Louisville City Wire

College tuition fees rose 16.7% in Jefferson County in the 2022-23 school year, according to the latest disclosure from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Data shows that students paid $17,465 on average to attend higher education courses at the time, $2,497 more than the previous school year.

Among the 14 institutions in the county, Bellarmine University stood out with the highest tuition fees, reaching an average of $46,030. Galen College of Nursing-Louisville followed with an average of $42,420 per year. Jefferson Community and Technical College students were offered the lowest annual tuition fees at $4,861.

At the time, a total of $68.8 million in grants or scholarships were awarded to full-time undergraduates who started at the Jefferson County universities in the 2022-23 school year. Additionally, federal student loans reached $18.5 million.

Currently there are 14 higher education institutions in Jefferson County, including MedQuest College, Bellarmine University, and ATA College.

Undergraduate education costs have seen a significant increase over the past few decades. Data shows a 169% rise in the average total cost, including tuition, fees, room, and board, between 1980 and 2020.

According to a 2023 College Board report, in-state students at public universities paid an average of $11,260, while out-of-state students paid $29,150 in the 2023-24 academic year.

Meanwhile, student loan debt has steadily increased over the last 30 years, reaching $1.75 trillion in 2024, averaging a total of $28,950 per borrower. Federal loans make up 92% of the debt, with over half of students at both public and private four-year colleges graduating with student loans.

Available data sometimes exceeds 100% due to rounding and administrative calculations.

Institution	Number of Students Receiving Grants	Total Amount of Grants Received	Average Amount of Grant Per Student	Number of Students Receiving Loans	Total Amount of Loans Received	Average Amount of Loans Per Student
Sullivan University	304	$2,546,361	$8,376	280	$2,389,095	$8,532
Simmons College of Kentucky	32	$212,520	$6,641	24	$32,184	$1,341
Galen College of Nursing-Louisville	349	$2,938,023	$8,418	343	$2,498,755	$7,285
Paul Mitchell the School-Louisville	27	$171,342	$6,346	49	$400,826	$8,180
Empire Beauty School-Chenoweth	36	$187,073	$5,196	25	$187,917	$7,517
University of Louisville	2,582	$33,947,774	$13,148	1,016	$7,942,985	$7,818
Bellarmine University	545	$19,594,815	$35,954	296	$1,921,937	$6,493
ATA College	52	$243,562	$4,684	56	$331,179	$5,914
Empire Beauty School-Dixie	55	$280,408	$5,098	51	$413,337	$8,105
Ideal Beauty Academy	13	$54,642	$4,203	13	$85,699	$6,592
Jefferson Community and Technical College	797	$4,805,184	$6,029	119	$566,895	$4,764
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary	65	$103,200	$1,588	35	$505,205	$14,434
Spalding University	131	$2,352,827	$17,961	105	$731,640	$6,968
MedQuest College	438	$1,361,327	$3,108	301	$486,951	$1,618