College Savings (529 Plan) Calculator
Education & AcademicProject your 529 college savings plan's growth, then compare it against the real projected future cost of college, accounting for tuition inflation, to see whether your savings are actually on track.
Projected Value at College Start
Projected total value of the 529 account when college begins, combining current savings growth and ongoing monthly contributions.
Projected Total College Cost
$239,874
Projected total cost across all years of college, inflating today's annual cost forward to when college starts and continuing to inflate through each year of attendance.
Projected Surplus or Shortfall
-$187,590
Positive means your projected savings exceed the projected total college cost; negative means a projected shortfall.
Percent of Cost Covered
22%
The share of the projected total college cost your projected savings would cover.
Funding Status
A plain-language summary of whether your savings plan is projected to be on track. Projected shortfall of $187,590
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Education & Academic calculators
Most 529 calculators answer one question: how much will my account be worth. That number alone does not tell you whether it is enough, since college costs keep rising every year you are saving. This calculator projects both sides at once: the future value of your 529 account based on your current savings, monthly contributions, and expected return, and the future cost of college itself, based on today's cost and a real college cost inflation assumption. The result is a direct comparison, a projected surplus or shortfall, so you know where you actually stand rather than just watching a balance grow in isolation. Default figures are sourced from College Board's own 2025-26 Trends in College Pricing report and commonly used financial-planning inflation assumptions, both disclosed below so you can adjust them to match your real situation.
Why Account Growth Alone Is Not Enough
A 529 account that grows to $50,000 sounds substantial until you compare it against what four years of college might actually cost by the time your child enrolls. College costs have historically risen faster than general inflation, so a savings plan that looks reasonable today can fall meaningfully short by the time it is needed. This calculator's Projected Surplus or Shortfall output is built specifically to answer that real question directly, rather than leaving you to do the comparison by hand. If a real shortfall shows up, seeing what covering it with borrowing would actually cost in monthly payments is a natural next step with the Student Loan Repayment Calculator.
Real College Cost Figures
The default Annual College Cost Today figure, $30,990, is the average total cost of attendance, tuition, fees, and room and board combined, for an in-state public four-year college, sourced directly from College Board's 2025-26 Trends in College Pricing report. If a different type of school is more realistic for your situation, use the real comparison figures below instead:
| College Type | Average Annual Cost (2025-26) |
|---|---|
| In-state public, four-year | $30,990 |
| Out-of-state public, four-year | $50,920 |
| Private nonprofit, four-year | $65,470 |
These figures include tuition, fees, and room and board together, not tuition alone, since that is the real total cost a family budgets against.
A higher sticker price is not automatically a worse financial decision once real earning outcomes are factored in. Weighing a specific school's real cost against its real financial return is a separate, worthwhile comparison.
How the College Cost Inflation Assumption Works
The 5% default reflects a commonly used long-term planning assumption in financial-planning tools, close to the actual average annual increase at public four-year colleges between 2001 and 2021. The most recent single-year increase reported by College Board for 2025-26 ran lower, 2.9% at public in-state schools and 4.0% at private nonprofit schools, so real year-to-year increases can sit meaningfully below or above a long-term average.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does this calculator project college cost, not just my account balance?
An account balance alone does not tell you whether it is enough, since college costs typically rise every year you are saving. Comparing your projected savings directly against a projected future cost, inflated forward the same number of years, answers the real question: are you on track, not just how much will the account be worth.
Where does the default college cost figure come from?
$30,990 is College Board's own reported average total cost of attendance, tuition, fees, and room and board combined, for an in-state public four-year college in 2025-26. If a different school type fits your real situation better, the in-content table gives the out-of-state public ($50,920) and private nonprofit ($65,470) figures too.
Why 5% for college cost inflation?
It reflects a commonly used long-term planning assumption, close to the real average annual increase at public four-year colleges from 2001 to 2021. The most recent single-year College Board figures ran lower, 2.9% to 4.0% depending on school type, so this is a real, disclosed assumption you should feel free to adjust, not a guaranteed rate.
What does a negative Projected Surplus or Shortfall mean?
A negative number means your projected 529 balance falls short of the projected total college cost across all years of college. It is a real gap to plan around, whether through higher contributions now, financial aid, scholarships, or a combination that includes student loans.
Does the Projected Total College Cost account for inflation during the college years themselves, not just before?
Yes. The calculation inflates today's cost forward to when college starts, then continues applying the same inflation rate to each subsequent year of attendance, rather than treating every year of college as costing the same amount as the first.
Does this account for financial aid or scholarships?
No. This is a savings-versus-sticker-price comparison only. Real financial aid, need-based grants, and merit scholarships can meaningfully reduce the real cost a family pays below the published figures used here, so treat a projected shortfall as a starting point for planning, not a final number.
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