Executive summary -- Introduction -- Trends in college prices and family incomes -- Trends in college graduates' earnings -- Paying for college charges with increased earnings -- The cost versus benefits analysis for students who leave college without degrees -- Changes in college participation and graduation ratios -- State-by-state differences in college affordability -- State-by-state differences in graduation productivity ratios -- State-by-state differences in affordability and graduation productivity -- Some policy implications of the long-term national trends -- Some policy implications of the state-by-state patterns.