Sam Houston State University Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid

For the average aid recipient, Sam Houston State University has a substantial gap between its published cost and what remains after aid. The published cost is $25,505, while the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $16,404.

Aid covers about 36% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average offset of $9,101. Prices differ sharply by reported family income: the average net price is $12,474 under thirty thousand dollars, $13,389 from thirty thousand one dollars to forty-eight thousand dollars, $15,540 from forty-eight thousand one dollars to seventy-five thousand dollars, $21,366 from seventy-five thousand one dollars to one hundred ten thousand dollars, and $24,101 above one hundred ten thousand dollars.

The spread between the endpoint averages is $11,627, a pattern that places lower average prices with lower-income aid recipients.

Price varies sharply by family-income band at Sam Houston State University, where the published cost of attendance is $25,505. For aid recipients in the lowest-income family band, average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $12,474; it is $13,389 in the lower-middle band and $15,540 in the middle band.

The upper-middle family-income band averages $21,366, compared with $24,101 for the highest-income band. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $11,627.

Azimuth ranks the university #437 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 36% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, offsetting $9,101 against the sticker price.

Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $16,404. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $15,634, and this university's average is $770 above that figure.

Aid reduces the listed cost, though the overall average remains above the comparable-institution median. Federal borrowing is common among undergraduates, with 84.2% taking federal loans.

Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $21,983. The peer median debt at comparable institutions (same type and size) is $20,076, putting this median $1,907 above the peer figure.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing for parent borrowers is $19,433. The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $250 a month if repaid over ten years.

Borrowing is common: 84.2% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and borrowers who complete have median federal student loan debt of $21,983. That median stands above the $20,076 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size), a difference of $1,907.

Parent borrowers are a separate population, with median Parent PLUS borrowing of $19,433. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 59% of graduates borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative amount of $27,529 per borrower.

The figures include federal loans for 58% of graduates, averaging $22,708. They also include private loans for 10% of graduates, averaging $28,561.

At Sam Houston State University, modeled earnings exceed expectations, but borrowers' median debt is above the peer median. Four years after completion, graduates earn a median $57,044, placing that figure in the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $4,840 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, falls in the 71st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings scenarios based on the program mix set downside earnings at $46,564, typical earnings at $57,044, and upside earnings at $74,481. Median federal debt at completion is $21,983, $1,907 above the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $250 a month if repaid over ten years. Higher-than-expected earnings and comparatively higher debt pull the financial picture in different directions.

Among parent borrowers, median federal borrowing is $19,433, separate from student borrowing. The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $250 a month if repaid over ten years.

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.