With the rise of community college skyrocketing in the last five years many young potential college students take a less educational path. 2020-2021 Us News reported average tuition being $9,900 for students compared to 2024-2025 school year average of $12,150, according to collegetuitioncompare – a rise of over 18.52% for students Danny Hinton, 19 of East Peoria, works as a server at Denny’s. He said he considered college, but the cost caused him to take a pass.