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InvestmenteducationUnited States only

529 College Savings Calculator

A 529 plan against projected college costs. Education costs have historically inflated faster than general prices, and they keep inflating through the college years themselves, which single-year projections miss.

Also called: college savings calculator, 529 growth.

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Projected balance
$166,190.68

$166,190.68 by the time college starts, against a projected total cost of $273,080.09. That covers 60.86% of it, leaving a gap of $106,889.41. Raising the monthly contribution to the figure shown would close it.

Projected total cost
$273,080.09
First year cost
$63,357.81
Share covered
60.86%
Gap
$106,889.41
Monthly contribution to close the gap
$891.67
Total contributed
$84,000.00
On the gap
Raising the monthly contribution to the figure shown would close it.
How this is calculated

An estimate, not an offer or a guarantee. Projected returns assume the rate you entered holds for the whole term, which no market does.

Method and background

This is what the calculation gives for the numbers you entered. It is an estimate, not advice, and it knows nothing about your situation beyond those numbers. Rules for United States change on a published schedule; the effective date is shown on every rule-based tool.

How this is calculated

The balance grows with contributions while costs inflate. The part usually done wrong is the cost side: a four year degree starting in fourteen years does not cost four times the year-fourteen figure, because each subsequent year inflates again. Both effects compound, and education inflation running above general inflation means the gap widens the longer you wait to start.

college costs inflate through the saving years and through the college years too
c_0
Current annual cost
g
Education inflation

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

fourteen years of saving

Current balance
$12,000.00
Monthly contribution
$500.00
Years until college
14
Annual return
6.5%
Current annual college cost
$32,000.00
Education cost inflation
5%
Years of college
4

Projected balance$166,190.68

32,000 x 1.05^14

Open this example

no inflation keeps the cost flat

Current balance
$12,000.00
Monthly contribution
$500.00
Years until college
14
Annual return
6.5%
Current annual college cost
$32,000.00
Education cost inflation
0%
Years of college
4

Projected balance$166,190.68

boundary

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

  • Constant return and constant education inflation, neither of which holds.

What it deliberately does not model

  • Financial aid, scholarships and in-state pricing all change the cost side substantially.
  • 529 withdrawals must be for qualified education expenses to stay untaxed.
  • State tax treatment of contributions varies considerably.

Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · United States · Report a problem with this calculator

Frequently asked questions

Why is the projected cost so much higher than today?
Because education inflation compounds through the saving years and again through the college years. At five percent, a cost doubles roughly every fourteen years.