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The real 4-year cost of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in North Carolina

Over the 18 years from 2008 to 2026, published tuition and required fees at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill went from $5,397 to $9,360, an average of 0.8% a year. The 2026–27 figure is the school's own announced rate.

202627 rate announced: $9,3602026-27: in-state $9,360 (first resident increase in 9 years); out-of-state $47,472.source

Read with care: this school's history shows a tuition freeze or guarantee, so a smooth projection may not hold.

20082030: history and projection

Published tuition + feesProjected (estimate)Likely rangeSchool-announced rateAxis trimmed to the data range
Published and projected tuition and fees by year
YearPublishedProjected estimateEstimate range
2008$5,397
2009$5,625
2010$6,665
2011$7,009
2012$7,693
2013$8,340
2014$8,336
2015$8,591
2016$8,834
2017$9,005
2018$8,987
2019$8,980
2020$8,980
2021$9,028
2022$8,989
2023$8,989
2026$9,360$9,360
2027$9,433$8,973–$9,893
2028$9,507$8,602–$10,457
2029$9,581$8,246–$11,053
2030$9,656$7,906–$11,683

If you pay full sticker

Projected tuition + fees, entering fall 2026.

Year 1$9,360
Year 2$9,433
Year 3$9,507
Year 4$9,581
4-year total$37,881

Two aid scenarios

4-year out-of-pocket total.

$10,000/yr flat scholarship
$0
Flat aid doesn't grow, so it covers less each year.
50%-of-tuition scholarship
$23,091
Percentage aid keeps pace with tuition.

On-campus housing & meals

Room & board (housing plus the standard meal plan), on top of tuition.

Announced 2026–27
$15,870/ yr
rising 3.5% / yr
Projected 4-year add-on
$66,863

School’s own published rateHousing $9,168 + food $6,702, living on campus.source

Books & supplies typically add ~$1,200 a year (national median, not included).

Housing here has kept rising even while tuition was frozen; the creep moved to room & board.

Run your own numbers

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4-year schools with similar prices in North Carolina

Closest to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by published tuition and fees. Similar sticker prices can still compound very differently.

All 131 colleges in North Carolina

Use this data

Published figures for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from federal IPEDS data through 2023, free to download or embed with attribution. The embed stays current as the data updates.

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