A lot of high school students will be graduating in the coming weeks, which means there are a lot of parents out there who’ll soon be shelling out big bucks to send their kids off to college. Now most people take out loans in order to pay huge tuition costs, but there are some who can afford to actually pay it outright and still live the lifestyle they’ve become accustomed to.
So how much exactly would people need to earn in order to pay for college and still live comfortably? Well, GoBankingRates looked at cost of living rates in each state, along with how much folks likely spend on splurges, and compared that to the average price of in-state tuition at a four-year school to determine that number.
Overall, folks in Hawaii need to earn the most, $126,454.40. The average in-state tuition in Hawaii is $10,675 a year, which isn’t the highest in the nation, but the cost of living there is higher than any other state, which means parents will need to earn a lot more money if they want to pay for school and not change their lifestyle.
States Where Parents Must Make the Most Moneyto Live Comfortably and Pay for College
- Hawaii: $126,454.40
- California: $106,770.82
- Massachusetts: $96,573.07
- Colorado: $91,700.33
- Connecticut: $91,140.89
On the flipside, parents living in Indiana need to make the least, only $62,091.05. In-state college tuition only costs about $9,200 a year, and with average cost of living expenses lower than any other state except Ohio, it doesn’t take much for parents to live comfortably while sending their kid to school.
States Where Parents Must Make the Least Moneyto Live Comfortably and Pay for College
- Indiana: $62,091.05
- Arkansas: $62,596.15
- Ohio: $62,931.10
- Missouri: $63,618.01
- Kentucky: $64,110.64
Source: Bankrate.com