Economy

New Hampshire Spends Least Among States on Public Higher Education

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: May 30, 2016 9:10 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 7:25 am

New Hampshire spends the least on public higher education among America’s 50 states. In most states in which this is true, tuitions are high. In the study, “States Investing the Most in Higher Education,” 24/7 Wall St. profiled New Hampshire, along with the other 49 states.

According to the report, New Hampshire’s numbers:

New Hampshire
> Annual higher ed. spending per student: $2,591
> 5-yr. chg.: -19.0% (7th largest decrease)
> Total public college enrollment: 38,398 (9th lowest)
> Tuition cost per student: $9,843 (5th highest)

No state invests less in public higher education than New Hampshire, where the government spends an average of $2,591 per pupil annually. As is generally the case in states with low public higher education spending, out-of-pocket tuition costs are relatively high in New Hampshire. At $9,843 per student, out-of-pocket tuition costs are fifth highest nationwide. The low public investment has not prevented greater numbers of students from enrolling in New Hampshire schools, however. Enrollment grew by 3.8% last year, the highest of all states and in stark contrast with the 1.1% nationwide enrollment decline.

To get to those numbers, 24/7 Wall St. employed this methodology:

To identify the states spending the most on higher education, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed state higher education investments per full time student in the 2015 academic year. How states allocate money to public colleges and universities varies, but the majority of money goes to general operations of the institutions with the rest going to various forms of student aid. These figures come from “State Higher Education Finance (SHEF): FY 2015,” a report by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO). Net tuition, defined as out-of-pocket tuition payments excluding financial aid, room and board, and other fees, also came from SHEEO. Median household income and educational attainment rates came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey.

Check out how much the other states spend on higher education.