The Average Cost of Living in the USA for Students

Living Expenses in the U.S.

The projected living cost for the U.S. is about $10,000 to $18,000 a year, which averages about $1,000 to $1,500 monthly. This involves housing expenses, room and board, food, travel, textbooks, weather conditions, appropriate clothing, and entertainment costs.

The USA is a well-known study environment amongst international students due to its flexible schooling system, lively campus life, academic quality, cultural variety, and accessibility of several job options. Nevertheless, despite this, as of the newest Open Doors Report 2021, the number of Indian students who attended U.S. universities in 2020–21 was 1.67 lakh. This portrays a drop of 13 percent equated to Indian students attending the USA for advanced studies in 2019-20.

The reasons for the deterioration could be the COVID-19 limitations or the higher living costs in the USA for international students. The expense of living in the USA for international students is higher than in countries like Canada, France, Malaysia, and others.

Most of the questions that can go over and over again in the minds of international students are where they will live, is the budget projected to be sufficient for food, insurance, and education bills, how much should be reserved for added expenses, etc. This post will give details on the cost of living for international students in the USA.  

The Average Cost of Living in the USA for Students

Living Expenses in the USA for Different States:

The living expenses in the USA for Indian students depend on where they decide to live. For example, if students are staying in big cities like New York, Boston, or San Francisco, at that point, the expense of staying in the USA for students will be much higher than the suburban cities, for instance, Seattle, Texas, New Orleans, and some others. Let us see the average cost of staying in the USA for urban and sub-urban cities for international students. 

Giant Cities	The average monthly cost of living in the USA
New York	$3,300
California	$4,000
Boston	$3,316
San Francisco	$4,000

 

Cost of Living in the USA for sub-urban states

Suburban states	The average monthly cost of living in the USA
Atlanta	$2,200
New Orleans	$2,000
Philadelphia	$1,300
Seattle	$2,500
Texas	$2,000
Illinois	$1,470

 

Housing Accommodation in the USA

Housing Accommodation	Average monthly / annually cost
On-campus accommodation	Private colleges: $1,100 annually Public colleges: $9,800 annually
Off-campus accommodation	Sharing: $450 per month One-bedroom apartment in rural states: $500 a month One-bedroom apartment in urban states: $3,500 a month

Extra Living Expenses in the USA

Students have to be able to meet the following costs when they are studying in the U.S. Costs may increase by around 6 to 9 percent a year because of price increases (inflation) and external factors. As for the report “College Tuition Inflation Rate” by educationdata.org, the yearly inflation rate in the U.S. (in advanced education) mounted at 8 percent. It is guided to keep $2,000 for added living expenses in the USA. The added living expenses in the USA could include the following things:

1. Transportation costs between India and U.S. during a vacation period
2. Significant acquisitions, like P.C., furniture, rental car, etc.
3. Medical costs that are not provided by health insurance, for example, dental care, eye care, cosmetic treatments
4. Added summer expenditures – lodge and board, grocery expenses for the summer months you live in the U.S. when classes are not on 
5. Added expenses like off-campus trips
6. Entertainment, social outings, holiday tours

Conclusion

It’s recommended that international students studying in the U.S. who can not afford to stay within the luxurious part of the country should go to the suburban cities and stay so to cut down on living expenses.

Read Also: Top 10 Best Places in the World to Raise a family

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FAQS

Q. What is the average expense of staying in the USA for foreign students?

A. One-month expenses in the USA for international students will be about $1,000 to $1,500.

Q. List the most reasonably priced universities in the U.S. to study for international students.

A. Some of the reasonably priced universities in the U.S. for international students, as per U.S. News & World Report, are:

1. Brigham Young University 

2. Provo, Nicholls State University

3. South Dakota State University, etc.