UCONN is research university as well so much of their research funding is captured in the per pupil figure which is misleading.

Also throw in the subsidy for housing costs. UCONN houses most of its students while regional schools are largely commuter students.

With all this being said though it makes total sense to spend more for the elite state school because school rankings matter. I would wager uconn alumni drive more value to state economy than regional university and community colleges do. There's a reason why average SAT scores differ the way they do between CT state schools.

We've hired several fund accountants over the years at our firm and there's an incredible difference between those we hire from uconn vs southern/western. My 2c for what it's worth.

Edit-for clarity and as a factoid I pulled the below from US Weekly

Southern Connecticut SAT range is 900-1130, 25th - 75th percentile.

UCONN SAT range is 1230-1430, same percentile range