ANNAPOLIS — A year of in-state college costs a smaller share of a typical household’s income in Maryland than in all but five other states, according to a ranking released Nov. 12 by the personal finance company WalletHub.
The analysis puts the average annual cost of an undergraduate education in Maryland at 38.64% of the state’s median household income. That placed Maryland 43rd of 48 states when ranked from the highest share to the lowest.
The figure is a ratio, not a measure of what families actually pay. WalletHub said it added up in-state undergraduate tuition, room and board, and other college costs in each state and divided the total by median household income. It does not account for scholarships, grants or other financial aid, and it does not mean the average Maryland household spends 38.64% of its income on college. Alaska and Wyoming were left out because of data limitations, the company said.
Maryland’s showing owes a good deal to the denominator. The state has long had one of the highest median household incomes in the country, which lowers the ratio even where sticker prices are not especially low.
How the region compares
| State | Rank (1 = highest share) | Cost as share of median income |
|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | 1 | 90.20% |
| Maine | 2 | 80.19% |
| Pennsylvania | 3 | 73.74% |
| Virginia | 39 | 42.10% |
| Delaware | 40 | 41.36% |
| Maryland | 43 | 38.64% |
| Utah | 48 | 27.58% |
Among Maryland’s neighbors, Pennsylvania had the third-highest share in the country, while Virginia and Delaware landed just above Maryland near the affordable end of the list. Only North Dakota, South Dakota, Nevada, Hawaii and Utah ranked lower than Maryland.
At the other extreme, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said a year of college in Rhode Island averages $79,194 against a median household income of $87,796.
WalletHub said the cost of attending a four-year college has risen about 26% over the past 20 years and put average student loan debt at nearly $44,000. Lupo said in the company’s release that attending a school with in-state tuition can “greatly defray the cost of undergraduate education.”
For Southern Maryland families, the in-state options closest to home include St. Mary’s College of Maryland, the state’s public honors college in St. Mary’s City, and the College of Southern Maryland, which this week signed a dual admissions agreement with UMBC meant to smooth the path from a two-year degree to a four-year one.
WalletHub is a commercial personal finance website, and its rankings are not an official measure of college affordability. Families comparing actual costs can use each school’s net price calculator, which federal law requires colleges to post, to estimate what they would pay after aid.
