Sticker prices at universities typically don’t reflect the true cost of attendance. Net cost – the price of tuition, room and board, books and fees, minus grants that don’t have to be repaid – are often wildly different from sticker prices, and between similar schools. If you know your household income, you can look up the approximate cost of attending each of Michigan’s 15 public universities, as of the 2016-17 school year. (Source: U.S. Department of Education)
Related Michigan college affordability stories:
- Ignore the sticker price at Michigan universities. Here’s the real cost.
- Why rural Michigan teens are skipping out on college. It’s not grades
- College funding cuts in Michigan have led to fewer students, greater debt
- Michigan business climate improves, but educated workforce is shrinking
- Michigan income growth hindered by lack of college graduates
- The University of Michigan asks, ‘Where are the poor kids?’
Central Michigan University
| Family income groups | 0 to $30,000 | $30,000 to $48,000 | $48,000 to $75,000 | $75,000 to $110,000 | Over $110,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price, 2016-17 | $11,011 | $11,713 | $14,008 | $17,648 | $18,728 |
| Rank (1=lowest cost, 15=highest) | 11 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 9 |
| Change since 2013-14 | 2.4% | 5.2% | -3.1% | -3.8% | -5% |
| As percent of sticker ($23,494) | 46.9% | 49.9% | 59.6% | 75.1% | 79.7% |
Eastern Michigan University
| Family income groups | 0 to $30,000 | $30,000 to $48,000 | $48,000 to $75,000 | $75,000 to $110,000 | Over $110,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price, 2016-17 | $11,953 | $12,588 | $14,031 | $16,581 | $17,268 |
| Rank (1=lowest cost, 15=highest) | 14 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 5 |
| Change since 2013-14 | 8.3% | 10.7% | 7.7% | 8.2% | 8.9% |
| As percent of sticker ($23,385) | 51.1% | 53.8% | 60% | 70.9% | 73.8% |
Ferris State University
| Family income groups | 0 to $30,000 | $30,000 to $48,000 | $48,000 to $75,000 | $75,000 to $110,000 | Over $110,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price, 2016-17 | $8,173 | $10,796 | $13,593 | $16,704 | $18,023 |
| Rank (1=lowest cost, 15=highest) | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| Change since 2013-14 | -1% | -6.1% | -10.8% | -5.3% | -2.3% |
| As percent of sticker ($22,976) | 35.6% | 47% | 59.2% | 72.7% | 78.4% |
Grand Valley State University
| Family income groups | 0 to $30,000 | $30,000 to $48,000 | $48,000 to $75,000 | $75,000 to $110,000 | Over $110,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price, 2016-17 | $11,604 | $12,507 | $15,385 | $19,127 | $20,966 |
| Rank (1=lowest cost, 15=highest) | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 11 |
| Change since 2013-14 | 0.6% | 0.3% | -3% | -0.2% | 1.9% |
| As percent of sticker ($23,066) | 50.3% | 54.2% | 66.7% | 82.9% | 90.9% |
Lake Superior State University
| Family income groups | 0 to $30,000 | $30,000 to $48,000 | $48,000 to $75,000 | $75,000 to $110,000 | Over $110,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price, 2016-17 | $6,466 | $8,276 | $13,793 | $16,139 | $17,079 |
| Rank (1=lowest cost, 15=highest) | 2 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 4 |
| Change since 2013-14 | 20.4% | 1.4% | 20.2% | -11.1% | -12.5% |
| As percent of sticker ($23,161) | 27.9% | 35.7% | 59.6% | 69.7% | 73.7% |
Michigan State University
| Family income groups | 0 to $30,000 | $30,000 to $48,000 | $48,000 to $75,000 | $75,000 to $110,000 | Over $110,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price, 2016-17 | $7,058 | $13,116 | $19,564 | $24,075 | $26,035 |
| Rank (1=lowest cost, 15=highest) | 4 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Change since 2013-14 | 9.7% | 9.3% | 10.2% | 10.5% | 10.4% |
| As percent of sticker ($27,290) | 25.9% | 48.1% | 71.7% | 88.2% | 95.4% |
Michigan Technological University
| Family income groups | 0 to $30,000 | $30,000 to $48,000 | $48,000 to $75,000 | $75,000 to $110,000 | Over $110,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price, 2016-17 | $7,211 | $9,753 | $13,233 | $16,711 | $21,986 |
| Rank (1=lowest cost, 15=highest) | 5 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 12 |
| Change since 2013-14 | -10.5% | 0.1% | 7.2% | 1.2% | 9.2% |
| As percent of sticker ($28,279) | 25.5% | 34.5% | 46.8% | 59.1% | 77.7% |
Northern Michigan University
| Family income groups | 0 to $30,000 | $30,000 to $48,000 | $48,000 to $75,000 | $75,000 to $110,000 | Over $110,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price, 2016-17 | $8,305 | $10,170 | $13,901 | $17,463 | $18,842 |
| Rank (1=lowest cost, 15=highest) | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 |
| Change since 2013-14 | 10.4% | 1.1% | 7.1% | 7.3% | 10.3% |
| As percent of sticker ($27,666) | 30% | 36.8% | 50.2% | 63.1% | 68.1% |
Oakland University
| Family income groups | 0 to $30,000 | $30,000 to $48,000 | $48,000 to $75,000 | $75,000 to $110,000 | Over $110,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price, 2016-17 | $8,380 | $8,957 | $11,593 | $15,139 | $18,247 |
| Rank (1=lowest cost, 15=highest) | 9 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| Change since 2013-14 | 4.6% | 1.6% | 7.6% | 7.7% | 9.1% |
| As percent of sticker ($24,482) | 34.2% | 36.6% | 47.4% | 61.8% | 74.5% |
Saginaw Valley State University
| Family income groups | 0 to $30,000 | $30,000 to $48,000 | $48,000 to $75,000 | $75,000 to $110,000 | Over $110,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price, 2016-17 | $12,221 | $12,193 | $14,906 | $16,309 | $16,890 |
| Rank (1=lowest cost, 15=highest) | 15 | 11 | 12 | 5 | 3 |
| Change since 2013-14 | 5.5% | -1.1% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 1.7% |
| As percent of sticker ($21,000) | 58.2% | 58.1% | 71% | 77.7% | 80.4% |
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
| Family income groups | 0 to $30,000 | $30,000 to $48,000 | $48,000 to $75,000 | $75,000 to $110,000 | Over $110,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price, 2016-17 | $3,249 | $5,575 | $9,895 | $17,705 | $25,001 |
| Rank (1=lowest cost, 15=highest) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 14 |
| Change since 2013-14 | -40.6% | -27.9% | -13.2% | -3% | 7.1% |
| As percent of sticker ($28,766) | 11.3% | 19.4% | 34.4% | 61.5% | 86.9% |
University of Michigan-Dearborn*
| Family income groups | 0 to $30,000 | $30,000 to $48,000 | $48,000 to $75,000 | $75,000 to $110,000 | Over $110,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price, 2016-17 | $7,814 | $7,724 | $11,447 | $12,577 | $14,750 |
| Rank (1=lowest cost, 15=highest) | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Change since 2013-14 | -7.9% | -24.8% | -15.4% | -13.6% | -4.8% |
*Sticker costs for other schools include on-campus lodging. UM-Dearborn does not have on-campus residential housing.
University of Michigan-Flint
| Family income groups | 0 to $30,000 | $30,000 to $48,000 | $48,000 to $75,000 | $75,000 to $110,000 | Over $110,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price, 2016-17 | $6,893 | $7,426 | $12,025 | $15,447 | $15,244 |
| Rank (1=lowest cost, 15=highest) | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Change since 2013-14 | -31.3% | -34.5% | -23.6% | -13% | -15.2% |
| As percent of sticker ($23,960) | 28.8% | 31% | 50.2% | 64.5% | 63.6% |
Wayne State University
| Family income groups | 0 to $30,000 | $30,000 to $48,000 | $48,000 to $75,000 | $75,000 to $110,000 | Over $110,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price, 2016-17 | $9,300 | $11,399 | $14,158 | $17,420 | $18,188 |
| Rank (1=lowest cost, 15=highest) | 10 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 7 |
| Change since 2013-14 | -6.2% | 1.9% | 2.9% | -0.1% | -2.1% |
| As percent of sticker ($25,357) | 36.7% | 45% | 55.8% | 68.7% | 71.7% |
Western Michigan University
| Family income groups | 0 to $30,000 | $30,000 to $48,000 | $48,000 to $75,000 | $75,000 to $110,000 | Over $110,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price, 2016-17 | $11,798 | $13,837 | $17,951 | $20,725 | $22,125 |
| Rank (1=lowest cost, 15=highest) | 13 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
| Change since 2013-14 | -9.1% | -4.1% | 2.6% | 6% | 12.8% |
| As percent of sticker ($24,680) | 47.8% | 56.1% | 72.7% | 84% | 89.6% |



