PNPI Explorer Blog – Washington, D.C.
Welcome back to the PNPI Explorer blog series, where we examine higher education data in different states. This week’s spotlight is on Washington, D.C.
In 2021 in Washington, D.C., there were 15 institutions serving 73,514 full-time equivalent (FTE) students. By using the Explorer’s Comparison Tool, we can examine how Washington, D.C. fares against the 50 states on college cost. In terms of cost of attendance, Washington, D.C. has a higher average than all 50 states at $55.6K, which is $27.3K more than the national average.
The Explorer’s College Cost report can help us understand why Washington, D.C.’s cost of attendance is as high as it is. Looking at the average cost of attendance by sector, we see that the average is largely driven by private non-profit institutions (X% of institutions in the District). We also see that the average tuition and fees has almost no variance between in-state and out-of-state prices, given there is only one public institution.
Unlike the 50 states, who have legislatures who actively invest in offsetting costs for in-state students, the higher education landscape in Washington, D.C. almost completely consists of private non-profit institutions. By hovering over those institutions in the Explorer, we can see a table breakdown of those institutions by sector.
Find something interesting about Washington, D.C. that you would like to share with us? Drop us a note via our feedback page or discuss your findings on LinkedIn! Check back next week when we explore data insights about Florida.
