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Cost & financial aid brief

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# Northeastern University Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid

Updated October 21, 2026

[Overview](/school/northeastern-university/)Cost & aid[Outcomes](/school/northeastern-university/outcomes/)[Admissions](/school/northeastern-university/admissions/)[Majors](/school/northeastern-university/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/northeastern-university/similar/)

**On this page**+

## How much does Northeastern cost after financial aid?

For aid recipients, Northeastern University’s price after aid is far below its published annual cost. The published cost of attendance is $84,641, an average across living arrangements.

On-campus tuition and fees are $66,162, and room and board is $19,580. Its average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/), what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $30,915.

Financial aid lowers that published cost by $53,726 on average. That average net price is below the peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size), with a gap of $5,296.

Azimuth ranks the university #1,208 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The average aid discount is substantial, but the affordability placement shows that cost remains a weaker part of the overall picture.

Affordability is the weakest pillar, and Azimuth places it in the 15th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. After grants and scholarships, aid recipients pay an average of $30,915, $5,296 below the median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Aid recipients in the lowest income band pay an average of $2,264, against $47,696 in the highest. Borrowers who complete leave with a median of $24,250 in federal loans, $1,082 above the median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

At Northeastern University, aid recipients in the lowest family-income band have an average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/) of $2,264, compared with $2,436 for the next band. The middle band averages $5,301, followed by $16,241; families in the highest band average $47,696.

Pell Grants go to 12.3% of undergraduates, providing financial-access context for the lowest band. Across the lowest and highest bands, the spread is $45,432.

Average net price by family income

**$0–30K**
$2,264

**$30–48K**
$2,436

**$48–75K**
$5,301

**$75–110K**
$16,241

**$110K+**
$47,696

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Overall average annual net price: **$30,915**. After grants and scholarships, including living costs. [Source and coverage](#cost-data-notes).

Most aid recipients see a large reduction from the published price, though the amount varies substantially with family income. Aid covers about 63% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

That coverage describes the sticker-to-net gap for an average, rather than a promise of a particular award. Across the income bands, the least expensive averages appear in the lower-income ranges and the highest average appears in the highest-income range.

The five band averages apply only to aid recipients within their respective income ranges, not to every undergraduate or to a single family’s bill. This pattern shows that larger average discounts are concentrated in the lower-income bands.

At Northeastern University, the published cost of attendance is $84,641 (an average across living arrangements), and aid changes the picture substantially by family income. Average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/), what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $2,264 for the lowest family-income band, $2,436 for the lower-middle band, $5,301 for the middle band, $16,241 for the upper-middle band, and $47,696 for the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $45,432, and Azimuth ranks the university #1,208 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the average aid recipient, financial aid savings against the sticker price average $53,726, with aid covering about 63% of the published cost.

Across aid recipients, the average net price is $30,915; it is below the peer median of $36,211 at comparable institutions (same type and size), a difference of $5,296. Published tuition and fees are $66,162, while room and board are $19,580.

Federal borrowing is widespread here: 91.6% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $24,250, above the $23,168 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size), with a difference of $1,082.

Median [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) borrowing among parent borrowers is $34,984. The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $276 a month if repaid over ten years.

## Student loans: what does repayment look like?

Borrowing is widespread at Northeastern University, so federal debt at completion is relevant to many families. 91.6% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

For borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $24,250. The peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size) is the same, leaving the university's median above it by $1,082.

[Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) borrowers are a separate parent-borrower population, with median debt of $34,984. The debt benchmark matches peers, even as federal borrowing reaches a large share of undergraduates.

The return at Northeastern University is strong, but the cost side pulls the investment picture in two directions. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $101,903, a figure in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $3,343 less than the model expects for similar students, an outcome that falls at the 42nd percentile. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, range from $72,999 in a downside case to $142,144 in an upside case, with $101,903 as the typical outcome.

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $24,250 in federal student loans, which is $1,082 above the $23,168 median for comparable institutions. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $276 a month if repaid over ten years.

Federal borrowing figures separate student and parent borrowers. For the separate parent-borrower population, median [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) borrowing is $34,984.

For student borrowers, median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $276 a month if repaid over ten years.

[Repayment figures](#combined-borrowing) are in the Financial GPS card below. [Borrowing populations and model assumptions](#cost-data-notes).

## Parent loans: what can the family afford?

[How Parent PLUS borrowing affects families](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/)

**Median Parent PLUS debt**
$34,984

**Estimated parent payment**
$444/mo

Modeled Parent PLUS pressure by income

| Household income | Share of income above basic expenses | Risk level |
| --- | --- | --- |
| $35,000 | No room | High pressure |
| $50,000 | No room | High pressure |
| $75,000 | 26.2% | High pressure |
| $100,000 | 11.8% | High pressure |
| $150,000 | 5.6% | Safe |
| $200,000 | 3.7% | 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](/financial-gps/?tool=parent&school=northeastern-university#parent-tool). [Read the assumptions and limits](#cost-data-notes).

## Student and parent loans: the monthly payments

Financial GPS

### What does repayment look like?

**Institution median student debt**
$24,250

**Institution Parent PLUS debt**
$34,984

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

**Estimated student payment · monthly**
$276/mo

**Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly**
$444/mo

**Modeled student + parent payments**
$720/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 $101,903, with a $23,940 annual allowance for basic expenses:

**4.2%** of income above the allowance · Excellent

1.  Excellent Under 8% · selected scenario
2.  Good 8–under 12%
3.  Concerning 12–20%
4.  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, $23,940, uses the published framework’s 2026 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](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/).

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](/financial-gps/?tool=student&school=northeastern-university#student-tool)

## Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: [methodology](/methodology/).

Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), 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](/about/).

**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](https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/).

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.