Methodology

To identify the most expensive college in every state, 24/7 Wall St. ranked states based on average net price — the cost of attendance including tuition and fees, books and supplies, and on-campus room and board less any grant, scholarship, or aid from federal, state, local governmental or institutional sources — for full-time, first-time degree-seeking undergraduates who were awarded financial aid for the 2016-7 school year with data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Data on acceptance rates also came from the NCES. Colleges that have four-year degree programs but are primarily two-year schools were excluded from consideration.

Data on average published in-state tuition and fees at public four-year institutions for the 2018-19 school year and student needs-based grant aid spending per full-time-equivalent undergraduate student for the 2016-17 school year by state came from the College Board.