States Spent $2.68 Billion on Private Colleges in 2020

During the 2020 fiscal year, states spent $2.68 billion on private colleges and universities, the equivalent of $563 per full-time student across the country, according to a brief by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association.

Most of that money -- 89.7 percent -- went toward financial aid.

By comparison, states spent $93.5 billion -- or $8,436 per full-time student across the country -- on public higher education institutions during fiscal year 2020.

Pennsylvania allocates the largest percentage of state higher education funding to private colleges and universities, appropriating 8.9 percent of its total spending to private institutions. Meanwhile, Arizona, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming and Washington, D.C., did not put any state dollars toward private institutions in fiscal year 2020.

North Dakota, Tennessee and Utah each had large inflation-adjusted increases in state support for private higher education during fiscal year 2020, upping it by more than 1,000 percent, according to the brief. New Mexico and Michigan saw the largest declines, cutting support for private higher education by 93.6 percent and 96.3 percent, respectively.