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The MBA Price Tag: 21 Of The Top 25 U.S. B-Schools Now Charge $100K A Year Or More
The MBA price tag keeps climbing, and for most top U.S. schools, six figures a year is now the baseline.
Twenty-one U.S. B-schools in the Poets&Quants top 25 charge admits to their full-time MBA programs at least $100K annually, a tally that includes tuition, living expenses, and fees. (Though that’s one fewer than the number of schools charging that much this time last year, this is a reflection of our shifting rankings, not any school or schools reducing costs.) In 2023, that exclusive club comprised 19 schools, up from 15 in 2022; in 2018, there were only nine.
The 10 most expensive MBAs in the U.S. now carry two-year price tags of more than a quarter million dollars — double the number of schools of which that could be said last fall. P&Q found that only four top-25 B-schools offer a traditional residential two-year MBA for less than $200K: Texas McCombs, Georgia Tech Scheller, WashU Olin, and USC Marshall. The most affordable of the lot: Scheller, at an estimated two-year cost of just over $133K.
HIGHEST ONE-YEAR TOTAL COST AT A TOP U.S. B-SCHOOL
| 2025 P&Q Rank | School | 2025 Total Cost | 2024 Total Cost | Change | % |
| 13 | MIT (Sloan) | $ 138,310 | $ 126,744 | $ 11,566 | 9.1% |
| 7 | Columbia Business School | $ 137,571 | $ 132,258 | $ 5,313 | 4.0% |
| 11 | New York (Stern) | $ 135,840 | $ 126,874 | $ 8,966 | 7.1% |
| 2 | Stanford GSB | $ 135,771 | $ 130,746 | $ 5,025 | 3.8% |
| 17 | UC-Berkeley (Haas) | $ 133,655 | $ 124,041 | $ 9,614 | 7.8% |
| 12 | Pennsylvania (Wharton) | $ 132,404 | $ 127,716 | $ 4,688 | 3.7% |
| 14 | UCLA (Anderson) | $ 131,661 | $ 128,687 | $ 2,974 | 2.3% |
Source: Business schools
TOTAL COST: ONE SCHOOL IN THE TOP 25 SAW TOTAL COST DECLINE THIS YEAR
The highest one-year total cost in 2025 belongs to MIT Sloan, at $138,310. At the other end of the spectrum, Georgia Tech Scheller comes in at just $67,496. The average across the top 25 schools is $118,189; among the top 10, it rises to $126,823.
Duke Fuqua has the lowest annual cost among the top 10 at $114,952.
The biggest one-year increase (2024 to 2025) in total cost occurred at Emory Goizueta, up 12.4% to $115,723. The largest five-year increase (2021 to 2025) has been at Notre Dame Mendoza, up 29.3% to $103,925.
Rice Jones, meanwhile, actually saw a 2.4% cost decrease over the last two years, to $97,123. Notably, WashU Olin, UNC Kenan-Flagler, and Indiana Kelley all had increases of less than 1% between 2024 and 2025. Kelley also has seen the smallest five-year increase, at just 6.7%, to $83,940.
HIGHEST ESTIMATED 2-YEAR COST FOR AN ELITE U.S. MBA
| 2025 P&Q Rank | School | Estimated Total 2-Year Cost* – 2025 | Estimated Total 2-Year Cost* – 2024 | Change | % |
| Columbia Business School | $ 269,829 | $ 259,316 | $ 10,513 | 4.1% | |
| Stanford GSB | $ 266,517 | $ 257,211 | $ 9,306 | 3.6% | |
| MIT (Sloan) | $ 265,054 | $ 235,924 | $ 29,130 | 12.3% | |
| New York (Stern) | $ 262,714 | $ 250,127 | $ 12,587 | 5.0% | |
| UCLA (Anderson) | $ 260,348 | $ 250,278 | $ 10,070 | 4.0% | |
| Pennsylvania (Wharton) | $ 260,120 | $ 252,192 | $ 7,928 | 3.1% | |
| UC-Berkeley (Haas) | $ 257,696 | $ 240,219 | $ 17,477 | 7.3% | |
| Chicago (Booth) | $ 255,340 | $ 248,097 | $ 7,243 | 2.9% | |
| Dartmouth (Tuck) | $ 254,450 | $ 244,518 | $ 9,932 | 4.1% | |
| Northwestern (Kellogg) | $ 254,043 | $ 245,623 | $ 8,420 | 3.4% |
*MBA1+MBA2
Source: Business schools
ESTIMATED TWO-YEAR COST: 10 SCHOOLS CHARGE 1/4 MILLION DOLLARS
Estimating by adding MBA1 (2024) to MBA2 (2025), the most expensive two-year MBA is the one on offer at Columbia Business School, at a total cost of $269,829, followed by Stanford GSB ($266,517), MIT Sloan ($265,054), New York Stern ($262,714), and UCLA Anderson ($260,348). All told, 10 schools now charge more than a quarter million dollars for a traditional MBA. The lowest cost in the top 25 is currently Georgia Tech Scheller’s $133,150.
The average two-year cost across the top 25 is $231,270. Among the top 10, it rises to $248,431, with Duke Fuqua the most affordable top-10 program at $225,778.
MIT Sloan shows the biggest two-year cost increase, rising 12.3% to $265,054. Rice Jones had the smallest increase, up just 0.4% to $196,652.
HIGHEST TUITION AT A U.S. B-SCHOOL
| 2025 P&Q Rank | School | 2025 Tuition | 2024 Tuition | 2-Year Change | 2-Year % |
| 7 | Columbia Business School | $ 91,172 | $ 88,300 | $ 2,872 | 3.3% |
| 11 | New York (Stern) | $ 89,254 | $ 84,180 | $ 5,074 | 6.0% |
| 17 | UC-Berkeley (Haas) | $ 89,033 | $ 82,059 | $ 6,974 | 8.5% |
| 13 | MIT (Sloan) | $ 89,000 | $ 86,550 | $ 2,450 | 2.8% |
| 12 | Pennsylvania (Wharton) | $ 87,970 | $ 84,830 | $ 3,140 | 3.7% |
| 8 | Yale SOM | $ 87,800 | $ 84,900 | $ 2,900 | 3.4% |
| 3 | Chicago (Booth) | $ 87,354 | $ 84,198 | $ 3,156 | 3.7% |
| 9 | Cornell (Johnson) | $ 86,596 | $ 83,106 | $ 3,490 | 4.2% |
| 1 | Northwestern (Kellogg) | $ 86,370 | $ 83,610 | $ 2,760 | 3.3% |
Source: Business schools
TUITION: BERKELEY HAAS SEES BIGGEST ONE-YEAR JUMP, UP 8.5%
MBA tuition, the biggest chunk of an MBA’s total cost, continues to climb at most U.S. B-schools. The highest is Columbia Business School, at $91,172. The lowest is Georgia Tech Scheller, at $43,646.
The average tuition across the top 25 is $79,303; in the top 10 the average rises to $85,360, with Duke Fuqua lowest among top-10 schools at $81,000.
The biggest one-year tuition increase has occurred at UC Berkeley Haas, up 8.5% to $89,033. The largest five-year increase is at USC Marshall, up a staggering 55.8% to $83,853.
Indiana Kelley is the only top school not to raise tuition this year, holding flat at $55,695. Notably, UCLA Anderson saw only a modest two-year increase of 1.5%, to $79,452. Kelley also has seen among the smallest five-year increases, at just 6.1%; Texas McCombs has had the smallest: 5.1%.
HIGHEST ESTIMATED LIVING EXPENSES FOR A U.S. MBA PROGRAM
| 2025 P&Q Rank | School | 2025 Living Expenses | 2024 Living Expenses | 2-Year Change | 2-Year % |
| 2 | Stanford GSB | $ 40,971 | $ 39,888 | $ 1,083 | 2.7% |
| 4 | Harvard Business School | $ 36,568 | $ 34,000 | $ 2,568 | 7.6% |
| 6 | Dartmouth (Tuck) | $ 33,787 | $ 32,603 | $ 1,184 | 3.6% |
| 12 | Pennsylvania (Wharton) | $ 32,842 | $ 33,804 | $ (962) | -2.8% |
| 7 | Columbia Business School | $ 31,986 | $ 27,396 | $ 4,590 | 16.8% |
| 14 | UCLA (Anderson) | $ 31,962 | $ 30,440 | $ 1,522 | 5.0% |
| 22 | Southern California (Marshall) | $ 31,456 | $ 29,140 | $ 2,316 | 7.9% |
| 11 | New York (Stern) | $ 31,090 | $ 29,344 | $ 1,746 | 6.0% |
Source: Business schools
LIVING EXPENSES: A WIDE DISPARITY
Living expenses, which schools sometimes estimate based on a student’s marriage and parenthood status, vary widely — always have and always will. The highest estimate for the annual expenses of an unmarried student with no children comes at Stanford GSB: $40,971; the lowest (for anyone) is at Notre Dame Mendoza: $16,200.
The significant gap between Stanford’s and Notre Dame’s living expense estimates belies the importance of the average across the top 25, which is $27,475. Among the top 10, it is $29,054, with Kellogg — P&Q’s No. 1-ranked school — estimating the lowest of all top-10 schools at $22,059.
The biggest one-year increase in living cost estimate was at Emory Goizueta, up 24.8% to $27,684. The largest five-year increase has been seen at Notre Dame, up 56.5%.
Six schools actually reduced their living expense estimates from 2024 to 2025, while two others kept them unchanged. Two schools — Rice Jones and Texas McCombs — report decreases over the five-year period from 2021 to 2025.
FOREIGN SCHOOLS: A BARGAIN BY COMPARISON?
For MBA applicants willing to forgo the U.S., the sticker shock looks very different. For the most part, top European programs remain less expensive than their American peers, even when tuition, living expenses, and fees are factored in. London Business School is among the priciest at an annual cost of US$131,071, with relatively modest tuition of US$80,589 but one of the highest annual living expense estimates among European schools at US$46,661.
At HEC Paris, tuition for the September intake is 99,000 euros, or around US$115,588, rising to 102,000 euros for the January intake. Living costs are about US$22,931 per annum, bringing the total estimated cost of an MBA from HEC Paris to around US$161,450 — less than the cost of an MBA from Indiana Kelley.
IESE Business School in Barcelona is another option, with a yearly total of US$96,153, combining US$64,099 in tuition and US$27,540 in living costs. Toronto Rotman, meanwhile, remains one of the most affordable globally ranked schools, with a total annual cost of US$78,261 — less than many second-tier U.S. MBAs.
Compared with U.S. averages, where the top 25 programs now carry a mean annual cost of $118,189 and a two-year bill of more than $230,000, these international programs present a striking contrast. Only LBS comes in above the U.S. top-10 average of $126,823 per year. INSEAD, a 10-month program, costs a total US$162,274, though it could be less depending on which campus you study from.
Next page: Total one-year cost data from 2021 to 2025 for 29 of the leading U.S. MBA programs, including the P&Q top 25.