Average Cost Of Master’s Degree In 2024 (77 Data Stats)

The average cost of a Master’s degree encompasses a multitude of factors, ranging from tuition fees and living expenses to potential funding options and financial aid. 

Understanding these costs is crucial for prospective students to make informed decisions, plan their finances effectively, and ensure a successful academic journey.

So in this article, we will examine the key components that contribute to the overall cost of obtaining a Master’s degree. You will delve into the variations in tuition fees across different disciplines, universities, and geographic regions. 

Plus this article also discusses a diverse range of funding options available to alleviate the financial strain associated with pursuing a Master’s degree. 

Without wasting time, let’s analyze the average cost of Master’s degrees.

Average Cost Of Master’s Degree: General Statistics

Exploring the average cost of Master’s degrees, considering factors like location, program, and student status.

1. The cost of a master’s degree ranges from around $54,187 to $73,010 per year.
2. The average cost of a master’s degree in the US is $65,134.
3. According to the latest data, the online master’s degree costs around $25,000.
4. In 2020, around 832,010 master’s degrees were honored in the United States.
5. For in-state students, the median cost of a master’s degree is $21,400.
6. According to the education data, a master’s degree in public college costs $59,060 on average.
7. It costs approx $87,950 to pursue a master’s degree in a private school for two years.
8. The master’s degree in Education costs around $59,840.
9. It costs over $67,590 to pursue a master’s degree in Science.
10. The most expensive master’s degree programs cost more than $60,000 annually. 
11. The approximate financial aid provided to a full-time equivalent graduate student is around $26,900.
12. There are 0.2 borrowers who aged over 24 had a debt amount of $3.6 billion, as per the data from 2021.
13. The overall cost of student debt across all types of institutions during the year 2015-16 was $64,400.
14. On average, a master’s degree student spends around $39,160 each year on an average.

Average Cost Of Master’s Degree: Average Master’s Degree Tuition

As we know, it takes two years to complete a master’s degree. The price of the master’s degree varies according to various factors.

These include the type of field, the school type, location, etc. For instance, the cost of a master’s degree is more likely to be lesser in public schools than in private schools.

Here are some of the insights on the average cost of a master’s degree.

15. Usually, a master’s degree in the US costs around $54,187 to $73,010 per year.
16. The median total cost of a master’s degree is $65,134. 
17. The median cost of a master’s degree is $25,560 per year or $51,130 for two years.
18. The most expensive master’s degree program costs more than $60,000 for a year.
19. The master’s degree in the Arts costs around $72,810 in total.
20. According to the educationdata, the cost of a master’s degree in Education costs around $55,200.

Average Cost Of Master’s Degree: Cost By Field

Program type has a huge impact on the cost of the master’s degree. For instance, a master of science tends to cost more than a master of arts.

Below I have mentioned the average tuition cost of the master’s degree by degree type.

Degree Type	Average Cost	Average Cost From 2000 To 2016
Education	$59,840	$44,570
MBA	$71,880	$55,320
Master of Arts	$78,930	$53,470
Master of Science	$67,590	$52,000
Other	$81,430	$58,250

21. The average cost of a master’s degree in Business Administration is around $71,880.
22. The median overall cost of a master’s degree in Education is $59,840.
23. The average cost of a master’s degree in Arts is $78,930.
24. $67,590 is the average cost of a master’s degree in Science.
25. The average cost of the other master’s degrees, like Public Health, Public Administration, and Political Science, is around $81,430.

Average Cost Of Master’s Degree: Over The Years

It is seen that there has been a significant change in the cost of the Master’s degree throughout the years. Let’s have a look at the trend in the cost of a master’s degree over the years.

26. In the academic year 1989-90, the average tuition cost of the master’s degree was $4,135 per year.
27. Similarly, in 2019-20, the average cost of a master’s degree was $26,600 for one year.
28. So, it is seen that from 1989 to 2020, the total cost of a master’s degree has increased by 229%.
29. The average cost of a master’s degree for in-state students in the year 2019-20 averaged around $21,400 per year.

Let’s have a look at the change in the average cost of a master’s degree over the years.

(erudera.com)

Year	Public Institutions	Average Total Cost per Year	Average Total Cost Per Year
2000-01	$4,243 ($6,815)	$14,420 ($23,162)	$8,429 ($13,539)
2001-02	$4,496 ($7,022)	$15,165 ($23,684)	$8,857 ($13,833)
2002-03	$4,842 ($7,444)	$14,983 ($23,036)	$9,226 ($14,185)
2003-04	$5,544 ($8,334)	$16,209 ($24,365)	$10,312 ($15,501)
2004-05	$6,080 ($8,902)	$16,751 ($24,527)	$11,004 ($16,112)
2005-06	$6,493 ($9,196)	$17,244 ($24,421)	$11,621 ($16,458)
2006-07	$6,894 ($9,458)	$18,108 ($24,844)	$12,312 ($16,892)
2007-08	$7,415 ($9,893)	$18,878 ($25,188)	$13,002 ($17,348)
2008-09	$7,999 ($10,276)	$19,230 ($24,704)	$13,647 ($17,532)
2009-10	$8,763 ($11,298)	$20,078($25,885)	$14,542 ($18,748)
2010-11	$9,238 ($11,718)	$20,397 ($25,872)	$15,017 ($19,048)
2011-12	$9,978 ($12,269)	$21,230 ($26,105)	$15,845 ($19,483)
2012-13	$10,408 ($12,538)	$21,907 ($26,391)	$16,407 ($19,765)
2013-14	$10,725 ($12,734)	$22,617 ($26,853)	$16,948 ($20,122)
2014-15	$10,979 ($12,827)	$23,263 ($27,179)	$17,385 ($20,312)
2015-16	$11,306 ($13,194)	$23,917 ($27,910)	$17,871 ($20,855)
2016-17	$11,617 ($13,388)	$24,712 ($28,479)	$18,416 ($21,223)
2017-18	$11,929 ($13,460)	$25,446 ($28,713)	$18,949 ($21,382)
2018-19	$12,173 ($13,408)	$25,950 ($28,583)	$19,328 ($21,289)
2019-20	$12,410 ($13,426)	$26,597 ($28,775)	$19,792 ($21,412)

Average Cost of Master’s Degree: Cost By School Type

The cost of the master’s degree varies according to the type of institution. Public and private institutes have different ranges of master’s degrees.

30. The cost of a master’s degree at public colleges is lower than that of private institutes, with a difference of 78%.
31. The average cost of a master’s degree at public schools is around $29,720 annually.
32. At private nonprofit institutions, the average cost of a master’s degree is $42,700 per year.
33. Similarly, private for-profit institutions charge around $14,290 for a master’s degree.
34. The cost of a master’s degree in nonprofits is seen to be higher than in for-profit institutes showing a 66% difference.
35. The average total cost for out-of-state students to pursue a master’s degree varies from $30,000 to 150,000.

Here is an overview of the average cost of tuition for the academic year 2022-23.

(Source: NCES)

Institution	Total Cost	One Year Of Master’s Degree	Two Years Of Master’s Degree
Total (All institutes)	$15,132	$35,700	$71,400
Public Institutions	$11,950	$29,720	$59,440
Private Nonprofit Institutions	$19,167	$42,700	$85,400
Private For-Profit Institutions	$11,680	$25,530	$51,060

Average Cost Of Master’s Degree: By State

The state is the other factor that affects the cost of the master’s degree. Let’s have a look at the cost of a master’s degree in various states in the US.

36. As per the data from erudera.com, the states with the most expensive master’s degree costs are Illinois, Delaware, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, South Carolina, Rhode Island, Virginia, etc.
37. The states with the lowest master’s degree tuition fees include Florida, Georgia, Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Idaho, North Carolina, Utah, West Virginia, etc.
38. The state with the most expensive master’s degree cost is California. Standford University in California has a master’s degree program that costs around $54,310 per year.
39. The California Institute of Technology charges, on average, $54,580 per year.
40. In Utah, the average cost of a master’s degree is $7,512 at Brigham Young University.

Here is an insight into some of the states and the average cost of a master’s degree.

State	The Average Cost Of A  Master’s Degree
California	$54,310
Utah	$7,510
Iowa	$10,030
Vermont	$12,300
Virginia	$17,096
Nebraska	$16,690
New Hampshire	$57,800
Washington	$17,296
Massachusetts	$49,450

Average Cost Of Master’s Degree: Student Loan Debt

41. According to recent statistics, during the academic year 2020-2021, the average financial aid per full-time equivalent student was $26,920.
42. According to the data, in 2021. The overall federal loan aid rose to around $38,962 million.
43. Students with Master’s degrees borrowed, on average, $46,800 in student loan debt.
44. In 2021, the total federal and nonfederal loans reached around $17,550.

Here is the overview of total federal loans over the years.

Year	Median Federal Loans Per FTE	Total Federal Loan (In Millions)	Average Nonfederal and Federal Loans Per FTE	Total Nonfederal And Federal Loan Aid (In Millions)
2014-15	$18,450	$38,480	$19,180	$39,975
2015-16	$18,535	$39,000	$19,280	$40,560
2016-17	$18,750	$39,760	$19,470	$41,300
2017-18	$18,540	$39,660	$19,171	$41,020
2018-19	$18,100	$39,140	$18,780	$40,600
2019-20	$17,817	$38,990	$18,538	$40,570
2020-21	$17,545	$38,963	$18,140	$40,290

Student Loan Debt By Age:

45. Reports from erudera.com state that there are 3.6 million borrowers who aged 25 to 34 have a total debt of around $192.5 billion.
46. More than 3.5 million loan borrowers aged 50 to 61 have an overall debt size of $241.9 billion.
47. 0.3 million borrowers aged 62 and older have a debt size of around $26 million.
48. Similarly, students aged between 50 to 61 have a debt size of $71.4 billion.

Student Loan Debt By Race:

49. According to research from the Brookings Institute in 2016, black graduate school students are 40% more likely to obtain school debt.
50. Similarly, white graduate students tend to have graduate school debt by 22%.
51. It is seen that from 2004 to 2012, enrollment in for-profit colleges by black students has risen by 15%.
52.  According to the study, Hispanic students are less likely to use financial aid than any other racial group.
53. More than 50% of Asian students borrowed a student loan.
54. Among the total Black or African Americans, 81.3% of them took student loans.
55. Around 72.9% of Hispanics or Latinos took a loan to pay for school.
56. More than 57.3% of white students paid school fees by borrowing a loan.

Here is an overview of master’s degree debt by Race.

Race	Average Debt
Asian	$77,190
Black or African American	$66,706
Hispanic or Latino	$54,722
White	$53,554
Two or More Races	$52,045

Student Loan Debt By Gender:

57. It is seen that women tend to have higher debt than men.
58. According to the data from the AAUW, women took around $929 billion of all U.S. student loan debt.
59. Research states that men have paid off around 44% of their student loans 12 years after starting college.
60. In the academic year 2015-2016, 63.9% of the male students took federal loans.

Student Loan Debt By Institute Type:

61. It is seen that 8% of the borrowers attended public institutions. 
62. More than 5% of the students are from private institutes that borrowed loans.
63. Similarly, the students who attended private nonprofit institutes had an average debt of $70,600.

Average Cost Of Master’s Degree: Financial Aid

Many master’s students receive financial aid like scholarships, grants, and various school fellowships.

Here are some of the insights into the financial aid received by master’s degree students.

64. According to the research, around 45% of full-time master’s students receive grants.
65. Only one-third of the part-time master’s students, i.e. 35% of students, received financial aid.
66. On average, the financial aid provided to master’s students is around $13,550.
67. Part-time students receive around $6,980 as a grant amount on average.
68. By using the grant funding, the average cost of the master’s program is around $26,000, including tuition and expenses.

Average Cost Of Master’s Degree: Online Master’s Degree

Online learning comes with some indirect fees like technology costs or internet costs. 

69. The average cost of an online master’s degree is over $25,000 per year.
70. Some of the least expensive online master’s degrees cost as little as $4,000 to $7,000 annually.
71. It is seen that the cost of an online master’s degree is much cheaper than a hybrid degree (20%).

	Average Tuition	Total Cost
Fully Online program	$8,295	$11,734
In-person or hybrid program	$21,768	$28,026

72. At New York University, the Online Master’s degree in Health Administration program has 45 credit hours. Each credit costs around $2,011.
73. The cost of a master’s degree at the Ohio State University for the dental hygiene program is around $25,056. Similarly, a master’s of public health program costs around $4,635.
74. According to the data from 2021, the online program at the University of the Maryland Global Campus has around 30 to 42 credits. Each credit costs around $504 to $694.
75. The cost of an online master’s degree in Cybersecurity is $310 per credit. Similarly, the Data Science course costs $1,100 per credit.

Is A Master’s Degree Worth it?

No doubt, having a master’s degree helps you to get a higher-paying job in many fields.

However, the master’s degree is somewhat expensive to pursue. Due to this, most of the students take loans to fund their education. 

76. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average yearly pay for students with master’s degrees is around $103,813.
77. Around 53% of the students with master’s degrees have loan debt.

As we see, the average amount wage students get after completing the master’s degree is higher than any bachelor’s degree. 

Even if students are applying for loans, it is possible to repay with such a higher salary after completing the degree.

So yes, a master’s degree is worth the time and money. 

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Conclusion: Average Cost Of Master’s Degree (2024)

Concluding exploration of the average cost of Master’s degrees, it is evident that the financial aspect of pursuing advanced education is a significant consideration for aspiring students. 

Understanding the financial landscape surrounding Master’s programs empowers individuals to make informed decisions, plan their finances effectively, and access the resources necessary to achieve their educational goals.

It is crucial to note that while pursuing a Master’s degree requires a financial investment, it is an investment in one’s future. 

So that’s all with the cost of a master’s degree.

What is your insight into this? Do let us know in the comment section below.