Quick answer: a public in-state four-year degree runs about $25,350 a year at today’s prices, and at 6% returns a child who is 8 today needs about $861 a month to fully fund it — starting at birth drops the number to $563. Money grows tax-free for education, and most states add a deduction or credit. Enter an age and target school below for your own monthly figure.
Project the real cost, then get the monthly number that fully funds it
| Sector | Tuition & Fees | + Room & Board | All-In Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public 4-year, in-state | $11,950 | ≈$13,400 | ≈$25,350 |
| Public 4-year, out-of-state | ≈$32,700 | ≈$13,400 | ≈$46,100 |
| Private nonprofit 4-year | ≈$45,000 | ≈$14,900 | ≈$59,900 |
| Public 2-year, in-district | ≈$4,150 | varies | — |
In-state tuition and fees rose 2.7% over 2024-25 ($11,610 to $11,950). Sticker prices are before grants and scholarships; the average net price at publics is thousands lower. ≈ marks inflation-era approximations, and every input above is editable for your target school's real numbers.
| Child's Age Now | In-State ($25,350) | Out-of-State ($46,100) | Private ($59,900) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newborn | $563 | $1,024 | $1,330 |
| Age 4 | $711 | $1,292 | $1,679 |
| Age 8 | $972 | $1,768 | $2,298 |
| Age 12 | $1,576 | $2,867 | $3,725 |
| Age 15 | $3,078 | $5,598 | $7,274 |
Assumes starting from zero and covers full sticker price. Aiming for a third of the cost from savings, a third from current income during college, and a third from grants, loans, and the student is a common planning split; saving one-third means one-third of these numbers.
| State | Deduction / Credit | Any State's Plan? |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $5,000 single / $10,000 joint | No |
| Arizona | $2,000 single / $4,000 joint | Yes |
| Arkansas | $5,000 single / $10,000 joint | Yes |
| Colorado | Up to $20,700 per taxpayer, per beneficiary | No |
| Connecticut | $5,000 single / $10,000 joint | No |
| Georgia | $4,000 single / $8,000 joint | No |
| Idaho | $6,000 single / $12,000 joint | No |
| Illinois | $10,000 single / $20,000 joint | No |
| Indiana | Credit: 20% of up to $5,000 ($1,000 max) | No |
| Iowa | ≈$5,800 per beneficiary (indexed annually) | No |
| Kansas | $3,000 single / $6,000 joint | Yes |
| Louisiana | $2,400 per account, carryforward | No |
| Maine | ≈$1,250 single / ≈$2,500 joint (indexed) | Yes |
| Maryland | $2,500 per beneficiary, carryforward | No |
| Massachusetts | $1,000 single / $2,000 joint | No |
| Michigan | $5,000 single / $10,000 joint | No |
| Minnesota | Deduction or credit depending on income | Yes |
| Mississippi | $10,000 single / $20,000 joint | No |
| Missouri | $8,000 single / $16,000 joint | Yes |
| Montana | $3,000 single / $6,000 joint | Yes |
| Nebraska | $10,000 | No |
| New Mexico | Unlimited | No |
| New York | $5,000 single / $10,000 joint | No |
| North Dakota | $5,000 single / $10,000 joint | No |
| Ohio | $4,000 per beneficiary, carryforward | Yes |
| Oklahoma | $10,000 single / $20,000 joint | No |
| Oregon | Refundable credit (up to $300 joint, income-based) | No |
| Pennsylvania | Up to the gift-tax limit per beneficiary (≈$19,000 in 2025) | Yes |
| Rhode Island | $500 single / $1,000 joint, carryforward | No |
| South Carolina | Unlimited | No |
| Utah | Credit: 5% of up to ≈$2,080 single / ≈$4,160 joint | No |
| Vermont | Credit: 10% of up to $2,500 single / $5,000 joint | No |
| Virginia | $4,000 per account, carryforward (uncapped if 70+) | No |
| Washington, D.C. | $4,000 single / $8,000 joint | No |
| West Virginia | Unlimited | No |
| Wisconsin | ≈$5,130 per beneficiary (indexed) | No |
No deduction but an income tax: California, Hawaii, Kentucky, North Carolina. No state income tax: AK, FL, NV, NH, SD, TN, TX, WA, WY. Caps marked ≈ are inflation-indexed and change each year; most states require contributions by December 31, and most require your own state's plan (parity states noted above). Verify current limits with your state's plan or revenue department before filing.
Two forces pull against each other while you save: college costs compound upward with tuition inflation, and your 529 balance compounds upward with market returns. This calculator projects both to the first day of college, then solves for the monthly contribution that closes any gap.
Projected cost of year k = today's annual cost × (1 + inflation)^(years until college + k − 1), summed across all college years. Projected 529 = current balance × (1 + r)^n + monthly contribution × [((1 + r)^n − 1) ÷ r], where r is the monthly return and n the months to enrollment (annual lump contributions are added as simple future-value deposits). The monthly needed to fully fund = shortfall × r ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1).
Set the child's age and school type, then enter what you've actually saved and contribute now. The inflation default of 4% is deliberately conservative: College Board's 2025-26 in-state increase was 2.7%, but spikes cluster in state-budget crunches, so long-run planners round up. For the state deduction section, pick your state, confirm the prefilled marginal rate against your bracket, and the estimator shows the deduction and tax saved on your planned contribution.
Maya is 8, so college starts in 10 years. Her target public in-state school costs $25,350 a year today. At 4% tuition inflation, freshman year will run $25,350 × 1.04^10 = $37,524, and the four-year total comes to $159,345. Her parents have $10,000 saved and contribute $250 a month. At 6% returns, the balance grows to $18,194 and the contributions add $40,970, for $59,164 at enrollment, about 37% of the goal. Closing the $100,181 shortfall takes another $611 a month, so the fully funded number is $861 a month total.
Contrast with starting at birth for the same school: 18 years of runway drops the full-funding number to $563 a month. Same target, half the monthly load, all because of the extra eight years of compounding. That's the entire argument for starting early, even in small amounts.
It depends on the child's age and school type. For a public in-state university costing $25,350 a year today with 4% tuition inflation and 6% returns, a fully funded four-year 529 needs about $972 a month starting at age 8, or $563 a month starting at birth. Starting earlier matters more than the school type: the same newborn saving $250 a month covers roughly 44% of the projected cost.
Recent increases have been mild: College Board's 2025-26 data shows in-state tuition and fees rose 2.7%, and the decade average has run near 2% to 3% a year. Long-run planners often use 4% to 5% to stay conservative because tuition spikes cluster in recession years when state budgets get cut. This calculator defaults to 4%.
Far less than most families fear. A parent-owned 529 is assessed at a maximum of 5.64% of its value in the FAFSA's Student Aid Index, and qualified withdrawals from a parent-owned 529 no longer count as income on the FAFSA. A distribution from a grandparent-owned 529 is also no longer reported as student income under the simplified FAFSA.
More than 30 states plus Washington, D.C. offer a state income tax deduction or credit. Nine states, including Arizona, Kansas, Missouri, and Pennsylvania, give the benefit for contributions to any state's plan. New Mexico, South Carolina, and West Virginia allow an unlimited deduction. California, Hawaii, Kentucky, and North Carolina offer nothing despite having income taxes.
You can withdraw up to the scholarship amount without the 10% penalty, though earnings in that withdrawal are still taxed as income. You can also keep the money for graduate school, transfer the beneficiary to a sibling or other family member, or, since 2024, roll up to $35,000 lifetime into the beneficiary's Roth IRA subject to annual Roth limits.
Yes, within limits. K-12 tuition up to $10,000 per year is a qualified expense federally (rising to $20,000 in 2026), and up to $10,000 lifetime can repay student loans for the beneficiary or their siblings. Not every state conforms to these federal rules, so check your state before spending.