Average Cost of Graduate & Professional Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Comprehensive cost analysis for Master's, Doctorate, Medical, Law, and Dental school programs.
Key Facts
- Data analysis based on College Scorecard 2024 data.
Download the data
Downloads reflect the processed dataset used to generate this page’s charts and tables.
Average Annual Cost by Degree Type
Graduate & Professional Degree Costs Overview
Professional degree costs vary significantly. Doctorate programs have the highest average annual cost at $29,767.27, while Masters programs are the most affordable at $26,999.15 - a 1.1x difference.
Average annual tuition costs for graduate and professional degree programs. Source: College Scorecard (2024 data).
Graduate Program Costs: Public vs Private
Public vs Private Graduate Program Costs
Private non-profit institutions charge significantly more for graduate programs, with median tuition of $32,934.50 compared to $18,376 at public institutions - a 1.8x difference.
Comparison of median tuition for graduate programs at public and private institutions. Source: College Scorecard (2024 data).
Top 10 States by Graduate Program Costs
Graduate Program Costs by State
Graduate program costs vary significantly by state. VT has the highest median tuition at $49,740, while IN has the lowest at $31,361 - a 1.6x difference.
Median graduate program tuition by state. Source: College Scorecard (2024 data).
Master's Degree Costs
Master's Degree Costs
Master's Degree campuses report median tuition of $22,320 and mean $26,999.15 across 2,250 schools.
Cost statistics for master's degree programs. Source: College Scorecard (2024 data).
Doctorate Degree Costs
Doctorate Degree Costs
Doctorate Degree campuses report median tuition of $27,282.50 and mean $29,767.27 across 1,620 schools.
Cost statistics for doctorate degree programs. Source: College Scorecard (2024 data).
Data by State
| State | Median | Mean | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont | $49,740 | $50,888.89 | 9 |
| Massachusetts | $45,174 | $44,081.21 | 71 |
| Rhode Island | $43,418.50 | $42,780.42 | 12 |
| Connecticut | $40,813 | $40,095.88 | 26 |
| Oregon | $37,196 | $36,679.12 | 25 |
| New Hampshire | $36,418 | $34,595.46 | 13 |
| Iowa | $34,762 | $33,716.15 | 33 |
| Pennsylvania | $33,729.50 | $36,712.20 | 122 |
| Maine | $31,463 | $35,772.83 | 18 |
| Indiana | $31,361 | $31,144.13 | 53 |
| Illinois | $31,360 | $31,972.11 | 63 |
| Kansas | $30,432 | $26,369.10 | 31 |
| Maryland | $28,706 | $32,171.27 | 30 |
| Michigan | $28,380 | $28,847.15 | 52 |
| Virginia | $27,978 | $29,537.23 | 57 |
| Kentucky | $27,000 | $26,457.45 | 33 |
| Wisconsin | $26,675 | $29,111 | 38 |
| North Carolina | $24,500.50 | $27,683.11 | 64 |
| South Carolina | $24,470 | $27,105.27 | 37 |
| Nebraska | $23,206 | $25,814.16 | 19 |
| District of Columbia | $23,132 | $33,205.33 | 12 |
| Montana | $22,897 | $22,108.23 | 13 |
| California | $22,270 | $30,385.75 | 167 |
| Ohio | $22,080 | $26,532.96 | 113 |
| Tennessee | $22,000 | $25,890.64 | 47 |
| Colorado | $21,526 | $25,498 | 33 |
| Missouri | $21,233 | $23,660.83 | 58 |
| Hawaii | $20,671 | $21,182 | 8 |
| Alaska | $20,640 | $16,915.29 | 7 |
| Idaho | $20,548 | $21,906.08 | 12 |
| Alabama | $20,352 | $20,405.39 | 31 |
| Minnesota | $20,130 | $28,877.40 | 45 |
| New Jersey | $19,584 | $24,242.41 | 58 |
| New York | $19,203 | $28,893.77 | 193 |
| Texas | $18,906.50 | $22,465.04 | 122 |
| Oklahoma | $18,773 | $21,206.04 | 28 |
| West Virginia | $18,760 | $19,944.43 | 23 |
| Utah | $18,246 | $18,918 | 17 |
| Georgia | $17,836 | $22,420.68 | 63 |
| Louisiana | $17,791 | $21,487.82 | 28 |
| Nevada | $17,495 | $18,830.18 | 11 |
| Arizona | $17,408 | $19,536.41 | 27 |
| Florida | $17,048 | $20,765.60 | 113 |
| Arkansas | $16,850 | $19,599.60 | 25 |
| Delaware | $14,430 | $19,305.33 | 6 |
| New Mexico | $14,342 | $18,475.82 | 11 |
| Mississippi | $12,836 | $16,798.94 | 18 |
| South Dakota | $12,809 | $15,927.53 | 15 |
| Washington | $11,296 | $20,717.74 | 57 |
| North Dakota | $11,237 | $11,838.33 | 15 |
| Wyoming | $11,100 | $13,596.60 | 5 |
| Puerto Rico | $6,780 | $7,611.09 | 56 |
FAQ
What does the Average Cost of Graduate & Professional Degrees (2026 stats) dataset measure?
It summarizes the metrics shown on this page (charts and tables) using the sources listed in the Data Sources section, with national aggregates and breakdowns where available.
What is the primary data source?
College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Some pages also incorporate Census ACS context where noted.
How often is this page updated?
Pages update when the underlying processed datasets are refreshed and the HTML is regenerated; the Last updated date reflects the most recent build.
Analysis & insights
The charts summarize average cost of graduate & professional degrees (2026 stats) from EDsmart files and the cited sources; they describe historical records, not future outcomes. National aggregates flatten real variation—Ohio, Georgia, and Washington can look like different worlds. Skewed distributions split the median and the mean into different stories. Program, year, and campus still matter more than any single national line.
Patterns may line up with state policy, labor markets, or mission; association is easy to spot, causation is not. Populous states weigh heavily in national totals. Campus-level detail for a given year lives in the College Scorecard or IPEDS. Suppressed cells in federal releases can move medians in thin markets. Small changes between data refreshes are normal for living files.
Data Sources
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and enrollment data
- Data year: 2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Census ACS - U.S. Census Bureau
- Demographic and workforce data
- Data year: 2023
- Source: census.gov