Cost & financial aid brief

Drake University Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid

Updated October 1, 2026

How much does Drake University cost after financial aid?

Attending Drake University carries a published sticker price of $64,835, which includes $52,130 in tuition and fees and $12,452 for room and board. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients—what students actually pay after grants and scholarships—is $29,127, a reduction of $35,708 from the full published cost.

Among comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $27,371; the average here is $1,756 above that mark. Azimuth places the university at #1,101 in its affordability ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions. That standing places the affordability in the 22nd percentile.

Affordability is a challenge at Drake University: the pillar sits in the 22nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid recipients pay an average net price—what they owe after grants and scholarships—of $29,127, which is above the median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,756.

Completers who borrow leave with median federal student debt of $23,000, below the peer median of $24,199 by $1,199. run from $25,824 in the lowest income band to $33,126 in the highest, a spread of $7,302.

The lowest band sits below the peer median, while the highest band and the upper-middle band exceed it, so the net price picture is mixed across the income scale.

Average net prices by family-income band show a relatively flat structure. For families earning under $30,000 the average net price is $25,824; for $30,001–$48,000 it is $23,275; for $48,001–$75,000 it is $25,171; for $75,001–$110,000 it is $27,408; and for families earning over $110,000 it is $33,126.

Pell Grant recipients make up 21.7% of undergraduates, providing context for the lowest band. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $7,302, a narrow gap that suggests aid is distributed broadly rather than concentrated on the lowest-income families.

Aid covers about 55% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, a reduction of $35,708 against the sticker price. The lowest income band, under $30,000, averages $25,824.

The $30,001–$48,000 band averages $23,275, which is the lowest average net price of the five. The middle band sits at $25,171, the upper-middle at $27,408, and families earning over $110,000 average $33,126.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $7,302. That is a difference of averages, not what any family pays, and the middle bands sit closer to the bottom than the top.

The published cost of attendance is $64,835. Azimuth ranks Drake University #1,101 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $25,824 in the lowest family-income band, $23,275 in the lower-middle band, $25,171 in the middle band, $27,408 in the upper-middle band, and $33,126 in the highest band. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $7,302.

Aid covers about 55% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The average net price across all aid recipients is $29,127, which is $1,756 above the $27,371 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $23,000 in federal student loans, $1,199 below the peer median of $24,199. The share of undergraduates borrowing federal loans is 93.6%.

Parents who borrow through Parent PLUS hold a separate median of $26,000. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $261 a month.

Student loans: what does repayment look like?

Borrowing is widespread at Drake, with 93.6% of federal aid recipients taking federal loans. Among those who complete, the median federal student debt is $23,000.

That median sits $1,199 below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $26,000 in Parent PLUS loans.

At Drake University, the investment picture is mixed. Graduates earn a median of $65,232 four years after completion, a figure that sits at the 66th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

However, they earn about $7,139 less than expects for similar students, an outcome that falls to the 28th percentile. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, range from $48,617 in a downside case to $87,532 in an upside case, with $65,232 as the typical outcome.

On the borrowing side, the median federal student debt at completion is $23,000, which is $1,199 below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions. If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $261 a month.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $26,000. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $261.

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: $26,000
Estimated parent payment: $330/mo

Modeled Parent PLUS pressure by income
Income	Risk level
$35,000	High pressure
$50,000	High pressure
$75,000	High pressure
$100,000	Caution
$150,000	Safe
$200,000	Safe

The model holds the parent balance fixed and varies parent income. Read the assumptions and limits.

Student and parent loans: the monthly payments

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt: $23,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt: $26,000

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

Estimated student payment · monthly: $261/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly: $330/mo

Modeled student + parent payments: $591/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Student payment as a share of available income

At median graduate earnings of $65,232, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:

7.3% of income above the allowance · Excellent

Excellent Under 8% · selected scenario
Good 8–under 12%
Concerning 12–20%
High risk Over 20%

How this estimate works

These are modeled earnings scenarios, not observed earnings percentiles. Annual student payments ÷ (earnings − basic-expense allowance). The starting allowance, $22,590, uses the published framework’s 2024 baseline; it is not a current local living-cost estimate. Change it for your budget, including taxes and other obligations. This combines school-level figures for illustration, not a typical individual’s budget or an official school rating. Parent PLUS is separate.

Read the framework and its limits.

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

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.