In 2010, total student loan debt surpassed total credit card debt held by Americans. About two years later, total student debt broke the psychologically huge $1 trillion mark. These milestones brought to a boil long-simmering frustration with college price growth that has outstripped normal inflation, household income changes, and even spending-rate increases in the health-care sector. No one disputes that the sticker price of college--what schools charge, not necessarily what students end up paying--has for decades been rising at a very fast clip. What analysts disagree about is why. There are many possible explanations, but one that has a lot of adherents is that direct public support for colleges and universities, which is determined primarily by state, and to a lesser extent, local governments, has been in considerable decline. Schools have had to raise prices just to stay at level funding. Prices at public four-year institutions and community colleges have risen faster than at private schools. Can these results be explained by declining direct support? As this paper illustrates with breakdowns of appropriation and tuition-and-fee revenue for all 50 states, changes to direct subsidies are only part of the explanation, and that part varies from state to state.