Cost & financial aid brief
Northwestern University Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid
How much does Northwestern cost after financial aid?
Aid covers about 68% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The pattern across income bands shows where the support is concentrated.
Average net prices start at $1,764 in the lowest band and reach $48,777 in the highest, a spread of $47,013. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that first-year students determined to have need received an average need-based grant of $65,946 in the 2025-26 academic year.
The average share of need met was 100%, and the average need-based package totaled $67,935. Of the 2,138 first-year students in that cohort, 868 were determined to have need, and all 868 had that need fully met.
Merit aid was limited: 7 recipients received an average of $23,571 in the 2025-26 academic year.
Northwestern University publishes a cost of attendance of $91,250, with tuition and fees at $68,322 and room and board at $21,126. The average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—varies sharply by family income.
For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $1,764; for the middle band ($48,001–$75,000), it is $7,898; and for families earning over $110,000, it is $48,777. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $47,013, a gap that reflects the university's high-sticker, high-aid model.
Azimuth ranks Northwestern #807 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 68% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $62,083 against the sticker price.
The average net price across all aid recipients is $29,167, which sits above the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,796. The published sticker is high, but the aid structure brings the net cost for most aided families well below the published figure.
Median federal student debt at completion is $15,000, with about 72.1% of federal aid recipients borrowing. That debt is below the peer median of $24,199 for comparable institutions by $9,199, and corresponds to an estimated payment of $170 a month if repaid over ten years.
Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower figure, is $26,966.
Student loans: what does repayment look like?
Borrowers who complete a degree at Northwestern University leave with a median of $15,000 in federal student loans. That is $9,199 below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).
If repaid over ten years, that median debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $170 a month. Parents who borrow through the Parent PLUS program hold a separate median of $26,966.
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 24% of graduates borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative amount of $41,330 per borrower. Federal loans accounted for most of that, with 23% of graduates holding an average of $16,398. A smaller share of graduates, 3%, held private loans averaging $70,354.
Completers at Northwestern University earn about $8,042 more than expects for similar students, a gap that sits in the 79th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Measured four years after completion, median earnings for graduates working and not enrolled are $109,275, placing the university in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Azimuth models earnings scenarios from the university's program mix. The typical earnings scenario lands at $109,275, the downside scenario at $52,192, and the upside scenario at $137,236.
Among completers who borrowed federal loans, the median federal debt at completion is $15,000. That balance is below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $170.
Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $26,966. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $170.
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
- $26,966
- Estimated parent payment
- $343/mo
| 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
- $15,000
- Institution Parent PLUS debt
- $26,966
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
- Estimated student payment · monthly
- $170/mo
- Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
- $343/mo
- Modeled student + parent payments
- $513/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 $109,275, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:
2.4% 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.
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.