Gold vs. college tuition since 1971
College tuition has been one of the steepest-rising line items in the U.S. economy since the 1970s — the bumper sticker is "tuition has outpaced inflation by ~2-3x for decades." The question is whether gold has kept pace. The chart compares gold against average in-state tuition + required fees at 4-year public institutions (NCES), indexed to 100 at the displayed start year.
Gold vs. college tuition — FAQ
How many ounces of gold did one year of public tuition cost in 1971?
About 12 ounces — gold was ~$35/oz and tuition was ~$437/year. Today those numbers are very different; toggle through the chart to see when the crossover happened. (Computing the "ozs to buy" view directly is on the v2 roadmap.)
Why public 4-year and not private?
Public 4-year is the most-used reference point in education-policy comparisons and has the cleanest long-horizon series. Private and out-of-state numbers are higher in absolute terms but the growth shape is similar — the underlying driver (administrative bloat + state disinvestment) is the same.
Why is the tuition line stair-stepped?
Tuition data is annual (one observation per academic year), forward-filled across the 12 months of each year. The visible flat segments are real — published tuition is set once a year, not continuously.