Cost & financial aid brief
Pepperdine University Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid
How much does Pepperdine University cost after financial aid?
The published cost of attendance is $93,512. After grants and scholarships, the average aid recipient pays $58,098, a reduction of $35,414.
Aid covers about 38% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The pattern across income bands is not a straight line.
The lowest-income band averages $50,560, while families earning $30,001 to $48,000 see a lower average of $42,674. The middle band averages $51,063, and the two highest bands average $61,851 and $65,081.
Pepperdine University’s published cost of attendance is $93,512, with tuition and fees of $69,918 and room and board at $21,750. After grants and scholarships, the average net price—what aid recipients actually pay—varies by family income.
For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $50,560; for the middle band ($48,001–$75,000), it is $51,063; and for families earning over $110,000, it is $65,081. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $14,521, which reflects how aid scales across the income spectrum.
Azimuth ranks Pepperdine University #1,391 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 38% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $35,414 against the sticker price.
The average net price across all aid recipients is $58,098, which sits above the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $30,727. While the sticker price is high, the aid structure brings costs down meaningfully for many families, though the net price remains above the peer median.
Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, the median federal student debt is $23,510. About 91.4% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.
That median debt is below the peer median of $24,199 by $689. For a graduate at the median four-year earnings, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $267 a month if repaid over ten years.
Parents who borrow through Parent PLUS hold a separate median of $41,309.
Student loans: what does repayment look like?
Borrowing is widespread at Pepperdine University, where 91.4% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, yet the median federal student debt at completion sits below the peer median. Graduates who borrow carry a median federal student debt of $23,510.
That median is $689 below the $24,199 median at comparable institutions (same type and size). For a separate population of parent borrowers, the median Parent PLUS loan is $41,309.
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 6% of its 864 bachelor's graduates held private loans, with an average cumulative principal of $67,992 per private borrower. The federal debt figures and the private-loan average describe different populations and are not directly comparable.
Graduates of Pepperdine University earn about $8,170 more than expects for similar students, a result in the 79th percentile nationally. Four years after completion, the median earnings reach $84,459.
That is above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $16,209. This places the university in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Earnings scenarios derived from the program mix show a typical earnings level of $84,459, with a downside scenario of $55,137 and an upside scenario of $95,850. Borrowers finish with a median federal debt of $23,510, which is below the peer median.
That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $267 a month if repaid over ten years. Strong earnings that outpace both the model and peer medians, combined with a manageable median federal debt, point in the same direction for return on investment.
Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $41,309. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $267.
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
- $41,309
- Estimated parent payment
- $525/mo
| Income | Risk level |
|---|---|
| $35,000 | High pressure |
| $50,000 | High pressure |
| $75,000 | High pressure |
| $100,000 | High pressure |
| $150,000 | Caution |
| $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
- $23,510
- Institution Parent PLUS debt
- $41,309
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
- Estimated student payment · monthly
- $267/mo
- Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
- $525/mo
- Modeled student + parent payments
- $792/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 $84,459, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:
5.2% 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.