College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Johns Hopkins University

MDMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #70 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Johns Hopkins #70 nationally.

Who it’s a good fit for

Johns Hopkins University is a private nonprofit university in Baltimore, Maryland, where the degree mix is led by Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Social Sciences. Return is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns above the median at comparable schools. The model attributes that gain to the factors it measures, which adds, while the remainder it cannot explain subtracts.

The price case turns on income: families in the lowest band average a net price near zero, while those at the top pay closer to the published cost. Pell students complete within a few points of the overall rate, and mobility is well above average.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions. A student who gets in should know that the single largest program is not the best-paid one.

Johns Hopkins at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
6.4%
Six-year completion[2]
93.8%
Four-year earnings[3]
$117,419

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$4,179
Median student debt[4]
$10,250
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$29,048

Johns Hopkins rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Johns Hopkins University is a private nonprofit university in Baltimore, Maryland, enrolling 5,693 undergraduates. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, it sits near the top of the field.

Applicants face steep odds: the university admits only 6.4%, against a median of 71.2% among comparable institutions (same type and size). First-year retention is 98.1%, well above the peer median of 83.4%.

The six-year graduation rate is 93.8%, against a peer median of 68.8%. An estimated 4.7% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate reflects the experience of most who begin here.

Return is the strongest of the four , and access is the weakest. Mobility and affordability sit close together between those two. The spread is wide at the top and tight across the other three.

Azimuth ranks Johns Hopkins University #70 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. The strongest pillar is return on investment, at the 98th percentile, while access is the weakest at the 83rd percentile. Mobility sits at the 85th percentile and affordability at the 85th percentile.

19.5% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants here, the sole financial-access measure that anchors the admitted-student profile within this block. Azimuth ranks Johns Hopkins University #245 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients in the first-time full-time cohort complete at 91.7%, a rate that sits 2.1 percentage points below the figure for the entering cohort as a whole (93.8%). The access pillar combines the Pell share and that completion gap, the two figures that give it shape.

Azimuth ranks the university #214 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $5,358 more than the model expects for similar students, the earnings-beyond-expectations result that sits alongside the mobility pillar's rank in this block.

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

Johns Hopkins rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#70

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 85
Access & reach
National percentile: 83
Affordability
National percentile: 85
Return on investment
National percentile: 98

Top-ranked majors

  1. International Relations and National Security Studies#1
  2. Computer and Information Sciences, General#2
  3. Biomedical/Medical Engineering#3

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 / Johns Hopkins briefing

Johns Hopkins cost & financial aid[6][7]

The published cost of attendance at Johns Hopkins University is $85,947, with tuition and fees of $65,230 and room and board of $20,150. Financial aid reduces the sticker price by $67,138 on average, leaving aid recipients with an average net price of $18,809.

That is $8,562 below the $27,371 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Aid covers about 78% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

Azimuth ranks the university #212 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Johns Hopkins University publishes a cost of attendance of $85,947, with tuition and fees at $65,230 and room and board at $20,150. The average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—varies sharply by family income.

For families earning under $30,000, the is $428; for those in the $48,001–$75,000 band, it is $4,179; and for families earning over $110,000, it is $37,774. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $37,346, and aid exceeds the full cost for qualifying families in the $30,001–$48,000 band, where the average net price is -$213.

Azimuth ranks the university #212 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 78% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $67,138 against the sticker price.

The average net price across all aid recipients is $18,809, which sits below the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $8,562. Median federal student debt at completion is $10,250.

That median is below the peer median of $24,199 for comparable institutions by $13,949, and 88.0% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. For a graduate at the median four-year earnings, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $116 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $29,048.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$4,179

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Net price can be negative: when grants and scholarships exceed the listed cost of attendance, students can receive the difference as a refund for other expenses.

Borrowing and repayment at Johns Hopkins

Federal borrowers who complete a degree at Johns Hopkins University carry a median debt of $10,250. That figure stands below the median of $24,199 at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $13,949.

88.0% of federal aid recipients borrow through federal programs. The median Parent PLUS debt, tracked for a separate parent-borrower population, is $29,048.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 20% of the 1,331 bachelor's graduates in the cohort borrowed from any source, averaging $28,217 per borrower. This included 19% with federal loans averaging $13,731 and 4% with private loans averaging $68,079.

The median earnings for Johns Hopkins University completers reach $117,419 four years after finishing, a figure in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $5,358 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome that places them in the 72nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios anchored to the university's program mix show a typical earnings level of $117,419, a downside case of $50,110, and an upside case of $151,827. Borrowers who complete carry a median federal debt of $10,250.

That amount runs below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $13,949. If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $116.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $29,048. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $116.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$10,250
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$29,048

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$116/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$369/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 / Johns Hopkins briefing

Johns Hopkins career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Azimuth places the return pillar for Johns Hopkins University in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $117,419 four years after completion, in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The median is $49,169 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $5,358 more than the model expects for similar students.

That outcome is at the 72nd 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 $11,856.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,498. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $8,454.

Graduates of Johns Hopkins University earn a median of $117,419 four years after completion, placing the university in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings cohort is 3,355 completers.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a typical figure of $117,419, with a downside scenario of $50,110 and an upside scenario of $151,827. An estimated 38.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Graduates earn about $5,358 more than the model expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 72nd percentile.

Four years after completion, Johns Hopkins University graduates earn a median of $117,419, 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), a gap of $49,169.

Graduates earn about $5,358 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 72nd percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $11,856.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,498. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $8,454.

Azimuth ranks Johns Hopkins University #30 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $50,110 and an upside of $151,827.

The largest program, Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, awarded 172 degrees and shows median earnings of $56,543 four years after completion, ranking #13 nationally in its field. Computer and Information Sciences is the highest-earning program, with 151 degrees awarded and a median of $196,467, which is 2.13x the national median for the field.

Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn $196,467, 2.13x the national median, and the program ranks #2 nationally. Mathematics, with 135 degrees awarded, posts median earnings of $134,785, or 1.94x its field's national median.

The range between the downside and upside scenarios spans from $50,110 to $151,827, reflecting the variation in earnings potential across the university's program clusters. The highest-earning program, Computer and Information Sciences, shows median earnings of $196,467 four years after completion, while Mathematics graduates earn a median of $134,785.

A third program, Economics, posts median earnings of $128,882, further illustrating the concentration of high-earning fields within the institution's degree mix.

Graduates of Johns Hopkins University earn about $5,358 more than the model expects for similar students. They leave with a median of $10,250 in federal student loans, which is $13,949 below the median for comparable institutions (same type and size) of $24,199.

The published cost of attendance is $85,947, but aid covers about 78% of that for the average aid recipient. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $18,809, which is $8,562 below the peer median of $27,371.

The estimated payment on the median debt is $116 a month if repaid over ten years. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $29,048 in Parent PLUS loans.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$11,856
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$6,498
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$5,358

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 / Johns Hopkins briefing

Johns Hopkins acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Johns Hopkins University admitted 6.4% of applicants in the most recent cycle, below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 50,259 applicants, 3,072 admitted students, and 1,378 enrolled first-year students.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
6.4%
25th percentile
1530
Median
1550
75th percentile
1565

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

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Johns Hopkins briefing

What are the largest majors at Johns Hopkins?[12]

Johns Hopkins University's highest-earning programs cluster in computing and quantitative fields. Computer and Information Sciences leads with a median of $196,467 four years after completion, alongside 151 degrees awarded.

Mathematics follows at $134,785 with 135 degrees awarded, and Biomedical Engineering reaches $114,673 on 100 degrees awarded, ranking #3 nationally in its field. The largest programs span a wider earnings range.

Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, the biggest by degrees awarded at 172, shows a median of $56,543 and an Azimuth national rank of #13. Public Health awards 143 degrees, earns $79,113, and ranks #5 nationally.

Johns Hopkins University has 12 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, and earnings data is available for 14 programs. The highest-earning program, Computer and Information Sciences, shows a median of $196,467 four years after completion, alongside 151 degrees awarded.

International Relations and National Security Studies is a top-ranked program at the university, placing #1 nationally and #1 in Maryland, with 78 degrees awarded and median earnings of $99,205. Computer and Information Sciences ranks #2 nationally and #1 in Maryland, with 151 degrees awarded and median earnings of $196,467.

The largest program, Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, awarded 172 degrees and shows median earnings of $56,543.

The program mix at Johns Hopkins University is concentrated in the sciences and engineering. Biological Sciences accounts for 19.6% of bachelor's degrees awarded, with Engineering at 15.7% and Social Sciences at 14.9%.

Across all fields, 61.1% of degrees are in STEM. The university has 12 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 14 with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, at 172 degrees awarded, followed by Computer and Information Sciences at 151 and Public Health at 143. The highest-ranked program by national standing is in the social sciences.

International Relations and National Security Studies is the highest-ranked in its field, with 78 degrees awarded and median earnings of $99,205 four years after completion. Computer and Information Sciences, the second-largest program, ranks #1 in Maryland within its field, and its completers earn a median of $196,467 four years after completion.

Biomedical Engineering ranks #3 nationally and #1 in Maryland within its field, with earnings of $114,673. Public Health ranks #5 nationally and #1 in Maryland within its field, with 143 degrees awarded.

Computer and Information Sciences carries a benchmark ratio of 2.13x against the national median for its field. The pattern is one of strength concentrated in the programs that award the most degrees.

The highest-earning program, Computer and Information Sciences, has median earnings of $196,467. The earnings spread between the largest program and the highest-earning one is wide.

A student drawn to the biological sciences, the largest family, will find that the mathematics and economics programs that are also large post earnings of $134,785 and $128,882.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences 172 degrees awarded
$56,543
Computer and Information Sciences, General 151 degrees awarded
$196,467
Public Health 143 degrees awarded
$79,113
Mathematics 135 degrees awarded
$134,785
Economics 132 degrees awarded
$128,882
Neurobiology and Neurosciences 128 degrees awarded
$56,324

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 / Johns Hopkins briefing

How does Johns Hopkins serve students from different backgrounds?

The mobility pillar at Johns Hopkins University sits in the 85th percentile. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 93.8%, while Pell recipients complete at 91.7% — a figure that sits below the overall rate by 2.1 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $5,358 more than the model expects for similar students, placing the earnings beyond expectations measure in the 72nd percentile.

Azimuth places the access pillar of Johns Hopkins University in the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The university admits 6.4% of applicants, a rate far below the peer median of 71.2%.

Pell Grant recipients make up 19.5% of the 5,693 undergraduates, and an estimated 4.7% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / Johns Hopkins briefing

What colleges are similar to Johns Hopkins?[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 Johns Hopkins.

Admissions peerUniversity of Pennsylvania5.4% admitted
Comparison with Johns Hopkins
MeasureJohns HopkinsUniversity of Pennsylvania
Peer earnings · 4 years$117,419$124,586+$7,167 vs Johns Hopkins
Average annual net price$18,809$28,699+$9,890 vs Johns Hopkins · higher cost
Admission rate6.4%5.4%
Explore University of Pennsylvania →
Higher-admission alternativeCapitol Technology University74.4% admitted
Comparison with Johns Hopkins
MeasureJohns HopkinsCapitol Technology University
Peer earnings · 4 years$117,419$104,028-$13,391 vs Johns Hopkins
Average annual net price$18,809$22,102+$3,293 vs Johns Hopkins · higher cost
Admission rate6.4%74.4%
Explore Capitol Technology University →
Nearby alternativeCapitol Technology UniversityNearby option · MD
Comparison with Johns Hopkins
MeasureJohns HopkinsCapitol Technology University
Peer earnings · 4 years$117,419$104,028-$13,391 vs Johns Hopkins
Average annual net price$18,809$22,102+$3,293 vs Johns Hopkins · higher cost
Admission rate6.4%74.4%
Explore Capitol Technology University →
Higher-earnings alternativeMassachusetts Institute of Technology$161,961 earnings
Comparison with Johns Hopkins
MeasureJohns HopkinsMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$117,419$161,961+$44,542 vs Johns Hopkins
Average annual net price$18,809$20,111+$1,302 vs Johns Hopkins · higher cost
Admission rate6.4%4.6%
Explore Massachusetts Institute of Technology →
Lower-cost alternativePrinceton University$6,128 average net price
Comparison with Johns Hopkins
MeasureJohns HopkinsPrinceton University
Peer earnings · 4 years$117,419$108,590-$8,829 vs Johns Hopkins
Average annual net price$18,809$6,128-$12,681 vs Johns Hopkins · lower cost
Admission rate6.4%4.6%
Explore Princeton University →
Similar profileDuke UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Johns Hopkins
MeasureJohns HopkinsDuke University
Peer earnings · 4 years$117,419$115,722-$1,697 vs Johns Hopkins
Average annual net price$18,809$29,612+$10,803 vs Johns Hopkins · higher cost
Admission rate6.4%5.7%
Explore Duke 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