California’s public universities now cost families more than $50K a year

Attending several University of California campuses now costs in-state students more than $50,000 a year, shattering the notion of an affordable public education.

UC Berkeley estimates annual costs at $54,674 for new students living on campus, while UC Santa Barbara tops $50,946 and UC Irvine hits $50,130 for those living off campus, The New York Times reported.

Those figures bundle tuition, fees, housing, meals, health insurance, books and other costs.

Over four years, many in-state families will spend about $200,000, while out-of-state students can pay more than $300,000.

“The list price overstates what most families pay,” Rachel Yang Zhou, a research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California’s Higher Education Center told the California Post.

“More than half of UC’s in-state undergraduates pay no tuition, and about two-thirds of UC students graduate debt-free,” she said. “Net prices at California’s public colleges are among the most affordable in the nation for low-income students.”

UC’s Blue and Gold program covers systemwide tuition and fees for California residents with family incomes under $100,000 who qualify for aid, and students on a parent’s health plan can often waive the insurance charge.

“The remaining costs are still high,” Zhou said. Families earning under $30,000 may take out loans or pay about 25% of their annual income toward the cost of attending a UC, according to PPIC.

Still, UC sits well above the national norm. Average tuition and fees at a four-year public university were $11,950 in 2025–26, according to the College Board.

UC tuition is also climbing: Under a 2021 model, each incoming class pays more than the last, with that rate locked in for up to six years. Tuition for entering undergraduates rose from $12,570 to $14,934 between 2021 and 2025, and the UC Board of Regents voted in November 2025 to keep raising it for new classes, capped at 5% a year.

Adjusted for inflation, though, average UC tuition and fees have been falling in recent years while students spend a growing share on food and housing, according to PPIC.

The biggest driver, though, is housing, which can cost more than tuition and fees combined.

Non-tuition costs make up 61% of total expenses on average for UC students living independently, and food and housing alone account for 41%, according to PPIC. As of 2023, California rent was 50% higher than the national median.

UC Santa Barbara, boxed in by an airport and the Pacific Ocean, recently began guaranteeing campus housing to incoming undergraduates for two years instead of one. Most students eventually turn to neighboring Isla Vista, where one complex charges about $1,337 a month for a bed in a shared room and already has a fall 2027 waitlist.

Student Nicole Meng told The Times that by October, classmates start asking each other whether they’ve found housing for the next year. She and two roommates split $2,988 a month for a 450-square-foot one-bedroom.

UC Santa Barbara housing official Willie Brown said new campus housing will be priced well below Isla Vista rents. In Berkeley, where the university is building student housing on People’s Park, spokesperson Kyle Gibson said rents at older off-campus properties have fallen in recent years.

“Living on campus isn’t a discount,” Zhou said. About 80% of UC first-time, full-time aid recipients live on campus, where costs are similar to living independently off campus.

Cal Grant B covers non-tuition expenses, including housing, and the Middle Class Scholarship ties awards to the total cost of attendance, though its coverage was reduced in 2026–27.

Republican governor candidate Steve Hilton has promised to freeze in-state tuition at public colleges and, with running mate Gloria Romero, proposed three-year degrees to cut what families spend on extra years of tuition and living expenses.

Democrat Xavier Becerra has not proposed a UC tuition cap. He has pledged to make the first two years of community college tuition-free and told students that building more housing, especially near universities, is key to lowering costs.

The UC Board of Regents, not the governor, sets tuition, though the governor shapes the university’s state budget and appoints regents.

Flagships in seven other states, including Michigan and Virginia, list in-state prices above $40,000 for some programs, The Times found.

Zhou said students and families need to file the FAFSA or California Dream Act Application to get financial aid. Despite the price tag, she said, “college still pays off.” Graduates earn higher wages and land better jobs, though outcomes vary by college, major and other factors.

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