A better method to analyze college cost is to look at expected lifetime income gain for a college degree vs not having one. If it's significantly net positive, then college is a good investment.
Since 1980, that has gone up a lot. This method is
Why is that better? Non graduates also have loan expenses for other things, e.g. businesses or mortgages acquired sooner. You'd want to compare paychecks net of debt payments to look at workable income.
College is either a good investment, or it is not. To evaluate, you look at expected returns, just like any investment.
Last time I ran numbers, it was one of the best investments one could make; better return than historical stocks, real estate, or just about any similar volatility asset class.
You also might want to figure in lifetime expected unemoloyment- there's usually a decent gap between college degreed unemployment rates vs non-degreed rates.
And the gains given to skilled vs unskilled are only increasing.
My guess is that the adjusted wages haven't risen much over time, or at least nowhere near as steeply as the associated education costs have.