Many families grappling with the rising cost of college are turning to state universities in search of cost savings. But public schools are not always cheaper.

A Bloomberg News analysis of 15 state schools and 50 selective colleges found that families making $75,000 to $150,000 often pay less at private colleges, which are able to offset higher tuition costs with more generous financial aid.

The analysis found that many middle class families in the US often earn too much money to qualify for significant financial aid, but not enough to pay out of pocket and keep their kids out of debt. The squeeze starts at about $150,000 a year in household income, when families are expected to fork over about $30,000 on average annually for tuition at top private colleges.

As income climbs, the price of attending state schools starts to look better. Families making $200,000 or more pay close to full tuition at their in-state college, around $35,000 on average for the universities in the analysis. In many cases that’s less than what they'd be asked to pay each year at private colleges.

The Bloomberg analysis, which used data on 15 public schools provided by Meadow, a company that calculates grants based on financial information and student grades for more than 150 colleges, did not include merit aid — often used by public colleges to lower cost for high-achieving students.

Cost can drop dramatically for families after factoring in merit aid. For example, an in-state student with an A average from a family who makes $150,000 would be expected to pay roughly $27,000 a year at Auburn University after accounting for merit aid. That’s approximately 29% less than what a student from the same family income profile with a C grade average would be expected to pay, according to Meadow.

“If you’re higher income and don’t qualify for much need based aid, that’s when merit aid is going to make a difference,” said Amy Yamner Jenkins, a co-founder and chief operating officer at Meadow.

Read the full Bloomberg article here.