College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Columbia University in the City of New York

NYMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #55 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

A return on investment ranked #11 among national universities.

Who it’s a good fit for

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private nonprofit university in New York whose degree mix is led by Social Sciences, Computer & Information Sciences, and Engineering. Return is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes more of that to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — than to what it cannot explain.

The typical graduate also earns above the median at comparable schools. The price case turns on income.

Families at the bottom of the scale pay far less than the published cost, while those at the top pay closer to it. Pell students complete at a lower rate than the overall cohort, and mobility is among the highest we track.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools. A student drawn to the social sciences should know that the largest departments are not the best-paid ones.

Columbia at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
4.0%
Six-year completion[2]
96.1%
Four-year earnings[3]
$115,519

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$5,866
Median student debt[4]
$21,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$35,000

Columbia rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private nonprofit university in New York, New York, enrolling 8,973 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits near the very top of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (96th percentile).

The university admits 4.0% of applicants, a rate far below the 71.2% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Retention runs well above the peer median: 98.0% return after the first year, against a peer median of 83.4%.

The six-year graduation rate is 96.1%, compared to a peer median of 68.8%. An estimated 33.0% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, and the six-year rate describes the first-time, full-time cohort only.

The four sit far apart. Return is the strongest, at the 99th percentile, while affordability is the weakest, at the 45th percentile.

Access and mobility sit between them, at the 89th and 91st percentiles respectively.

Azimuth ranks Columbia University in the City of New York #55 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions, with the return pillar reaching the 99th percentile. The mobility pillar sits in the 91st percentile and the access pillar in the 89th percentile.

Affordability is the weakest pillar, in the 45th percentile. The average net price for families in the highest income band is $50,621.

22.7% of undergraduates at Columbia University in the City of New York receive Pell Grants, the share used as a measure of financial access to the university. Azimuth ranks the university #155 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For students who receive Pell Grants, the six-year completion rate is 83.0%, a figure that falls 13.1 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole (96.1%). On the mobility pillar, Azimuth ranks Columbia University in the City of New York #137 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $12,564 more than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Columbia rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#55

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 91
Access & reach
National percentile: 89
Affordability
National percentile: 45
Return on investment
National percentile: 99

Top-ranked majors

  1. Area Studies#1
  2. Sustainability Studies#1
  3. Sociology#1

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Columbia briefing

Columbia cost & financial aid[6][7]

Columbia University in the City of New York publishes a cost of attendance of $89,472, with tuition and fees at $71,845 and room and board at $17,580. For the average aid recipient, the net price falls to $21,590, a savings of $67,882 against the sticker total.

That sits below the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $5,781. Azimuth ranks the university #774 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Columbia University in the City of New York publishes a cost of attendance of $89,472. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $4,570.

For families in the $48,001–$75,000 band, the average net price is $5,866. For families earning over $110,000, the average net price is $50,621.

Azimuth ranks the university #774 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Financial aid reduces the sticker price by an average of $67,882, yielding an average net price of $21,590 across all aid recipients.

The median net price at comparable institutions (same type and size) is $27,371, which places Columbia's average net price below by $5,781. Published tuition is $71,845.

The median federal student loan debt at completion is $21,500, with 67.0% of federal aid recipients borrowing. The median federal debt at comparable institutions (same type and size) is $24,199, so Columbia's median is below by $2,699.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $35,000. The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$5,866

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Columbia

At Columbia University in the City of New York, borrowers who finish hold a median of $21,500 in federal student loans. That is $2,699 below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

67.0% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Parent borrowers hold a separate median of $35,000.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 14% of graduates borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative amount of $37,357 per borrower. 11% of graduates held federal loans averaging $13,356.

5% of graduates held private loans averaging $73,463, including some with federal debt.

At Columbia University in the City of New York, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $115,519 four years after completion. Azimuth places that figure in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $12,564 more than the model expects for similar students. That gap sits at the 88th percentile.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, range from $54,662 in a downside case to $172,308 in an upside case, with a typical outcome of $115,519. On the borrowing side, the median federal student debt at completion is $21,500.

That is $2,699 below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). The debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, stands at $35,000. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $244.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$21,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$35,000

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$244/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$445/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.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Columbia briefing

Columbia career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Azimuth places the return pillar for Columbia University in the City of New York at the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $115,519, in the 99th percentile.

That figure is $47,269 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $12,564 more than the model expects for similar students, placing that gap at the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,670. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $2,894. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $5,351.

Graduates of Columbia University in the City of New York earn about $12,564 more than the model expects for similar students. The median earnings four years after completion reach $115,519, drawn from a cohort of 2,609 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled.

That median sits in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios, which reflect the university's program mix, point to a typical outcome of $115,519.

The downside earnings scenario is $54,662, while the upside scenario reaches $172,308. An estimate derived from the program mix suggests that 37.6% of programs' graduates continue to graduate study.

Four years after completion, the median earnings of Columbia University in the City of New York graduates reach $115,519, placing the university in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure is above the median of $68,250 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $47,269.

Graduates earn about $12,564 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 88th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,670.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $2,894. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $5,351.

Azimuth ranks the university #11 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $54,662 and an upside of $172,308.

The largest program, Computer Science, awarded 357 degrees and shows median earnings of $188,265 four years after completion, ranking #14 nationally in its field in Azimuth's rankings. Economics follows with 327 degrees awarded and earnings of $137,710, good for a national rank of #12 in Azimuth's rankings.

Political Science produced 225 degrees and a median of $100,245, ranking #4 nationally in Azimuth's rankings. The high-return program History earned $98,079, which is 1.94x the national median for its field, and ranks #5 nationally in Azimuth's rankings.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $54,662 on the downside to $172,308 on the upside, with the typical scenario at $115,519. These are scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.

At the upper end, Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $194,365 four years after completion, from 22 degrees awarded a year. Computer Science, the largest program, has median earnings of $188,265 from 357 degrees. Operations Research follows at $167,572.

Graduates of Columbia University in the City of New York earn about $12,564 more than the model expects for similar students. The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $21,500, which is below the median of $24,199 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment on that debt is $244. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $35,000.

The average net price for first-time full-time aid recipients is $21,590, which is below the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions. For aid recipients from families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $4,570, and aid covers about 76% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

The spread between the lowest and highest income bands is $46,051, reflecting a pricing structure where the sticker price of $89,472 is substantially reduced for most aided students.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$9,670
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$2,894
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$12,564

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Columbia briefing

Columbia acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Columbia University in the City of New York admitted 4.0% of applicants, a figure far below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
4.0%
25th percentile
1510
Median
1540
75th percentile
1560

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Columbia briefing

What are the largest majors at Columbia?[12]

Columbia University in the City of New York publishes four-year earnings for 23 bachelor's fields, and Azimuth ranks 16 of them nationally. Computer Science is the largest program by degrees awarded, with 357 degrees and a median of $188,265 four years after completion, placing it #14 in its field.

Economics follows at 327 degrees awarded and a median of $137,710, ranking #12 nationally. The highest median among all programs belongs to Computer Engineering, at $194,365, though it awarded only 22 degrees.

Among the larger fields, Political Science reports a median of $100,245 and an Azimuth national rank of #4 on 225 degrees awarded, while Research and Experimental Psychology reaches $86,946 with 163 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks 16 of Columbia University in the City of New York's bachelor's programs nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions, with earnings data published for 23 fields. Political Science is the university's best nationally ranked program at #4 (#1 in New York), awarding 225 degrees and posting a median of $100,245 four years after completion.

Computer Science is the largest program, with 357 degrees awarded, a national rank of #14, and median earnings of $188,265. Economics ranks #12 nationally and #1 in New York, awarding 327 degrees and earning a median of $137,710.

History rounds out the ranked programs at #5 nationally (#1 in New York), with 111 degrees awarded and median earnings of $98,079.

The degree mix at Columbia University in the City of New York is anchored in the social sciences, with Social Sciences accounting for 25.3% of bachelor's degrees awarded. Computer & Information Sciences is next at 13.9%, followed by Engineering at 11.5%.

Across all fields, 42.4% of degrees are in STEM. The university has 16 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 23 with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Computer Science, at 357 degrees awarded, followed by Economics at 327 and Political Science at 225. The highest-ranked program is Area Studies, which Azimuth ranks #1 nationally and #1 in New York within its field.

The highest-earning program is a much smaller one: Computer Engineering graduates earn $194,365 four years after completion, from 22 degrees awarded a year. History stands out for its return, with a benchmark ratio of 1.94x against the national median for its field.

The pattern is one of strength concentrated in the largest programs. Computer Science, Economics, and Political Science all carry strong national ranks and earnings above the national median for their fields, so the programs that award the most degrees also post competitive outcomes.

The highest earnings belong to a small engineering program, but the large social science and computing departments are where most graduates come from. For fields that commonly precede graduate study, the four-year earnings figure understates later trajectories.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Computer Science 357 degrees awarded
$188,265
Economics 327 degrees awarded
$137,710
Political Science and Government 225 degrees awarded
$100,245
Research and Experimental Psychology 163 degrees awarded
$86,946
History 111 degrees awarded
$98,079
English Language and Literature, General 82 degrees awarded
$59,396

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Columbia briefing

How does Columbia serve students from different backgrounds?

Azimuth places the mobility pillar for Columbia University in the City of New York in the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 96.1%, while Pell recipients complete at 83.0% — below the overall rate by 13.1 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $12,564 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that lands in the 88th percentile.

Azimuth places the access pillar of Columbia University in the City of New York in the 89th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The university admits 4.0% of applicants, a figure far below the peer median of 71.2%.

Pell Grant recipients make up 22.7% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 33.0% of its 8,973 undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / Columbia briefing

What colleges are similar to Columbia?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Columbia.

Admissions peerPrinceton University4.6% admitted
Comparison with Columbia
MeasureColumbiaPrinceton University
Peer earnings · 4 years$115,519$108,590-$6,929 vs Columbia
Average annual net price$21,590$6,128-$15,462 vs Columbia · lower cost
Admission rate4.0%4.6%
Explore Princeton University →
Higher-admission alternativeStevens Institute of Technology47.6% admitted
Comparison with Columbia
MeasureColumbiaStevens Institute of Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$115,519$112,538-$2,981 vs Columbia
Average annual net price$21,590$41,346+$19,756 vs Columbia · higher cost
Admission rate4.0%47.6%
Explore Stevens Institute of Technology →
Nearby alternativeYale UniversityNearby option · CT
Comparison with Columbia
MeasureColumbiaYale University
Peer earnings · 4 years$115,519$112,971-$2,548 vs Columbia
Average annual net price$21,590$23,777+$2,187 vs Columbia · higher cost
Admission rate4.0%3.9%
Explore Yale University →
Higher-earnings alternativeMassachusetts Institute of Technology$161,961 earnings
Comparison with Columbia
MeasureColumbiaMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$115,519$161,961+$46,442 vs Columbia
Average annual net price$21,590$20,111-$1,479 vs Columbia · lower cost
Admission rate4.0%4.6%
Explore Massachusetts Institute of Technology →
Lower-cost alternativePrinceton University$6,128 average net price
Comparison with Columbia
MeasureColumbiaPrinceton University
Peer earnings · 4 years$115,519$108,590-$6,929 vs Columbia
Average annual net price$21,590$6,128-$15,462 vs Columbia · lower cost
Admission rate4.0%4.6%
Explore Princeton University →
Similar profileYale UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Columbia
MeasureColumbiaYale University
Peer earnings · 4 years$115,519$112,971-$2,548 vs Columbia
Average annual net price$21,590$23,777+$2,187 vs Columbia · higher cost
Admission rate4.0%3.9%
Explore Yale University →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings