How the Typical American Family Pays for College

July 27, 2024
A group of people are moving into a college dorm room.

The typical family uses a combination of income, savings, grant aid, and loans to pay for college. For the past several years, income and savings from parents and students have consistently covered about half of the total cost, with grant aid covering about one quarter of the total cost and loans covering most of the remainder.


Starting a college fund early and aggressively looking for grant aid from colleges can help families reduce the amount they may need to borrow. A net price calculator, available on every college website, can help families estimate how much grant aid a student might receive at a particular college.

A father and daughter are walking down a street carrying a tote of stuff for college.

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