College unaffordable for most Pell Grant recipients, report says

A new report by the National College Attainment Network found that the average Pell Grant recipient could only afford to attend a quarter of the public four-year colleges in the U.S. in 2019-20. Pell Grant students who attend these schools generally needed an additional $2,627 annually to cover the cost of attendance.

Fewer than half of Pell Grant recipients could afford to attend U.S. community colleges that year. Community college students needed about $907 more to meet their college costs.

NCAN classifies a college or university as affordable if the total cost of attendance, plus $300, is less or equal to a student’s income, including financial aid and family contributions, according to Higher Ed Dive.

Washington, Kentucky and New Mexico had the highest rate of affordable institutions.