Cost & financial aid brief
California Institute of Technology Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid
How much does California Institute of Technology cost after financial aid?
Aid covers about 81% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, reducing the sticker price by $70,811 on average. The pattern across income bands is steeply progressive.
The two lowest bands see negative average net prices, meaning aid more than covers the billed cost. Costs then increase through the middle bands to $54,157 for the highest-income families.
The published cost of attendance is $86,886. Azimuth ranks California Institute of Technology #416 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.
The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $56,290. Aid covers about 81% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.
A minority of undergraduates, 34.8%, take federal loans. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $27,881 in Parent PLUS loans.
Student loans: what does repayment look like?
Four years after completion, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $152,843. That figure sits in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from a downside of $70,318 to an upside of $200,511, with a typical scenario of $152,843. The spread between the downside and upside scenarios is wide.
The median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $55,915, which puts California Institute of Technology $96,928 above the peer median. Azimuth ranks the university #12 for return.
The federal data for this school does not include a median debt figure for completers, so a direct comparison with the peer median of $25,000 is not possible. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $27,881 in Parent PLUS loans.
For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $27,881.
Repayment figures are in the Financial GPS card below. Borrowing populations and model assumptions.
Parent loans: what can the family afford?
How Parent PLUS borrowing affects families
- Median Parent PLUS debt
- $27,881
- Estimated parent payment
- $354/mo
| Household income | Share of income above basic expenses | Risk level |
|---|---|---|
| $35,000 | No room | High pressure |
| $50,000 | No room | High pressure |
| $75,000 | 20.9% | High pressure |
| $100,000 | 9.4% | Caution |
| $150,000 | 4.5% | Safe |
| $200,000 | 2.9% | Safe |
The 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS balance, as a share of household income above basic expenses ($54,640 a year: 200% of the 2026 federal poverty guideline for a household of three). No room is High pressure. Open the parent tool for your own numbers. Read the assumptions and limits.
Student and parent loans: the monthly payments
Financial GPS
What does repayment look like?
- Institution median student debt
- No federal loan data
- Institution Parent PLUS debt
- $27,881
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
- Estimated student payment · monthly
- No federal loan data
- Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
- $354/mo
Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.
Payment assumptions
Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.
Data & methodology
Sources and reporting periods: methodology.
Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.
Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.
Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.
Net price and borrowing. The 2023–24 income-band averages include living costs and cover eligible first-time, full-time aid recipients; public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. They are not individual aid offers. Peer matching supplies overall net prices, not matched income-band averages. College Scorecard data and documentation.
A personal student-risk assessment also needs your major and borrowing plan; these school-level illustrations do not assign you a personal risk zone.
Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates. Private-loan figures from the Common Data Set are separate from these federal repayment illustrations.