WAGES AND COLLEGE TUITION COSTS OF AMERICANS

Apparently there will be a plank in the Democratic Party Convention that proposes free college tuition for in-state public colleges for families making up to $125,000 (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/07/us/politics/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-education.html?_r=0).  If such a family at the top has one earner making $125,000/yr, the family is in the upper 5% of all wage earners.  Thus the free tuition will cover nearly everyone.  The costs will be limited by restricting tuition payments to in-state tuition and only for public colleges and universities.

According to the College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2015–2016 school year was $32,405 at private colleges, $9,410 for state residents at public colleges, and $23,893 for out-of-state residents attending public universities. Tuition at community colleges is considerably less at $3435 (https://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing/figures-tables/average-published-undergraduate-charges-sector-2015-16).

Though tuition is a major expense of going to college, it is hardly the only one.  Tuition does not include fees (heath service, library student union, and room an board, etc.). However, free tuition should be a boon to the average family where the student can attend a near-by community college and live at home because:

-51 percent of all American workers made less than $30,000 last year.*
And:

The current median household income for the United States is $53,657 [2014]. Real median household income peaked in 2007 at $57,936 and is now $4,279 (7.39%) lower. From a post peak low of $52,970 in 2012, real median household income for the United States has now grown by $687 (1.30%).**

(Click on figure to enlarge)

But the increase in rents is disturbing:**

(Click on figure to enlarge)

*https://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/netcomp.cgi?year=2014
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/10/goodbye-middle-class-51-percent-of-all-american-workers-make-less-than-30000-dollars-a-year.html
** http://www.deptofnumbers.com/income/us/ (Not a Federal department.)