It’s an all too common refrain from many in the older generations: “Kids today complain too much. I worked my way through college, so if they want to go to college, they can do the same.”
There’s just one problem — the world has changed a lot over the years, and the days of being able to work your way through college are pretty much long gone.
Just 30 years ago if your family didn’t have any money and you didn’t want to go into debt borrowing money to pay for college, you could work a minimum wage job for about 9.3 hours per week throughout the year (a little under 500 hours in total) and cover the cost of tuition (source: National Center for Education Statistics).
But today? A student would have to work 2,084 hours a year on average at a minimum wage job to cover annual tuition at a public university — right at 40 hours each week, all year long. And in some states, he or she would have to work much more than that.
In other words, the average college student in 2024 has to work more than 4x as many hours on minimum wage as a student 30 years ago to access the same education.
But it gets worse. Students who want to attend a private university would have to work about 5,729 hours on average at a minimum wage job to cover a year of tuition — around 110 hours each week, every week of the year.
These estimates are actually very conservative, as they assume a student has no other expenses (e.g., books, room and board, food, entertainment) and don’t account for the various taxes deducted from a typical paycheck. The situation would appear much bleaker if all these factors were included.
Despite this, many people still cling to the outdated belief that it’s easy to work your way through college. However, these numbers tell a very different story.
To further illustrate the difficulty students face in paying for college without loans or other aid, we conducted a comprehensive state-by-state analysis of average public university tuition and fees (adjusted for the percentage of in-state and out-of-state students in each state) and current local minimum wages.
Here are some of our key findings:
- Over the past 30 years, tuition rates at both public and private colleges have increased at several times the rate of inflation, while the minimum wage has failed to even keep up with inflation.
- There are 9 states where a student would have to work more than 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year at minimum wage just to cover the cost of tuition and fees.
- In 26 states, a student would need to work 30+ hours a week, every week of the year to afford the average tuition.
- The average student attending college today has to work over 4x as many hours on minimum wage as a student 30 years ago to pay for school.
State | 2023-24 In-State Tuition and Fees | 2023-24 Out-of-State Tuition and Fees | Percent In-State Students | Weighted Annual Tuition | Minimum Wage | Total Hours of Work to Pay Annual Tuition | Weekly Hours of Work Needed to Pay for School |
Alabama | $11,890 | $30,170 | 59.6% | $19,275 | $7.25 | 2,658.64 | 51.13 |
Alaska | $9,160 | $26,430 | 92.0% | $10,542 | $11.73 | 898.69 | 17.28 |
Arizona | $12,580 | $34,380 | 57.9% | $21,758 | $14.35 | 1,516.22 | 29.16 |
Arkansas | $9,730 | $25,610 | 71.8% | $14,208 | $11 | 1,291.65 | 24.84 |
California | $10,640 | $34,910 | 88.9% | $13,334 | $16.00 | 833.37 | 16.03 |
Colorado | $12,700 | $35,380 | 72.8% | $18,869 | $14.42 | 1,308.53 | 25.16 |
Connecticut | $16,400 | $35,110 | 82.0% | $19,768 | $16 | 1,259.90 | 24.23 |
Delaware | $14,780 | $36,470 | 36.8% | $28,488 | $13.25 | 2,150.04 | 41.35 |
DC | $8,640 | $8,640 | NA | $8,640 | $17.50 | 493.71 | 9.49 |
Florida | $6,360 | $22,000 | 84.7% | $8,753 | $13 | 673.30 | 12.95 |
Georgia | $8,310 | $25,590 | 87.1% | $10,539 | $7.25 | 1,453.67 | 27.96 |
Hawaii | $11,100 | $31,790 | 70.8% | $17,141 | $14.00 | 1,224.39 | 23.55 |
Idaho | $8,600 | $26,850 | 69.2% | $14,221 | $7.25 | 1,961.52 | 37.72 |
Illinois | $15,360 | $25,890 | 86.3% | $16,803 | $14 | 1,200.19 | 23.08 |
Indiana | $10,370 | $31,470 | 73.1% | $16,046 | $7.25 | 2,213.23 | 42.56 |
Iowa | $10,570 | $29,460 | 57.6% | $18,579 | $7.25 | 2,562.67 | 49.28 |
Kansas | $9,920 | $25,030 | 71.1% | $14,287 | $7.25 | 1,970.59 | 37.90 |
Kentucky | $11,820 | $26,230 | 72.9% | $15,725 | $7.25 | 2,168.98 | 41.71 |
Louisiana | $10,240 | $22,790 | 86.9% | $11,884 | $7.25 | 1,639.18 | 31.52 |
Maine | $11,750 | $31,230 | 68.0% | $17,984 | $14.15 | 1,270.93 | 24.44 |
Maryland | $10,850 | $26,400 | 73.8% | $14,924 | $15.00 | 994.94 | 19.13 |
Massachusetts | $14,840 | $32,750 | 84.1% | $17,688 | $15 | 1,179.18 | 22.68 |
Michigan | $15,430 | $40,450 | 79.8% | $20,484 | $10.33 | 1,982.97 | 38.13 |
Minnesota | $13,380 | $26,540 | 74.2% | $16,775 | $10.85 | 1,546.11 | 29.73 |
Mississippi | $9,390 | $21,220 | 53.0% | $14,950 | $7.25 | 2,062.08 | 39.66 |
Missouri | $11,550 | $24,590 | 76.1% | $14,667 | $12 | 1,192.40 | 22.93 |
Montana | $7,860 | $29,870 | 60.3% | $16,598 | $10.30 | 1,611.45 | 30.99 |
Nebraska | $9,350 | $23,300 | 75.7% | $12,740 | $12.00 | 1,061.65 | 20.42 |
Nevada | $8,800 | $25,550 | 76.5% | $12,736 | $12.00 | 1,061.35 | 20.41 |
New Hampshire | $17,170 | $33,640 | 42.9% | $26,574 | $7.25 | 3,665.43 | 70.49 |
New Jersey | $16,260 | $30,260 | 90.1% | $17,646 | $15.13 | 1,166.29 | 22.43 |
New Mexico | $9,090 | $27,150 | 79.3% | $12,828 | $12 | 1,069.04 | 20.56 |
New York | $8,580 | $21,570 | 92.1% | $9,606 | $15.00 | 640.41 | 12.32 |
North Carolina | $7,440 | $24,420 | 86.8% | $9,681 | $7.25 | 1,335.36 | 25.68 |
North Dakota | $10,420 | $14,750 | 40.1% | $13,014 | $7.25 | 1,794.99 | 34.52 |
Ohio | $13,020 | $28,790 | 79.3% | $16,284 | $10.45 | 1,558.31 | 29.97 |
Oklahoma | $9,650 | $24,210 | 70.1% | $14,003 | $7.25 | 1,931.51 | 37.14 |
Oregon | $13,490 | $37,380 | 60.9% | $22,831 | $13.70 | 1,666.50 | 32.05 |
Pennsylvania | $16,150 | $31,340 | 74.0% | $20,099 | $7.25 | 2,772.33 | 53.31 |
Rhode Island | $15,100 | $34,110 | 52.9% | $24,054 | $14 | 1,718.12 | 33.04 |
South Carolina | $13,130 | $34,870 | 61.8% | $21,435 | $7.25 | 2,956.51 | 56.86 |
South Dakota | $9,120 | $12,650 | 56.1% | $10,670 | $11.20 | 952.65 | 18.32 |
Tennessee | $10,890 | $25,030 | 85.2% | $12,983 | $7.25 | 1,790.72 | 34.44 |
Texas | $11,190 | $29,060 | 94.0% | $12,262 | $7.25 | 1,691.34 | 32.53 |
United States (National Average) | $11,260 | $29,150 | 78.5% | $15,106 | $7.25 | 2,083.63 | 40.07 |
Utah | $7,720 | $24,110 | 76.1% | $11,637 | $7.25 | 1,605.13 | 30.87 |
Vermont | $17,180 | $41,000 | 33.4% | $33,044 | $13.67 | 2,417.27 | 46.49 |
Virginia | $15,160 | $38,320 | 77.9% | $20,278 | $12 | 1,689.86 | 32.50 |
Washington | $11,510 | $35,020 | 79.3% | $16,377 | $16.28 | 1,005.93 | 19.34 |
West Virginia | $9,220 | $24,370 | 62.5% | $14,901 | $8.75 | 1,703.00 | 32.75 |
Wisconsin | $9,620 | $27,360 | 71.8% | $14,623 | $7.25 | 2,016.92 | 38.79 |
Wyoming | $6,700 | $22,480 | 51.2% | $14,401 | $7.25 | 1,986.30 | 38.20 |