At the typical Christian college, the cost of staff per student rose 15.2% since 2019. Revenue per student only rose 9.7%.
| 2019 | 2025 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff cost per student | $12,991 | $14,967 | +15.2% |
| Revenue per student | $17,582 | $19,287 | +9.7% |
| Total expenses per student | $24,108 | $29,076 | +20.6% |
| Margin between revenue and staff cost per student | $5,260 | $4,938 | −6.1% |
Every College president likely knows two numbers cold: this fall’s enrollment and this year’s budget. Fewer know the number that links them, which is what each student brings in compared to what each student costs to teach, house, advise, and serve.
We pulled that number from audited financial statements for 111 Christian colleges and universities, FY2019 through FY2025. Salaries and benefits are the largest line on every campus budget and the one accounting standards define most consistently, so they compare cleanly across schools. We divided them by full-time equivalent enrollment to get staff cost per student, and did the same with tuition and auxiliary revenue.
In 2019, the median school spent $12,991on staff for each student and brought in $17,582 from that student. That’s a cushion of $5,260 per student to cover everything else: buildings, technology, insurance, debt, food. etc.
By 2025, staff cost per student had risen to $14,967, a 15% increase. Revenue per student rose to $19,287, up less than 10%. The cushion shrank to $4,938. That’s a 6% drop in 6 years, during which the cost of everything else on campus rose faster than either.
The pattern held at 71% of schools. So, it’s not a few institutions with runaway payroll. It’s the entire sector.
How It Happened
Enrollment at the median school fell 2.4% from 2019 to 2025. Total staff spending rose 12%. Put those together and the math is unavoidable: Fewer students, more payroll, and a higher cost per student.
Thirty-four schools, nearly one in three, lost enrollment and increased total staff spending over the same period. That isn’t a criticism. Wages had to rise after 2021 to keep people. Health insurance costs rose for everyone. And a campus built for 1,800 students doesn’t shed its registrar, its counseling center or its chemistry faculty when 1,650 show up.
But it does mean the model that balanced in 2019 doesn’t balance now. Among the 34 schools, 59% ran negative operating cash flow and FY2025. Among the rest, 34% did.
Where the Line is
The clearest indicator in the data is the size of the gap between revenue per student and staff cost per student. We split the schools into quartiles.
| Gap per student (median) | Negative operating cash flow, FY2025 |
|---|---|
| $436 | 61% |
| $4,182 | 46% |
| $5,735 | 33% |
| $8,478 | 25% |
When the cat drops below roughly $4,000 per student, more schools burn cash than don’t.
Twelve schools now spend more on staff per student than they collect per student. In 2019, there were five. Seven of the 12 have fewer than 1,000 students.
Size Doesn’t Save on Staff
A common assumption is that larger schools run leaner. They don’t, at least not for student:
| FTE | Staff cost per student | Revenue per student | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1,000 | $13,829 | $18,400 | $3,903 |
| 1,000–1,999 | $14,967 | $18,999 | $4,846 |
| 2,000–3,999 | $15,135 | $20,088 | $4,941 |
| 4,000+ | $16,555 | $24,308 | $7,634 |
Large schools spend more on staff per student than small ones. What separates them is revenue. They collect $6,000 more per student, partly through graduate and professional programs, partly through lower discount rates. Their cushion is almost twice as wide.
Small schools can’t fix this with size, so they have to fix it with the two levers they control: what each student pays after aid, and how many people it takes to serve each student.
The Question for Your Campus
Take your total salaries and benefits from last year’s audit. Divide by your fall FTE. Then take net tuition plus auxiliary revenue and divide by the same number. Then subtract.
If the gap is above $5,000, you have room. If it’s under $4,000, you’re in the half of the sector more likely to burn cash than build it. If it’s near zero, enrollment growth alone won’t fix it, because every new student arrives with the same cost structure attached.
At the end of the day, it’s not about whether you can cut your way out or recruit your way out. It’s whether your staffing model was built for the enrollment you had or the enrollment you now have.
If enrollment, pricing and staffing are separate conversations on your campus, let’s bring them together. Contact us to discuss how TG Three can help you build a sustainable enrollment strategy.
Method: Salaries and benefits and tuition plus auxiliary revenue from FY2019 and FY2025 audited financial statements, divided by full-time equivalent enrollment. 111 institutions with data in both years. Excluded: seven schools that closed during the period, and six whose cost structure or enrollment count isn’t comparable (Liberty University, Indiana Wesleyan University, Southeastern University, University of Toccoa Falls, College of the Ozarks and Moody Bible Institute). Staff cost includes all employees and benefits, not faculty alone. Special thanks to Gary Stocker at College Viability for the data collection.