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What Online College Actually Costs: Net Price by State (2026 Data Study)
Every figure on this page was computed from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard and IPEDS data for the 2,461 accredited, currently operating colleges in our directory that report offering online programs and publish an average net price. Nothing here is estimated or modeled - the methodology is at the bottom, and the numbers re-derive from the public federal files.
Key Findings
- The national median net price is $15,000 per year. Half of all online-capable colleges cost their students less than that after aid; the middle 50% of schools fall between $9,121 and $22,346 per year.
- Where a college is based still moves the price by $23,275 a year. State medians run from $6,286 (New Mexico) to $29,561 (District of Columbia) - relevant because public universities’ in-state online rates are typically their lowest.
- Median earnings ten years after entry sit at $45,388 across the same institutions - cost and outcome data come from the same federal files and are shown side by side in the table.
Net Price by State
Median average net price per year (what students actually pay after grant aid) among each state’s accredited colleges that offer online programs, alongside median earnings of their graduates ten years after entry. States with fewer than five qualifying schools are excluded.
| State | Colleges in sample | Median net price / yr | Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | 24 | $6,286 | $38,550 |
| Wyoming | 8 | $8,404 | $40,706 |
| Mississippi | 30 | $9,014 | $33,926 |
| Puerto Rico | 36 | $9,196 | $24,908 |
| Hawaii | 11 | $10,436 | $40,523 |
| North Carolina | 106 | $10,828 | $36,668 |
| Washington | 41 | $11,010 | $49,416 |
| Kentucky | 48 | $11,015 | $38,171 |
| West Virginia | 34 | $11,471 | $38,755 |
| North Dakota | 18 | $11,673 | $50,007 |
| Arkansas | 40 | $11,992 | $36,902 |
| Michigan | 58 | $12,176 | $47,610 |
| Idaho | 11 | $12,193 | $47,237 |
| Louisiana | 42 | $12,546 | $40,152 |
| Utah | 17 | $12,548 | $50,463 |
| Nevada | 9 | $12,732 | $41,987 |
| Illinois | 84 | $12,861 | $46,827 |
| Colorado | 35 | $13,031 | $45,866 |
| Oklahoma | 42 | $13,392 | $42,051 |
| Texas | 152 | $13,539 | $43,062 |
| Arizona | 40 | $13,758 | $40,466 |
| California | 194 | $14,277 | $46,895 |
| Georgia | 84 | $14,492 | $40,251 |
| Wisconsin | 43 | $14,559 | $51,129 |
| Alabama | 45 | $14,580 | $40,628 |
| Tennessee | 51 | $14,836 | $44,301 |
| Maine | 22 | $15,226 | $44,433 |
| Kansas | 49 | $15,280 | $45,636 |
| Alaska | 5 | $15,301 | $48,866 |
| South Carolina | 44 | $15,353 | $40,585 |
| Delaware | 6 | $15,599 | $51,575 |
| Maryland | 39 | $15,678 | $50,428 |
| Oregon | 27 | $15,706 | $48,917 |
| New Jersey | 46 | $15,809 | $53,067 |
| Virginia | 60 | $15,880 | $43,566 |
| Montana | 14 | $16,502 | $44,403 |
| Minnesota | 62 | $16,552 | $48,504 |
| Nebraska | 25 | $16,590 | $52,163 |
| New York | 143 | $17,225 | $55,031 |
| Ohio | 107 | $17,345 | $48,023 |
| Missouri | 64 | $17,849 | $43,221 |
| Iowa | 43 | $18,589 | $49,156 |
| Indiana | 50 | $18,594 | $48,899 |
| Florida | 107 | $18,725 | $40,799 |
| South Dakota | 16 | $19,788 | $49,461 |
| Vermont | 7 | $22,257 | $58,386 |
| Pennsylvania | 97 | $22,553 | $53,032 |
| New Hampshire | 15 | $23,805 | $53,353 |
| Rhode Island | 11 | $25,184 | $70,004 |
| Massachusetts | 67 | $25,203 | $56,662 |
| Connecticut | 20 | $26,452 | $59,115 |
| District of Columbia | 9 | $29,561 | $63,066 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (latest published school-level data) and IPEDS; computed 2026-07-30.
How to Use These Numbers
Every figure above is an institutional average across a school’s full federal reporting cohort, not a quote for any individual student - what a given student is billed can differ substantially from the average, in either direction. Two ways to use the table: compare your in-state public universities’ online rates first, because that is where the low state medians above are earned; and treat any school priced far above its state’s median as a school that owes you a specific answer about why. For a figure specific to you, ask each school’s admissions office for its current published rates for your program.
Methodology
Sample: all accredited, currently operating institutions in our directory (built from IPEDS) that report offering online programs (IPEDS distance-education flags) and publish an overall average net price in the College Scorecard. State medians use the institution’s home state; states with fewer than five qualifying institutions are excluded from the table. Net price is the Scorecard’s latest.cost.avg_net_price.overall; earnings are latest.earnings.10_yrs_after_entry.median for the same institutions. Medians are unweighted by enrollment. Data reflects the latest federal publication as of 2026-07-30. How we rank schools is separate from this study and unaffected by it.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard - average net price and median earnings
- U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS - institutional characteristics and distance education flags