College Savings Calculator

College costs climb faster than almost any other household expense, so the sooner you put a number on the goal, the more room you have to fund it through tax-advantaged accounts like 529 plans. For a student entering school in 2026, in-state public tuition and fees run roughly $11,500 per year, while a private university can top $42,000 annually. Pinning down a monthly savings target now lets you spread the burden across years instead of scrambling later.

The math behind the result rests on the future value formula for an ordinary annuity. First, today's tuition is grown forward using an average annual tuition inflation rate, often in the 6% range, to project what a year of school will actually cost by the time your child enrolls. From there, the tool weighs the type of school you've chosen, the years remaining until enrollment, and your expected investment return to back out the monthly contribution required to hit that projected figure.

Tuition is only one line on the bill, so build room, board, books, and assorted fees into your broader plan rather than treating the tuition target as the whole picture. Inflation on tuition is easy to underestimate, and that gap compounds painfully over a long savings horizon. State-level 529 benefits add real value, but they differ from one state to the next and still carry ordinary investment risk.