College Savings Calculator (529)
What to save each month for college, with costs that keep rising until the first bill.
Good to know. At 5% a year, a college year that costs 25,000 today costs about 41,000 in ten years.
Not financial advice. Uses only the numbers and rates you enter — no live data.
How it works
In plain words
Each year of college costs today’s price grown by college inflation until that year. Today’s savings grow at the expected return until college starts. Equal monthly deposits, growing at the same return, cover the rest.
The formula
cost of year k = cost today × (1 + inflation)^(years until + k) saved grows to = saved × (1 + return)^years until monthly = gap × i ÷ ((1 + i)ⁿ − 1), with i the monthly return and n the months
Worked example
Four years of college at 25,000 a year today, starting in 10 years and rising 5% a year, cost about 175,518. The 10,000 saved grows to about 17,908 at 6%, so the rest takes 970.07 a month.
Sources
- Investor.gov (US SEC), An Introduction to 529 Plans What 529 plans are, how earnings are taxed and the penalty on other withdrawals.
- Brealey, Myers and Allen, Principles of Corporate Finance, chapter 2 The standard formulas for loan payments, compounding and present value, the same as a spreadsheet’s PMT and FV.
Sources checked October 3, 2026. 3 automated tests check its answers on every change.
About the college savings calculator (529)
Saving for college is a race against two curves. Your savings grow with the market, but college prices grow too, and for decades they have risen faster than prices in general. This calculator grows both: the cost of each year of college up to the year it is paid, and your savings up to the first day.
The monthly figure assumes you save until college starts and that the money is spent as each year comes due. It is deliberately simple: it does not count growth on the money still invested during college, which makes it a little cautious.
A 529 plan is the usual way to do this in the US. Earnings grow free of federal tax and come out tax-free when spent on qualified education costs, and many states add a deduction for contributions. Withdrawals for anything else pay income tax and a 10% penalty on the earnings. Check your state’s plan and its fees.
Few families save the whole cost. Grants, scholarships, a cheaper school, earnings during college and loans usually cover part of it, so it is fine to aim at a share, such as half: halve the cost and see what that takes. For any other goal, use the savings goal calculator.
Questions people ask
How much should I save each month for college?
It depends on the cost and the time. For four years at 25,000 today, starting in 10 years with 10,000 saved, about 970 a month at a 6% return.
How much do college costs rise each year?
It varies by school and year. Around 3–5% a year is a common planning figure; enter your own.
What is a 529 plan?
A US savings plan for education, run by the states. Growth is tax-free when the money pays for qualified education costs.