Useful Stats: State Rankings for Change in College Affordability, 1994-2004

The importance a well educated populace plays in a knowledge-based economy is a given for most tech-based economic development strategies. Ensuring that a larger percentage of the population pursues that education through and beyond high school is another matter -- often the responsibility of other state agencies, organizations and decision makers.

The reports highlighted in the article above and demographic trends such as the shrinking middle class and declining median income (in constant dollars) might suggest college access and affordability could become defining challenges for local and regional success in growing a tech-based economy.

Drawing from the information included in Measuring Up 2004, SSTI has prepared a table ranking the states based on the change over decade in the percent of family income needed to pay for college expenses, minus financial aid ("net college costs"), for two-year, four-year private and four-year public institutions.

Note: Before clicking away to the table, please note the figures require a bit of explanation since a better ranking is based on the lower percent change between 1994 and 2004. It is similar to golf: the lower your score for a round, the better you played. For example, California ranked first for public four-year institutions in the table because the percentage of a family's income needed to pay for net college costs dropped 13.5 percent between 1994 and 2004. Indiana families, on the other hand, saw a 55.5 increase in the net cost of college during the time period compared to their income, resulting in a 50th place ranking for four-year public institutions. Only four states saw negative changes and three states experienced no change for this category.

SSTI's table is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/092704t.htm