Next time someone says students should work their way through college, show them this map

I’m sorry–I didn’t mean to imply that NO ONE can work his/her way through college. But it is much harder for students to do that today than it was back in the 60s-80s. Back then you could work minimum wage jobs part-time during the school year and full-time during the summer and earn enough for tuition/fees/room/board to go to big state u.–it was very commonly expected by parents and completely doable. I’m sure a lot of CC parents did this. But today, very few kids could earn enough to do this. It is not because minimum wage is low. It is because college costs are disproportionately inflated. Very few can earn enough for tuition, let alone room/board. But, yes, you could still work, live with your parents, and pay for community college tuition. Where there is a will, there’s a way.