Average tuition for new first-year students at Ohio’s 13 public four-year colleges will clock in at about $13,000 for the 2024-25 academic year.
Nearly all of the institutions raised their prices from last year. Current state law allows public universities to increase tuition by up to 3% for new students annually.
The law also requires that universities freeze the price tag for each incoming class. This means students will pay the same tuition and fees in their first year as they will in their senior year. Some institutions also offer additional guarantees that lock in supplemental costs such as room and board.
The University of Toledo’s president recently called his university’s tuition bump an “incremental increase” in an interview with the city’s local ABC affiliate. He added it’s “relatively modest” when spread out over the four years students will spend on campus, especially given rising inflation.
It’s important to note that most students don’t pay full sticker prices. State, federal and institutional aid, along with outside scholarships, help reduce the costs of tuition as well as room and board.
The more than 50 private four-year colleges across Ohio aren’t required to report any changes to their prices.
Read on to see how much tuition and fees will cost across the state for the 2024-25 academic year.
What are tuition costs at Ohio’s public colleges for 2024-25?
Tuition and fees at the state’s public four-year higher education institutions have increased on average by nearly 35% over the past 15 years, based on data from the Ohio Department of Higher Education. This tracks near the Consumer Price Index rate of 38.5% from 2007-22.
The rates below are for undergraduate in-state students taking a full-time course load – 12 or more credits per semester – at each university’s main campus for the fall and spring semesters.
These prices don’t include additional costs such as housing, books and meal plans.
- Miami University: $18,162
- Ohio University: $14,158
- University of Cincinnati: $13,976
- Central State: The university hasn’t updated its costs for new students and didn’t respond to Signal Cleveland’s requests for comment. Tuition came in at $13,200 for the 2023-24 academic year. A 3% increase could bring it up to $13,596.
- Ohio State: $13,244
- University of Akron: $13,135
- Kent State: $13,053
- University of Toledo: $12,934
- Cleveland State: $12,878
- Wright State: $11,472
- Bowling Green: $11,455
- Youngstown State: $11,044
- Shawnee State: $9,898
The Ohio Department of Higher Education collects and publishes tuition rates for each public institution. Officials said that list isn’t yet available for the upcoming academic year. The rates above were collected from each institution’s website and from data obtained by Signal Cleveland.
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