Chico State ranks 10th in new affordability study

Typical monthly cost for students here is $3,955.64, report says

CHICO >> With costs for just about every facet of life becoming higher, collegebound students can take consolation in knowing two institutions of the California State University system are remarkably affordable.

One of them is Chico State, according to a new study from an Irelandbased organization, Credit Summit, published this week. The study considered a host of factors which it says students must take into account when trying to gain higher education that won’t saddle them with massive debt.

The report based its findings on analyzing the costs of tuition, fees, housing, food, travel and entertainment in each college town. Chico State — and the Chico area — checked in at 10th on the list, at an estimated cost of $3,955.64 per month. This includes a permonth breakdown of tuition and fees ($1,689.33), accommodation ($534.92), wireless communications ($59.50), utilities ($265.22), gym membership ($46.67) and “restaurants” ($15).

The question, naturally, regarding a $15-per-month estimate for restaurants is whether that means a oncemonthly treat of a “meal out” for a college student, or a “board” fee at a campus residential facility. The report does not specify whether “accommodation” refers to having roommates to spread the cost of housing among others, or — again — whether it refers to living in a campus dormitory.

The report does say that “to create the index, Credit Summit’s data experts analyzed a variety of sources to determine the costs of such factors as accommodation, fees, and food and entertainment costs in some of the most popular college towns throughout the world.

“From there, Credit Summit enlisted a Ph.D. qualified data expert to complete the calculations, with assumptions made that the student has no dependents, his/her food expenses are just for him/ herself, and that he/she will tend to eat out more often than buying ingredients and preparing his/her own food.”

Surprisingly, the No. 8 city on the list of affordability for attending a university is San Jose, which by virtue of its location in the Bay Area is one of the most-expensive cities in the United States. KRONTV of San Francisco said in March 2022 that San Jose had the second-highest housing rental costs in the nation, behind only San Francisco.

Nonetheless, San Jose State University checks in at eighth, with an estimated monthly cost to students of $3,899.07. This breaks down to tuition and fees ($1,446.33), housing ($534.92), wireless service ($72), utilities ($211.87), gym membership ($71.85) and “restaurant” ($18.50).

Topping the list of affordability is La Crosse, Wisconsin, home of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, at $3,073.50 per month; second is Eau Claire, Wisconsin, which hosts University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, at $3,154.70. From there, the list includes Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.; Tallahassee, Florida.; Laramie, Wyoming; Stillwater, Oklahoma; Ames, Iowa; San Jose; Las Cruces, New Mexico; and Chico.

Flagstaff, Arizona (14th) and Pullman, Washington (16th) are the only other cities in the Western states to make the top 25.

The report also summarized cities in the U.S. where students could accumulate the least loan debt. Again, surprisingly, of the top 10, eight of the cities are in California — all tied with $21,125 in accumulated debt. Those cities are Chico, Davis, Santa Barbara, Pasadena, San Jose, Los Angeles, Berkeley and Stanford (Palo Alto).

Las Cruces heads the list of the lowest average student debt at $20,868. Tenth is Laramie at $23,510. Other Western U.S. cities to make the top 25 are Seattle and Pullman, 11th and 12th; Flagstaff and Tucson, Arizona, 13th and 14th; Boulder, Colorado, and Fort Collins, Colorado, 21st and 22nd; and Eugene, Oregon is 23rd.

Again, the methodology is not clear. Do the students in these “average” amounts receive help from parents? Do they keep their housing costs low by living several to a unit? Or is it all based on living in on-campus housing, where living costs are considerably lower than off campus?

The report’s findings do line up with a January report from the California State University board of trustees, which found that the CSU system — the nation’s largest — is also its most affordable. With just one tuition increase in the past 11 years, the annual tuition for an undergraduate resident student at a CSU institution checks in at just $5,742.

When combined with the average for campus-based fees, that total becomes $7,520 — nearly $1,300 less than the next institution on the list, the University of Nevada.

In addition, Chico State was honored in fall 2022 for its affordability and path to social mobility by U.S. News & World Report as well as Washington Monthly.