5% $5,115 $3,325 $3,848 0.38 15.7% -24.8%
D.C. $0 $0 $0 N/A N/A N/A $6,300 $5,089 $3,470 0.34 -31.8% -44.9%
U.S. $2,890 $2,783 $2,577 1.00 -7.4% -10.8% $10,587 $10,115 $10,090 1.00 -0.2% -4.7%
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 2019 includes estimated two-year net tuition and fee revenue for Texas. Fiscal year 2021 includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Pennsylvania. Fiscal year 2022 includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Arkansas and Pennsylvania, and two-year net tuition and fee revenue for Massachusetts and Texas.
  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 2022

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Total education revenue i i Total education revenue The sum of education appropriations and net tuition revenue, excluding any tuition revenue used for capital and debt service. Total education revenue includes federal stimulus funding at the state level but not the sector level. It measures the amount of revenue available to public institutions to support instruction (excluding medical students). VIEW ALL DATA DEFINITIONS increased 2.4% from 2021 to 2022, reaching an all-time high of $17,393 per FTE. Total education revenue has increased nine out of the last 10 years (except 2019) following declines during the Great Recession and has increased 13.2% since 2001 and 43.7% since the start of the SHEF dataset in 1980.

Record high total revenue does not mean that all public institutions have more revenue than ever before. Following declines in state funding after the last two recessions, institutions varied widely in their ability to increase tuition revenue (either by increasing rates or out-of-state enrollment). Total education revenue is at an all-time high in only 11 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. 33 33State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. (2021). Investigating the impacts of state higher education appropriations and financial aid. sheeo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/SHEEO_ImpactAppropationsFinancialAid.pdf VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES

Excluding federal stimulus funding that states allocated directly to public higher education, total education revenue increased 3.1% from 2021 to 2022. Had enrollment held constant and states not allocated federal stimulus funding to higher education, total education revenue per FTE would have increased only 0.5% from 2021, but decreased 2.4% from 2020.

1. State Comparisons

Total education revenue per FTE ranges from a low of $10,815 in Nevada to over $25,000 in Connecticut, Delaware, and Michigan. In fact, total education revenue exceeded $30,000 in Washington, D.C. ($30,804), and Illinois ($32,022) (Figure 4.2). 34 34A large portion of education appropriations in Illinois are not available for operations at public institutions. Additionally, Illinois received a one-time payment of $250 million for the state’s prepaid tuition program that will be disbursed over a span of years. See the Illinois state spotlight to learn more. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES

  • Public institutions in 12 states and Washington, D.C., have more than $20,000 per FTE in education revenue. These funds are primarily sourced from education appropriations in Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, New Mexico, New York, Washington, D.C., and Wyoming. On the other hand, education revenues come mainly from tuition revenue in Alabama, Delaware, Michigan, and Vermont, and come from an even mix of sources in Minnesota and North Dakota. 
  • Total education revenue per FTE decreased in half of all states (25) and Washington, D.C., from 2021 to 2022 (Table 4.2). In two states and Washington, D.C., the decline was greater than 10%. The largest decrease was in Wyoming (30.2%), due to a sharp decrease in federal stimulus funding. 
  • Total education revenue increased in the other half of all states in 2022. In four states, increases were greater than 10%. The largest increases were in Georgia (20.2%) and Connecticut (13.6%), both entirely due to federal stimulus funding.
  • Total revenue has increased in 38 states since 2001 and 48 states since 1980. The two states with inflation-adjusted declines in total education revenue per FTE since 1980 are Alaska (12.4%) and Nevada (6.1%). In Alabama, Connecticut, and Illinois, total education revenue per FTE has increased by more than 100% since 1980.

Figure 4.2

Public Higher Education Total Education Revenue per FTE by State, FY 2022


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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 2022 total education revenue includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Arkansas and Pennsylvania; two-year net tuition and fee revenue for Massachusetts and Texas; and local appropriations for Illinois and Texas.
  4. Constant 2022 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 4.2

Public Higher Education Total Education Revenue per FTE by State, FY 1980-2022 (Constant Adjusted Dollars)

1980 2001 2012 2017 2021 2022 % Change Since 2021 % Change Since 2017 % Change Since 2012 % Change Since 2001 % Change Since 1980
Alabama $10,435 $15,609 $17,949 $20,927 $22,134 $22,546 1.9% 7.7% 25.6% 44.4% 116.1%
Alaska $27,040 $18,468 $20,933 $21,403 $23,948 $23,688 -1.1% 10.7% 13.2% 28.3% -12.4%
Arizona $10,784 $13,724 $13,183 $15,358 $15,766 $14,615 -7.3% -4.8% 10.9% 6.5% 35.5%
Arkansas $13,201 $14,428 $14,116 $15,344 $15,405 $15,785 2.5% 2.9% 11.8% 9.4% 19.6%
California $9,902 $11,167 $9,784 $12,582 $13,330 $14,233 6.8% 13.1% 45.5% 27.5% 43.7%
Colorado $9,166 $12,012 $12,147 $15,407 $17,242 $18,223 5.7% 18.3% 50.0% 51.7% 98.8%
Connecticut $10,937 $22,537 $20,647 $21,277 $22,860 $25,971 13.6% 22.1% 25.8% 15.2% 137.5%
Delaware $13,099 $20,370 $23,161 $23,833 $24,749 $25,533 3.2% 7.1% 10.2% 25.3% 94.9%
Florida $9,015 $14,223 $9,674 $11,437 $11,308 $11,644 3.0% 1.8% 20.4% -18.1% 29.2%
Georgia $12,254 $18,150 $13,410 $16,361 $15,763 $18,948 20.2% 15.8% 41.3% 4.4% 54.6%
Hawaii $10,700 $12,154 $13,710 $17,183 $19,311 $18,667 -3.3% 8.6% 36.2% 53.6% 74.5%
Idaho $15,725 $18,677 $13,746 $19,588 $19,646 $19,552 -0.5% -0.2% 42.2% 4.7% 24.3%
Illinois $12,141 $18,861 $21,844 $28,026 $30,900 $32,022 3.6% 14.3% 46.6% 69.8% 163.8%
Indiana $13,868 $16,972 $16,806 $17,870 $17,465 $18,040 3.3% 0.9% 7.3% 6.3% 30.1%
Iowa $14,309 $18,212 $16,175 $16,846 $17,469 $17,248 -1.3% 2.4% 6.6% -5.3% 20.5%
Kansas $13,314 $16,260 $14,288 $15,067 $16,760 $15,820 -5.6% 5.0% 10.7% -2.7% 18.8%
Kentucky $14,020 $19,216 $18,342 $18,495 $18,264 $18,502 1.3% 0.0% 0.9% -3.7% 32.0%
Louisiana $12,221 $11,921 $11,935 $12,669 $12,532 $12,980 3.6% 2.4% 8.8% 8.9% 6.2%
Maine $10,978 $17,480 $15,945 $15,965 $16,335 $16,279 -0.3% 2.0% 2.1% -6.9% 48.3%
Maryland $10,524 $16,520 $14,961 $16,503 $17,812 $17,806 0.0% 7.9% 19.0% 7.8% 69.2%
Massachusetts $11,102 $16,244 $12,558 $14,516 $16,135 $16,102 -0.2% 10.9% 28.2% -0.9% 45.0%
Michigan $15,239 $21,057 $19,641 $23,168 $24,700 $25,505 3.3% 10.1% 29.9% 21.1% 67.4%
Minnesota $13,901 $16,305 $16,916 $18,658 $23,117 $20,144 -12.9% 8.0% 19.1% 23.5% 44.9%
Mississippi $12,540 $15,734 $14,333 $16,128 $17,191 $15,945 -7.2% -1.1% 11.2% 1.3% 27.2%
Missouri $14,674 $18,861 $15,769 $15,003 $18,845 $19,873 5.5% 32.5% 26.0% 5.4% 35.4%
Montana $10,226 $10,923 $11,881 $13,587 $15,550 $14,008 -9.9% 3.1% 17.9% 28.2% 37.0%
Nebraska $11,954 $13,734 $15,199 $18,023 $19,080 $18,834 -1.3% 4.5% 23.9% 37.1% 57.6%
Nevada $11,519 $12,575 $12,141 $11,770 $9,635 $10,815 12.2% -8.1% -10.9% -14.0% -6.1%
New Hampshire $10,662 $15,521 $12,245 $13,181 $14,661 $13,328 -9.1% 1.1% 8.8% -14.1% 25.0%
New Jersey $10,685 $18,801 $17,003 $18,890 $14,995 $16,934 12.9% -10.4% -0.4% -9.9% 58.5%
New Mexico $13,851 $13,230 $14,111 $15,972 $22,971 $23,307 1.5% 45.9% 65.2% 76.2% 68.3%
New York $14,908 $16,056 $15,894 $19,100 $18,755 $20,121 7.3% 5.3% 26.6% 25.3% 35.0%
North Carolina $13,374 $17,789 $15,637 $17,744 $17,263 $17,925 3.8% 1.0% 14.6% 0.8% 34.0%
North Dakota $12,077 $13,296 $18,092 $20,279 $20,971 $20,256 -3.4% -0.1% 12.0% 52.3% 67.7%
Ohio $13,293 $18,104 $16,269 $17,738 $18,238 $16,921 -7.2% -4.6% 4.0% -6.5% 27.3%
Oklahoma $11,256 $13,994 $14,237 $15,555 $16,263 $16,743 2.9% 7.6% 17.6% 19.6% 48.7%
Oregon $10,278 $13,016 $11,567 $14,051 $16,713 $17,329 3.7% 23.3% 49.8% 33.1% 68.6%
Pennsylvania $15,416 $20,403 $14,750 $17,201 $17,997 $17,239 -4.2% 0.2% 16.9% -15.5% 11.8%
Rhode Island $14,543 $17,209 $14,372 $14,980 $17,211 $17,186 -0.1% 14.7% 19.6% -0.1% 18.2%
South Carolina $12,734 $13,555 $14,127 $17,213 $18,783 $17,421 -7.3% 1.2% 23.3% 28.5% 36.8%
South Dakota $13,890 $15,417 $14,412 $16,881 $16,697 $16,313 -2.3% -3.4% 13.2% 5.8% 17.4%
Tennessee $12,697 $15,480 $15,542 $18,382 $19,715 $19,313 -2.0% 5.1% 24.3% 24.8% 52.1%
Texas $11,039 $15,781 $13,910 $16,275 $16,990 $17,486 2.9% 7.4% 25.7% 10.8% 58.4%
Utah $13,436 $12,691 $12,715 $15,572 $15,726 $16,924 7.6% 8.7% 33.1% 33.4% 26.0%
Vermont $12,814 $18,442 $18,980 $19,942 $23,540 $21,358 -9.3% 7.1% 12.5% 15.8% 66.7%
Virginia $10,766 $14,989 $13,640 $15,721 $16,902 $17,127 1.3% 8.9% 25.6% 14.3% 59.1%
Washington $11,955 $11,959 $11,199 $13,957 $16,774 $16,540 -1.4% 18.5% 47.7% 38.3% 38.4%
West Virginia $10,320 $11,660 $12,702 $13,265 $13,981 $14,648 4.8% 10.4% 15.3% 25.6% 41.9%
Wisconsin $14,938 $16,570 $15,005 $15,848 $17,376 $16,978 -2.3% 7.1% 13.1% 2.5% 13.7%
Wyoming $19,821 $17,726 $20,141 $23,421 $31,388 $21,919 -30.2% -6.4% 8.8% 23.7% 10.6%
D.C. N/A N/A $22,298 $28,156 $43,064 $30,804 -28.5% 9.4% 38.1% N/A N/A
U.S. $12,102 $15,364 $14,048 $16,298 $16,989 $17,393 2.4% 6.7% 23.8% 13.2% 43.7%
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. Total education revenue for fiscal year 2017 includes estimated two-year net tuition and fee revenue for Texas. Fiscal year 2021 includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Pennsylvania. Fiscal year 2022 includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Arkansas and Pennsylvania; two-year net tuition and fee revenue for Massachusetts and Texas; and local appropriations for Illinois and Texas.
  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 4.2A 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 $12,697 per FTE, up 1.3% from 2021. Total revenue ranged from $7,981 in South Dakota to $23,341 in Illinois. Ten states had an average two-year total revenue of less than $10,000 per FTE. On the other hand, in 12 states, two-year total revenue was greater than $15,000 per FTE; only Illinois exceeded $20,000 per FTE. 35 35A large portion of education appropriations in Illinois are not available for operations at public institutions. Additionally, Illinois received a one-time payment of $250 million for the state’s prepaid tuition program that will be disbursed over a span of years. See the Illinois state spotlight to learn more. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES

Two-year total education revenue declined in 23 states from 2021 to 2022. The largest declines were in Wyoming (24.1%) and Tennessee (20.3%). The decrease in Wyoming was due to federal stimulus funding, whereas the decrease in Tennessee was due to a decline in two-year public operating. Of the 26 states with increases, two were above 15%: New York (15.3%) and Nevada (18.7%). In both states, these changes were due to increases in education appropriations. In Nevada, this change came almost entirely from an increase in funds for general operating budgets at public two-year institutions. In New York, this change was partially due to a decrease in two-year state financial aid.

Total education revenue at four-year institutions averaged $19,556 in 2022, a 1.8% increase from 2021, but a 0.4% decline from 2020. Four-year institutions had, on average, 1.54 times the amount of total revenue per FTE of two-year institutions. Nevada and Louisiana had the lowest revenue per FTE ($13,000 and $13,116, respectively). Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C., had total revenue greater than $20,000—including Delaware and Illinois, both of which had total revenue greater than $30,000 per FTE. 36 36A large portion of education appropriations in Illinois are not available for operations at public institutions. Additionally, Illinois received a one-time payment of $250 million for the state’s prepaid tuition program that will be disbursed over a span of years. See the Illinois state spotlight to learn more. VIEW ALL FOOTNOTES

In the last year, four-year total education revenue declined in 24 states and Washington, D.C. Two states, Arizona (10.2%) and Wyoming (32.0%), and Washington, D.C. (18.9%), had declines greater than 10%. In both states and Washington, D.C., the declines were due largely to decreases in federal stimulus funding.

Figure 4.2A displays the disparity in total education revenue per FTE between each state’s two-year and four-year public sectors. Only Wisconsin is on the figure’s left side (the light blue bars), with 6.4% higher total education revenue in the two-year sector. All other states are on the figure’s right side (the dark blue bars), with relatively higher total education revenue per FTE in the four-year sector. New Jersey had the largest disparity in total education revenue across sectors, where four-year institutions had 2.3 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 2022


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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. Fiscal year 2022 total education revenue includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Arkansas and Pennsylvania; two-year net tuition and fee revenue for Massachusetts and Texas; and local appropriations for Illinois and Texas.
  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.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Table 4.2A

Public Higher Education Total Education Revenue per FTE by Sector and State, FY 2019-2022 (Constant Adjusted Dollars)

Two-Year Total Revenue Four-Year Total Revenue
2019 2021 2022 Index to U.S. Average % Change Since 2021 % Change Since 2019 2019 2021 2022 Index to U.S. Average % Change Since 2021 % Change Since 2019
Alabama $13,277 $15,135 $15,754 1.24 4.1% 18.7% $25,742 $25,859 $26,367 1.35 2.0% 2.4%
Alaska $0 $0 $0 N/A N/A N/A $21,947 $23,245 $22,992 1.18 -1.1% 4.8%
Arizona $12,715 $14,883 $14,886 1.17 0.0% 17.1% $17,536 $16,659 $14,965 0.77 -10.2% -14.7%
Arkansas $12,951 $13,422 $13,767 1.08 2.6% 6.3% $16,310 $15,928 $16,209 0.83 1.8% -0.6%
California $9,836 $10,865 $11,156 0.88 2.7% 13.4% $15,982 $14,797 $15,646 0.80 5.7% -2.1%
Colorado $11,221 $11,139 $11,849 0.93 6.4% 5.6% $19,647 $20,426 $21,410 1.09 4.8% 9.0%
Connecticut $15,608 $19,178 $19,890 1.57 3.7% 27.4% $25,343 $24,267 $26,800 1.37 10.4% 5.8%
Delaware $15,927 $16,396 $17,086 1.35 4.2% 7.3% $31,249 $30,667 $31,656 1.62 3.2% 1.3%
Florida $8,164 $8,362 $8,643 0.68 3.4% 5.9% $15,740 $14,891 $15,139 0.77 1.7% -3.8%
Georgia $10,928 $11,345 $12,669 1.00 11.7% 15.9% $17,616 $16,499 $20,207 1.03 22.5% 14.7%
Hawaii $13,906 $14,660 $15,198 1.20 3.7% 9.3% $20,802 $20,355 $18,910 0.97 -7.1% -9.1%
Idaho $9,264 $9,896 $9,700 0.76 -2.0% 4.7% $19,529 $19,850 $19,649 1.00 -1.0% 0.6%
Illinois $19,179 $23,865 $23,341 1.84 -2.2% 21.7% $31,803 $33,560 $34,170 1.75 1.8% 7.4%
Indiana $9,996 $9,830 $9,589 0.76 -2.5% -4.1% $21,332 $20,589 $21,413 1.09 4.0% 0.4%
Iowa $11,260 $11,862 $11,945 0.94 0.7% 6.1% $22,920 $23,279 $22,819 1.17 -2.0% -0.4%
Kansas $12,753 $14,730 $14,598 1.15 -0.9% 14.5% $17,838 $18,264 $16,975 0.87 -7.1% -4.8%
Kentucky $11,315 $11,632 $11,394 0.90 -2.0% 0.7% $21,236 $21,161 $21,576 1.10 2.0% 1.6%
Louisiana $8,342 $8,783 $9,436 0.74 7.4% 13.1% $13,551 $12,752 $13,116 0.67 2.9% -3.2%
Maine $11,150 $11,831 $11,760 0.93 -0.6% 5.5% $16,834 $16,993 $16,853 0.86 -0.8% 0.1%
Maryland $12,405 $13,980 $14,395 1.13 3.0% 16.0% $19,410 $19,412 $19,103 0.98 -1.6% -1.6%
Massachusetts $10,606 $12,217 $12,732 1.00 4.2% 20.0% $16,026 $17,144 $16,863 0.86 -1.6% 5.2%
Michigan $17,496 $19,380 $19,127 1.51 -1.3% 9.3% $27,507 $27,800 $29,228 1.49 5.1% 6.3%
Minnesota $12,701 $16,786 $13,777 1.09 -17.9% 8.5% $22,250 $23,892 $22,843 1.17 -4.4% 2.7%
Mississippi $11,824 $15,212 $12,715 1.00 -16.4% 7.5% $18,747 $19,257 $18,831 0.96 -2.2% 0.5%
Missouri $10,519 $14,402 $16,560 1.30 15.0% 57.4% $18,070 $20,269 $20,495 1.05 1.1% 13.4%
Montana $7,820 $9,507 $8,322 0.66 -12.5% 6.4% $16,223 $18,118 $16,358 0.84 -9.7% 0.8%
Nebraska $15,219 $17,346 $17,438 1.37 0.5% 14.6% $19,970 $20,222 $19,817 1.01 -2.0% -0.8%
Nevada $8,481 $7,209 $8,559 0.67 18.7% 0.9% $13,015 $11,859 $13,000 0.66 9.6% -0.1%
New Hampshire $10,494 $12,402 $11,952 0.94 -3.6% 13.9% $15,569 $16,731 $15,065 0.77 -10.0% -3.2%
New Jersey $7,578 $7,407 $8,483 0.67 14.5% 11.9% $19,228 $17,673 $19,822 1.01 12.2% 3.1%
New Mexico $13,195 $17,740 $18,772 1.48 5.8% 42.3% $21,680 $26,235 $25,910 1.32 -1.2% 19.5%
New York $14,103 $14,253 $16,432 1.29 15.3% 16.5% $21,849 $20,156 $20,939 1.07 3.9% -4.2%
North Carolina $10,863 $11,140 $11,390 0.90 2.2% 4.9% $22,435 $20,950 $21,730 1.11 3.7% -3.1%
North Dakota $11,819 $12,958 $12,269 0.97 -5.3% 3.8% $19,175 $20,878 $20,437 1.05 -2.1% 6.6%
Ohio $12,648 $11,249 $10,439 0.82 -7.2% -17.5% $19,165 $21,323 $19,844 1.01 -6.9% 3.5%
Oklahoma $10,894 $10,678 $11,298 0.89 5.8% 3.7% $18,300 $18,470 $18,933 0.97 2.5% 3.5%
Oregon $11,068 $13,133 $14,218 1.12 8.3% 28.5% $17,530 $19,155 $19,309 0.99 0.8% 10.2%
Pennsylvania $10,781 $11,769 $11,741 0.92 -0.2% 8.9% $20,605 $19,932 $19,328 0.99 -3.0% -6.2%
Rhode Island $11,053 $12,829 $12,795 1.01 -0.3% 15.8% $15,010 $17,255 $17,310 0.89 0.3% 15.3%
South Carolina $10,776 $11,826 $10,653 0.84 -9.9% -1.1% $21,209 $22,776 $21,106 1.08 -7.3% -0.5%
South Dakota $9,139 $9,563 $7,981 0.63 -16.5% -12.7% $16,761 $16,622 $16,425 0.84 -1.2% -2.0%
Tennessee $11,744 $13,903 $11,085 0.87 -20.3% -5.6% $21,914 $21,574 $21,979 1.12 1.9% 0.3%
Texas $9,437 $10,662 $10,934 0.86 2.5% 15.9% $20,370 $20,582 $20,969 1.07 1.9% 2.9%
Utah $13,274 $13,601 $14,499 1.14 6.6% 9.2% $16,687 $16,247 $17,373 0.89 6.9% 4.1%
Vermont $9,439 $11,478 $9,745 0.77 -15.1% 3.2% $21,042 $23,251 $21,461 1.10 -7.7% 2.0%
Virginia $9,562 $10,108 $9,919 0.78 -1.9% 3.7% $19,454 $20,161 $19,991 1.02 -0.8% 2.8%
Washington $9,777 $12,749 $11,470 0.90 -10.0% 17.3% $18,330 $19,421 $20,761 1.06 6.9% 13.3%
West Virginia $11,732 $13,485 $14,206 1.12 5.3% 21.1% $14,408 $14,906 $14,963 0.77 0.4% 3.9%
Wisconsin $16,031 $18,228 $17,419 1.37 -4.4% 8.7% $15,826 $16,513 $16,342 0.84 -1.0% 3.3%
Wyoming $20,930 $22,869 $17,367 1.37 -24.1% -17.0% $25,270 $33,552 $22,830 1.17 -32.0% -9.7%
D.C. $0 $0 $0 N/A N/A N/A $25,652 $36,139 $29,305 1.50 -18.9% 14.2%
U.S. $11,379 $12,528 $12,697 1.00 1.3% 11.6% $19,318 $19,201 $19,556 1.00 1.8% 1.2%
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. Total education revenue for fiscal year 2019 includes estimated two-year net tuition and fee revenue for Texas. Fiscal year 2021 includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Pennsylvania. Fiscal year 2022 includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Arkansas and Pennsylvania; two-year net tuition and fee revenue for Massachusetts and Texas; and local appropriations for Illinois and Texas.
  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

Student Share

Map 4.3

Student Share, FY 2022

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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. The student share i i Student share The student share is a measure of the proportion of total education revenues at public institutions coming from net tuition revenue. VIEW ALL DATA DEFINITIONS has increased substantially over time due to declines 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 28.9%. In 2022, the U.S. average student share was 41.7%. This means that, on average, 41.7% of revenues at public institutions came from student tuition and fees. Excluding federal stimulus funding, the student share in 2022 was 42.2%.

1. State Comparisons

There is wide variation in the student share across states. From fiscal years 2017-2020, the student share was above 50% in at least half of all states (25 states in 2017 and 2020; 26 states in 2018 and 2019). This trend changed in 2021 when the number of states with a student share greater than 50% decreased to 21. In 2022, the number of states increased to 23. Three states, Delaware (71.5%), New Hampshire (72.2%), and Vermont (73.4%) had a student share above 70%. After excluding federal stimulus, the fiscal year 2022 student share in Vermont increased 10.7 percentage points to 84.0% and was the only state to exceed a share of 75%. Conversely, four states (Alaska, California, Florida, and Wyoming) and Washington, D.C., had a student share below 25%, both including and excluding federal stimulus (Figure 4.3).

From 2021 to 2022, student share decreased in 32 states and Washington, D.C. Over the last five years, four states (Connecticut, Kansas, Louisiana, and New Jersey) reduced the student share in their state to less than 50%. This was, in part, due to federal stimulus funding. It is not yet clear how these trends will continue following the depletion of federal stimulus dollars, but these decreases in student share indicate that states are making efforts to address college affordability. Still, over the last 10 years, the student share has increased in 18 states—and it has increased in all but three states (Florida, Vermont, and Wyoming) since 2001 (Table 4.3). 

After excluding federal stimulus funding, the number of states that had a student share above 50% in 2021 increased from 21 to 25. However, the total number of states with a student share above 50% in 2022 remained at 23, meaning there was no change after excluding federal stimulus. Excluding federal stimulus, fiscal year 2022 had the fewest number of states with a student share greater than 50% since 2016.

Table 4.3

Net Tuition as a Percentage of Total Education Revenue by State, FY 1980-2022

1980 2001 2012 2017 2021 2022 Change Since 2021 Change Since 2017 Change Since 2012 Change Since 2001 Change Since 1980
Alabama 26.7% 42.4% 64.4% 70.1% 68.1% 64.9% -3.1 -5.2 0.6 22.5 38.3
Alaska 9.4% 18.2% 23.4% 23.7% 22.7% 22.2% -0.5 -1.5 -1.3 4.0 12.8
Arizona 21.3% 32.8% 53.9% 62.0% 61.1% 61.0% -0.1 -1.0 7.1 28.2 39.7
Arkansas 23.5% 25.4% 38.6% 48.3% 49.1% 45.6% -3.5 -2.7 7.1 20.3 22.1
California 7.5% 10.2% 26.5% 26.5% 20.2% 17.8% -2.3 -8.7 -8.6 7.6 10.3
Colorado 36.6% 41.6% 70.7% 69.7% 63.6% 63.2% -0.4 -6.5 -7.5 21.6 26.5
Connecticut 21.4% 25.4% 41.6% 52.3% 47.6% 42.9% -4.7 -9.4 1.3 17.5 21.5
Delaware 37.9% 53.9% 72.9% 74.5% 70.8% 71.5% 0.7 -3.0 -1.4 17.6 33.6
Florida 20.1% 23.4% 36.5% 33.3% 21.6% 21.2% -0.4 -12.1 -15.3 -2.2 1.1
Georgia 18.2% 15.1% 36.2% 37.1% 33.6% 28.0% -5.6 -9.1 -8.2 12.9 9.8
Hawaii 8.5% 19.6% 33.4% 29.5% 24.1% 25.2% 1.0 -4.3 -8.2 5.6 16.6
Idaho 14.4% 23.5% 44.2% 46.0% 45.5% 46.4% 0.8 0.4 2.2 22.9 31.9
Illinois 16.4% 18.6% 33.5% 33.0% 30.3% 29.5% -0.8 -3.6 -4.1 10.8 13.1
Indiana 27.6% 41.4% 62.5% 61.7% 63.0% 62.6% -0.3 0.9 0.2 21.2 35.0
Iowa 24.5% 35.2% 61.1% 63.6% 61.9% 61.5% -0.4 -2.1 0.4 26.3 37.0
Kansas 23.2% 28.4% 49.6% 52.4% 45.9% 45.7% -0.2 -6.7 -3.9 17.3 22.6
Kentucky 20.6% 29.8% 52.4% 56.8% 54.3% 52.6% -1.8 -4.3 0.2 22.8 31.9
Louisiana 18.5% 26.3% 39.6% 51.1% 47.4% 44.3% -3.0 -6.8 4.7 18.0 25.8
Maine 32.1% 37.2% 52.4% 47.4% 46.1% 45.1% -1.0 -2.3 -7.3 7.9 13.0
Maryland 26.4% 37.2% 51.9% 48.7% 45.9% 45.2% -0.7 -3.6 -6.7 8.0 18.8
Massachusetts 22.8% 29.0% 45.8% 43.4% 37.0% 34.7% -2.3 -8.7 -11.1 5.7 11.9
Michigan 29.7% 37.7% 67.4% 66.4% 64.5% 61.1% -3.4 -5.3 -6.2 23.4 31.5
Minnesota 18.4% 29.7% 61.6% 56.0% 45.8% 51.5% 5.7 -4.5 -10.1 21.8 33.0
Mississippi 25.8% 28.1% 47.9% 50.3% 49.5% 52.9% 3.4 2.6 5.0 24.8 27.1
Missouri 22.0% 27.5% 49.5% 47.6% 42.9% 42.8% -0.2 -4.9 -6.7 15.3 20.8
Montana 20.8% 42.9% 54.7% 53.5% 47.6% 52.1% 4.5 -1.4 -2.6 9.2 31.3
Nebraska 22.3% 32.8% 42.4% 40.2% 39.3% 36.8% -2.5 -3.4 -5.6 4.0 14.5
Nevada 19.0% 22.4% 32.7% 34.3% 28.3% 25.8% -2.5 -8.5 -6.9 3.5 6.8
New Hampshire 54.3% 65.4% 84.5% 78.5% 68.4% 72.2% 3.8 -6.3 -12.2 6.9 17.9
New Jersey 19.9% 38.6% 53.9% 57.6% 52.2% 47.1% -5.1 -10.6 -6.9 8.4 27.2
New Mexico 16.1% 11.1% 28.1% 25.3% 28.9% 28.8% -0.1 3.5 0.6 17.7 12.6
New York 19.6% 29.7% 35.5% 35.7% 32.3% 30.9% -1.4 -4.8 -4.6 1.3 11.3
North Carolina 16.5% 18.9% 30.7% 34.5% 31.5% 30.2% -1.3 -4.3 -0.5 11.3 13.7
North Dakota 22.6% 40.4% 48.8% 48.1% 53.6% 53.5% -0.1 5.5 4.7 13.2 31.0
Ohio 32.8% 40.9% 62.3% 58.7% 56.1% 57.4% 1.2 -1.4 -4.9 16.5 24.5
Oklahoma 19.8% 21.3% 39.7% 49.6% 54.0% 54.2% 0.2 4.5 14.5 32.9 34.4
Oregon 24.8% 35.9% 61.2% 60.3% 55.0% 53.4% -1.5 -6.9 -7.8 17.6 28.6
Pennsylvania 32.0% 48.7% 66.3% 70.7% 64.6% 64.7% 0.0 -6.0 -1.6 16.0 32.6
Rhode Island 23.4% 44.0% 59.6% 60.1% 60.1% 60.8% 0.8 0.7 1.3 16.8 37.5
South Carolina 19.4% 38.1% 66.5% 65.2% 60.4% 62.5% 2.1 -2.7 -4.0 24.4 43.1
South Dakota 27.4% 46.0% 61.2% 58.2% 55.6% 55.8% 0.3 -2.4 -5.4 9.8 28.4
Tennessee 22.5% 33.6% 47.3% 43.8% 36.3% 37.6% 1.3 -6.2 -9.7 4.0 15.0
Texas 18.6% 34.0% 37.6% 49.2% 48.6% 48.0% -0.5 -1.1 10.5 14.1 29.5
Utah 19.9% 26.6% 48.0% 45.5% 41.1% 42.4% 1.3 -3.1 -5.6 15.8 22.5
Vermont 62.3% 76.8% 85.5% 88.5% 69.7% 73.4% 3.7 -15.1 -12.1 -3.4 11.1
Virginia 24.1% 32.3% 60.9% 58.1% 55.3% 52.2% -3.1 -5.9 -8.7 19.9 28.1
Washington 20.3% 23.6% 47.8% 43.0% 34.7% 38.6% 4.0 -4.4 -9.2 15.1 18.3
West Virginia 19.0% 39.2% 55.0% 64.3% 57.6% 56.2% -1.4 -8.1 1.3 17.0 37.2
Wisconsin 26.3% 25.8% 43.6% 46.8% 44.3% 44.0% -0.3 -2.8 0.4 18.1 17.7
Wyoming 14.0% 21.6% 14.4% 14.8% 11.1% 17.5% 6.4 2.7 3.1 -4.2 3.5
D.C. N/A N/A 24.8% 28.5% 12.3% 11.7% -0.6 -16.8 -13.1 N/A N/A
U.S. 20.9% 28.9% 46.4% 47.2% 43.1% 41.7% -1.4 -5.5 -4.7 12.7 20.7
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. Total education revenue for fiscal year 2017 includes estimated two-year net tuition and fee revenue for Texas. Fiscal year 2021 includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Pennsylvania. Fiscal year 2022 includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Arkansas and Pennsylvania; two-year net tuition and fee revenue for Massachusetts and Texas; and local appropriations for Illinois and Texas.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
Figure 4.3

Net Tuition as a Percentage of Total Education Revenue by State, FY 2022 (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 2022 total education revenue includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Arkansas and Pennsylvania; two-year net tuition and fee revenue for Massachusetts and Texas; and local appropriations for Illinois and Texas.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

2. Sector Comparisons

The student share is perhaps the most dramatically different SHEF metric when comparing two- and four-year public institutions. At two-year institutions, the fiscal year 2022 student share was less than a quarter (20.3%); it was over half (51.6%) at four-year institutions (Table 4.3A).

  • The student share at two-year institutions is generally between 15% and 50%. Only California (1.1%) and Tennessee (6.5%) have a student share of less than 10%. New Mexico (12.9%) and Hawaii (14.9%) each reported student shares less than 15%. In 2022, no states had a two-year student share greater than 50%. South Dakota (45.6%), Iowa (48.7%), and Louisiana (49.2%) were the only states that had a two-year student share greater than 45%.
  • At four-year institutions, student share ranged from 11.8% in Washington, D.C., and 15.9% in Florida to 80.0% in New Hampshire. In 32 states, the four-year student share is greater than 50%. In five states, the four-year student share is greater than 75%: Colorado (75.3%), Delaware (77.7%), Vermont (79.4%), Arizona (79.9%), and New Hampshire (80.0%).

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 is 31.3 percentage points above the two-year student share. The four-year student share is greater than the two-year student share in all but three states: Florida, Louisiana, and Wyoming. This means that in those three states, students at two-year institutions are responsible for a greater portion of public institutional revenue than students attending four-year institutions. Arizona has the greatest difference in student share across institution types, where the four-year student share of 79.9% is 64.9 percentage points higher than the two-year student share of 15.0%.

Figure 4.3A

Difference in Two-Year and Four-Year Net Tuition as a Percentage of Total Education Revenue by State, FY 2022


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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. Fiscal year 2022 total education revenue includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Arkansas and Pennsylvania; two-year net tuition and fee revenue for Massachusetts and Texas; and local appropriations for Illinois and Texas.
  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.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

State Spotlight : California

CA

National trends in the two-year student share (net tuition as a percentage of total education revenue) are greatly impacted by California, which enrolls more than 20% of the nation’s two-year enrollment. California dampens national two-year trends in two ways.

First, California has the lowest two-year student share by far, with student tuition revenue comprising only 1.1% of total education revenue. California’s low student share is due primarily to the state having among the lowest community college tuition charges in the nation and its practice of waiving tuition for low-income students. Excluding California from the data increases the national two-year student share from 20.3% to 27.1%.

Second, in stark contrast to most other states facing long-term increases in student share, California’s student share at two-year public institutions has declined 3.4 percentage points since 2001. The decline in California’s student share is due to a decline in gross tuition revenue (in constant 2022 dollars) and recent increases in state-funded financial aid for community college students. These financial aid awards were directed to resident students, resulting in a negative net in-state tuition and fee revenue (-$58,035,384) for California’s two-year sector in fiscal year 2022.

 

Table 4.3A

Net Tuition as a Percentage of Total Education Revenue by Sector and State, FY 2019-2022

Two-Year Student Share Four-Year Student Share
2019 2021 2022 Index to U.S. Average Change Since 2021 Change Since 2019 2019 2021 2022 Index to U.S. Average Change Since 2021 Change Since 2019
Alabama 44.9% 40.2% 36.9% 1.82 -3.3 -8.0 75.0% 74.6% 72.0% 1.39 -2.6 -3.0
Alaska N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 23.2% 22.7% 22.2% 0.43 -0.5 -1.0
Arizona 17.8% 17.9% 15.0% 0.74 -2.9 -2.8 81.5% 79.0% 79.9% 1.55 1.0 -1.6
Arkansas 37.5% 35.9% 33.7% 1.66 -2.2 -3.8 53.7% 54.6% 50.6% 0.98 -4.0 -3.1
California 4.0% 2.5% 1.1% 0.05 -1.4 -2.9 42.2% 37.5% 34.9% 0.68 -2.7 -7.3
Colorado 41.7% 37.6% 32.2% 1.59 -5.3 -9.4 77.1% 73.9% 75.3% 1.46 1.4 -1.8
Connecticut 38.7% 33.9% 27.8% 1.37 -6.2 -11.0 58.4% 52.2% 50.3% 0.97 -1.9 -8.1
Delaware 39.0% 33.5% 31.7% 1.56 -1.8 -7.3 81.7% 77.7% 77.7% 1.51 0.0 -4.0
Florida 36.5% 33.6% 31.6% 1.56 -2.0 -4.9 18.3% 15.3% 15.9% 0.31 0.6 -2.4
Georgia 30.9% 31.4% 26.0% 1.28 -5.4 -4.9 36.8% 36.2% 29.9% 0.58 -6.3 -6.9
Hawaii 19.2% 16.8% 14.8% 0.73 -1.9 -4.4 32.2% 31.5% 33.9% 0.66 2.4 1.7
Idaho 35.5% 33.9% 33.2% 1.64 -0.7 -2.3 49.0% 53.4% 55.0% 1.07 1.7 6.0
Illinois 30.4% 27.3% 26.1% 1.29 -1.2 -4.3 36.4% 32.4% 33.1% 0.64 0.6 -3.3
Indiana 38.3% 36.8% 34.1% 1.68 -2.8 -4.2 65.8% 68.4% 68.4% 1.33 0.1 2.7
Iowa 54.9% 49.6% 48.7% 2.40 -0.9 -6.2 68.1% 66.8% 66.9% 1.30 0.1 -1.2
Kansas 25.3% 24.0% 22.2% 1.09 -1.8 -3.2 63.0% 57.6% 58.6% 1.14 1.0 -4.4
Kentucky 43.6% 41.0% 38.9% 1.92 -2.1 -4.7 60.4% 58.1% 56.3% 1.09 -1.9 -4.2
Louisiana 52.1% 52.1% 49.2% 2.43 -2.9 -2.9 49.0% 49.5% 46.1% 0.89 -3.4 -2.9
Maine 28.4% 24.7% 21.7% 1.07 -3.0 -6.7 53.3% 51.7% 50.8% 0.98 -0.9 -2.5
Maryland 33.5% 30.4% 27.4% 1.35 -3.1 -6.1 55.2% 52.0% 52.3% 1.01 0.3 -2.9
Massachusetts 32.2% 27.6% 23.3% 1.15 -4.4 -8.9 43.9% 40.0% 38.2% 0.74 -1.7 -5.7
Michigan 39.4% 34.9% 32.1% 1.58 -2.7 -7.3 74.4% 73.6% 69.4% 1.35 -4.2 -5.0
Minnesota 43.4% 33.2% 38.8% 1.91 5.6 -4.6 61.1% 57.5% 59.2% 1.15 1.7 -1.9
Mississippi 42.8% 36.1% 40.5% 2.00 4.4 -2.2 61.5% 58.1% 60.1% 1.16 2.0 -1.5
Missouri 30.4% 26.1% 24.6% 1.21 -1.5 -5.7 55.5% 48.4% 49.4% 0.96 1.0 -6.1
Montana 24.0% 19.0% 20.2% 1.00 1.2 -3.8 58.4% 51.3% 56.1% 1.09 4.7 -2.4
Nebraska 20.3% 17.1% 15.9% 0.78 -1.2 -4.4 49.5% 48.3% 45.7% 0.89 -2.6 -3.8
Nevada 22.7% 26.4% 21.3% 1.05 -5.1 -1.4 25.8% 30.1% 28.5% 0.55 -1.6 2.7
New Hampshire 52.8% 42.0% 42.1% 2.07 0.1 -10.7 84.0% 75.5% 80.0% 1.55 4.6 -3.9
New Jersey 41.2% 42.7% 37.4% 1.84 -5.3 -3.8 56.5% 57.5% 52.3% 1.01 -5.2 -4.2
New Mexico 15.8% 14.9% 12.9% 0.64 -2.0 -2.9 28.0% 36.4% 37.5% 0.73 1.2 9.5
New York 32.0% 33.1% 30.9% 1.52 -2.2 -1.1 33.7% 32.3% 31.2% 0.60 -1.1 -2.5
North Carolina 18.8% 16.8% 15.7% 0.78 -1.1 -3.0 39.5% 38.4% 36.9% 0.72 -1.5 -2.6
North Dakota 34.2% 32.9% 31.5% 1.55 -1.4 -2.7 58.2% 60.2% 59.7% 1.16 -0.5 1.5
Ohio 33.5% 30.7% 31.2% 1.54 0.6 -2.3 65.4% 62.2% 64.2% 1.24 2.0 -1.2
Oklahoma 40.6% 37.3% 35.9% 1.77 -1.4 -4.7 59.3% 61.3% 61.5% 1.19 0.2 2.1
Oregon 30.5% 24.5% 22.5% 1.11 -2.1 -8.0 71.7% 69.0% 67.8% 1.31 -1.2 -4.0
Pennsylvania 45.3% 39.3% 37.3% 1.84 -2.0 -8.0 73.7% 72.4% 70.9% 1.37 -1.5 -2.8
Rhode Island 47.6% 44.3% 43.4% 2.14 -0.9 -4.2 64.3% 65.3% 65.4% 1.27 0.1 1.1
South Carolina 34.3% 31.5% 32.3% 1.59 0.8 -2.0 77.5% 68.5% 71.5% 1.39 3.1 -6.0
South Dakota 40.6% 39.6% 45.6% 2.25 6.0 5.1 64.2% 60.5% 60.5% 1.17 0.0 -3.7
Tennessee 17.3% 13.6% 6.5% 0.32 -7.1 -10.9 51.3% 46.4% 48.6% 0.94 2.2 -2.7
Texas 24.8% 22.5% 21.8% 1.07 -0.7 -2.9 62.3% 61.4% 61.6% 1.19 0.2 -0.7
Utah 24.2% 23.0% 24.0% 1.18 1.0 -0.2 48.1% 45.1% 46.8% 0.91 1.7 -1.2
Vermont 69.4% 52.3% 44.8% 2.20 -7.6 -24.6 89.4% 75.4% 79.4% 1.54 4.1 -10.0
Virginia 45.1% 41.6% 34.1% 1.68 -7.6 -11.0 64.6% 60.7% 59.4% 1.15 -1.3 -5.2
Washington 27.1% 18.3% 20.1% 0.99 1.9 -7.0 51.4% 47.2% 49.7% 0.96 2.6 -1.7
West Virginia 37.3% 30.3% 28.2% 1.39 -2.1 -9.2 68.2% 63.1% 64.3% 1.25 1.2 -3.9
Wisconsin 19.8% 15.8% 15.1% 0.74 -0.7 -4.7 62.1% 60.0% 59.6% 1.16 -0.4 -2.5
Wyoming 13.6% 13.3% 18.5% 0.91 5.1 4.9 20.2% 9.9% 16.9% 0.33 6.9 -3.4
D.C. N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 24.6% 14.1% 11.8% 0.23 -2.2 -12.7
U.S. 25.4% 22.2% 20.3% 1.00 -1.9 -5.1 54.8% 52.7% 51.6% 1.00 -1.1 -3.2
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. Total education revenue for fiscal year 2019 includes estimated two-year net tuition and fee revenue for Texas. Fiscal year 2021 includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Pennsylvania. Fiscal year 2022 includes estimated tuition and fee revenue for Arkansas and Pennsylvania; two-year net tuition and fee revenue for Massachusetts and Texas; and local appropriations for Illinois and Texas.
Source(s):
  • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

Fiscal year 2022 defied long-standing trends in higher education finance in the second year following an economic downturn. Instead of steep cuts in state funding and sharp growth in student enrollment and tuition revenue, as expected in the years following an economic recession, inflation-adjusted state and local education appropriations per FTE increased, and enrollment and tuition revenue per student decreased. This year marked the 10th straight year that state and local education appropriations increased, and the first year in which education appropriations per student exceeded 2008 (pre Great Recession) levels—with and without federal stimulus funds. Although states allocated less federal stimulus funding directly to higher education than in 2021, the increase in education appropriations can still partially be attributed to continued federal stimulus and relief funding coupled with the enrollment decline. Federal stimulus and relief funds have been helpful over the past three years, supporting total state revenues, reducing budget strain, and providing more freedom for states to show commitment to higher education. However, these one-time funds are not a replacement for long-term state investments, as stimulus funds will run out in the coming years. 

The COVID-19 pandemic altered the usual counter-cyclical enrollment trend where enrollment increases during and in the years immediately following economic recessions. Fiscal year 2022 marked the second largest single-year decline in public higher education enrollment on record (last year was the largest). Additionally, for three of the last four years, net tuition and fee revenue did not increase enough to keep up with inflation. The decline in net tuition revenue from 2021 to 2022 could be due to low growth in tuition rates, an increase in state financial aid, and a change in the proportion of students paying out-of-state and otherwise more expensive tuition rates. This continued decline in tuition revenue puts greater pressure on states not to cut funding to public higher education in the coming years. However, when federal stimulus funds run out, states will face difficult budgetary decisions, and higher education may face cuts in some states. 

The SHEF report broadly addresses the wide variation in how states fund public higher education. However, state-specific context is incredibly important when discussing higher education finance trends. States vary in their relative allocations to general operating, financial aid, and research. They also vary in their reliance on local support to fund community colleges, federal stimulus funding during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the total funding allocated to higher education on a per-student level. Public institutions in some states remain primarily publicly funded, but a growing proportion have become primarily reliant on student tuition and fee revenue over the last two decades. The student share decreased from 2021 to 2022, and for the first time since 2016, the student tuition and fees funding public higher education comprised less than 50% of total revenues in more than half of all states and Washington, D.C., even after excluding federal stimulus funding. As states are faced with fewer federal stimulus dollars amidst increasing concerns about student affordability and student loan debt, states must make conscious efforts to continue decreasing the portion of public higher education funded by students and families.

The trends detailed in the SHEF report reflect national and state averages, but there are almost always outliers in every trend. Even within states, there can be wide variation in the enrollment and revenue patterns at each institution. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, largely due to declines in revenue from student tuition, 18 states and Washington, D.C., experienced a decrease in total education revenues; however, all states face the inevitable end to COVID-19 federal stimulus funding in the near future. As states explore new or different ways to address college affordability, educational quality, and inequality in educational attainment, long-term, sustained investments are needed. With the end of federal stimulus funding near, states have hard decisions to make, and choosing to support higher education is crucial for the continued success of public institutions.

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