College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University at Buffalo

NYLarge public institution · Overall rank #103 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks University at Buffalo #103 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University at Buffalo is a public university in Buffalo, New York, where the degree mix is led by Business, Engineering, and Social Sciences. Most graduates are estimated to go into jobs rather than on to further study.

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 to expected earnings, while the remainder it cannot explain subtracts from them.

Students who arrive with Pell Grants finish below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole, and mobility is among the highest we track. The lowest income band pays well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it. The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools.

UB at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
74.2%
Six-year completion[2]
75.2%
Four-year earnings[3]
$71,430

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$21,262
Median student debt[4]
$19,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$20,734

UB rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University at Buffalo, a public university in Buffalo, New York, enrolls 20,112 undergraduates. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, it lands near the top of the field (composite at the 93rd percentile).

It admits 74.2% of applicants, a rate slightly below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. For the full-time entering cohort, 85.2% continue to a second year and 75.2% complete within six years.

Both rates run above the peer medians of 83.1% and 65.0%. Because the six-year rate covers only first-time full-time students, it leaves out the estimated 25.4% who arrive as transfers, meaning many undergraduates began their studies at another institution.

The four are spread wide. Mobility is the strongest of the four pillars, at the 96th percentile, while affordability is the weakest, at the 63rd percentile. Access and return fall between them, at the 86th and 66th percentiles.

University at Buffalo earns its strongest marks on mobility, where Azimuth places the university in the 96th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That pillar captures how many graduates reach earnings that outpace their pre-college economic circumstances.

The access pillar follows at the 86th percentile, the return pillar at the 66th percentile, and affordability at the 63rd percentile. All four sit above the median for nonprofit four-year institutions, with affordability as the weakest.

Azimuth ranks the university #103 overall.

33.1% of undergraduates at University at Buffalo receive Pell Grants. The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,210 and 1,380, and the middle 50% of submitted ACT scores fell between 27 and 32.

Azimuth ranks the university #200 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients complete at 64.6%, 10.6 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (75.2%).

Azimuth ranks the university #57 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $3,496 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

UB rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#103

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 96
Access & reach
National percentile: 86
Affordability
National percentile: 63
Return on investment
National percentile: 66

Top-ranked majors

  1. Environmental Design#7
  2. Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences#12
  3. Social Sciences, General#14

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 / UB briefing

UB cost & financial aid[6][7]

The University at Buffalo lists a published cost of attendance of $30,785, with in-state tuition and fees at $10,936 and out-of-state at $31,536. Room and board is $17,426.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price—what aid recipients actually pay—falls to $20,995, a reduction of $9,790 from the sticker total. That runs above the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $5,361.

Azimuth ranks the university #522 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The University at Buffalo publishes a cost of attendance of $30,785, with in-state tuition and fees of $10,936 and out-of-state tuition at $31,536. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—is $14,668.

Across the middle bands, the average net price is $16,585 for the $30,001–$48,000 band, $21,262 for $48,001–$75,000, $24,117 for $75,001–$110,000, and $28,079 for families earning over $110,000. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $13,411.

Azimuth ranks the university #522 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 32% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, a savings of $9,790 against the sticker price.

The average net price for first-time, full-time aid recipients is $20,995, which sits above the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $5,361. Out-of-state students face a higher published tuition.

Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, the median federal student debt is $19,000. That median runs below the peer median of $20,076 by $1,076.

About 85.9% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. For parents, the median Parent PLUS borrowing is $20,734.

If repaid over ten years, the median federal debt corresponds to an estimated monthly payment of $216.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$21,262

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at UB

The University at Buffalo's median federal student debt of $19,000 sits below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,076. Parent borrowers, a separate population, carry a median Parent PLUS loan of $20,734.

The investment picture at University at Buffalo starts with earnings that run above the peer median. Among federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled, the median four years after completion is $71,430.

That is $5,820 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). That median lands at the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $3,496 more than the model expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 67th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Estimated from the program mix, earnings scenarios run from $51,337 in a downside case to $93,143 in an upside case; $71,430 is the typical scenario. On the borrowing side, the median federal student debt at completion is $19,000, $1,076 below the $20,076 peer median.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $216 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $20,734. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $216.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$19,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$20,734

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$216/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$263/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 / UB briefing

UB career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $71,430. That is $5,820 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and sits at the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $3,496 more than the model expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 67th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,546. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $4,050.

Azimuth places the return pillar at the 66th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

University at Buffalo graduates earn a median of $71,430 four years after completing their degrees. That is $5,820 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The earnings cohort includes 4,809 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. That median sits at the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $3,496 more than the model expects for similar students. That result is at the 67th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix span from $51,337 on the downside to $93,143 on the upside, with the typical scenario at $71,430. An estimated 33.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $71,430, at the 78th percentile nationally. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $65,610, placing the university $5,820 above that benchmark.

Azimuth ranks University at Buffalo #506 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $3,496 more than the model expects for similar students.

That puts the gap at the 67th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,546.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $4,050. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,866.

The university's degree mix spans business, engineering and the social sciences, with 33.4% of degrees awarded in STEM fields. Estimated from that mix, the downside earnings scenario is $51,337 and the upside is $93,143.

An estimated 33.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Earnings scenarios range from $51,337 on the downside to $93,143 on the upside, with $71,430 as the typical scenario. These are estimates from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

At the upper end, Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $109,221 four years after completion, from 33 degrees awarded a year. Computer Science follows at $105,160, with 269 degrees awarded.

The range shows that program choice matters considerably within the wider earnings picture.

The University at Buffalo's earnings strength coincides with a median federal student debt that runs below the median for comparable institutions. Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median federal student loan debt of $19,000, which is below the median of $20,076 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated monthly payment of $216. The average net price for aid recipients—what they pay after grants and scholarships—is $20,995, which runs above the median of $15,634 for comparable institutions.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $20,734. Graduates earn about $3,496 more than the model expects for similar students, and the median debt sits below the peer benchmark.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$7,546
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$4,050
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$3,496

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 / UB briefing

UB acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

The University at Buffalo admits 74.2% of applicants, a rate that sits close to the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 45,607 applicants, 36,758 admitted students, and 5,155 enrolled first-year students.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
74.2%
Approximate lower endpoint
1210
Reported average
1295
Approximate upper endpoint
1380

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / UB briefing

What are the largest majors at UB?[12]

The University at Buffalo awards bachelor's degrees across 40 fields with published four-year earnings, and Azimuth ranks 36 of them nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions. The highest-earning program, Computer Engineering, shows a median of $109,221 four years after completion, though it awarded only 33 degrees.

Computer Science follows at $105,160 with 269 degrees awarded and an Azimuth national rank of #81. Business Administration and Management, the biggest by degrees awarded at 794, reports median earnings of $69,903 and an Azimuth national rank of #99.

Psychology reaches $52,303 with 632 degrees awarded and ranks #98 nationally. The spread between a technical field like Computer Science and a social science like Psychology shows the range of earnings outcomes across the university's largest programs.

University at Buffalo fields 36 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, with earnings data published for 40 fields. The largest, Business Administration and Management, awarded 794 degrees and ranks #99 nationally, with a median of $69,903 four years after completion.

Computer Science awarded 269 degrees and shows the highest earnings among the large programs at $105,160, ranking #81 nationally. The university's best-ranked program is Environmental Design, which holds a national rank of #7 with 76 degrees awarded and a median of $49,920.

Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences follows at #12 nationally, awarding 100 degrees and reporting a median of $66,880. Social Sciences rounds out the top three, ranked #14 with 182 degrees awarded and a median of $56,257.

University at Buffalo awards bachelor's degrees across a broad set of fields, with Business accounting for 16.7% of degrees awarded, Engineering for 15.2%, and Social Sciences for 12.4%. Azimuth ranks 36 of its programs nationally, and 40 programs have published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Business Administration and Management, at 794 degrees awarded, followed by Psychology at 632 degrees awarded and Biology at 349 degrees awarded. The highest-ranked program is Environmental Design, which awards 76 degrees a year and ranks #1 in New York within its field.

Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences ranks #1 in New York and its graduates earn a median of $66,880 four years after completion. Social Sciences ranks #14 nationally and #3 in New York, with 182 degrees awarded.

The highest-earning program is Computer Engineering, where graduates earn a median of $109,221, though it awards only 33 degrees a year. Geography and Cartography carries a benchmark ratio of 1.18x against the national median for its field.

The pattern is one of breadth rather than concentration: the largest programs are not the highest-earning, and the highest-ranked program is a mid-sized field. Engineering and computer science programs post the highest earnings, while the largest programs in business and psychology sit closer to the national median for their fields.

A student drawn to the social sciences or communication will find nationally competitive programs, but should know that the earnings picture tilts toward the technical fields. Across all programs, 33.4% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business Administration, Management and Operations 794 degrees awarded
$69,903
Psychology, General 632 degrees awarded
$52,303
Biology, General 349 degrees awarded
$57,298
Communication and Media Studies 278 degrees awarded
$62,912
Computer Science 269 degrees awarded
$105,160
Mechanical Engineering 232 degrees awarded
$84,602

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 / UB briefing

How does UB serve students from different backgrounds?

University at Buffalo draws its strongest pillar score from mobility, where Azimuth places the public university in the 96th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The first-time full-time cohort posts a six-year graduation rate of 75.2%, and Pell recipients finish at 64.6% — a figure below the overall rate by 10.6 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $3,496 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that falls in the 67th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The University at Buffalo, a public university, admits 74.2% of applicants and enrolls 20,112 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients make up 33.1% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 25.4% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 86th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / UB briefing

What colleges are similar to UB?[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 UB.

Admissions peerCanisius University72.4% admitted
Comparison with UB
MeasureUBCanisius University
Peer earnings · 4 years$71,430$59,476-$11,954 vs UB
Average annual net price$20,995$17,940-$3,055 vs UB · lower cost
Admission rate74.2%72.4%
Higher-admission alternativeNiagara University87.4% admitted
Comparison with UB
MeasureUBNiagara University
Peer earnings · 4 years$71,430$67,652-$3,778 vs UB
Average annual net price$20,995$17,248-$3,747 vs UB · lower cost
Admission rate74.2%87.4%
Nearby alternativeSt Bonaventure UniversityNearby option · NY
Comparison with UB
MeasureUBSt Bonaventure University
Peer earnings · 4 years$71,430$62,639-$8,791 vs UB
Average annual net price$20,995$27,074+$6,079 vs UB · higher cost
Admission rate74.2%81.7%
Higher-earnings alternativeD'Youville University$84,182 earnings
Comparison with UB
MeasureUBD'Youville University
Peer earnings · 4 years$71,430$84,182+$12,752 vs UB
Average annual net price$20,995$20,433-$562 vs UB · lower cost
Admission rate74.2%81.4%
Lower-cost alternativeNiagara University$17,248 average net price
Comparison with UB
MeasureUBNiagara University
Peer earnings · 4 years$71,430$67,652-$3,778 vs UB
Average annual net price$20,995$17,248-$3,747 vs UB · lower cost
Admission rate74.2%87.4%
Similar profileTemple UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with UB
MeasureUBTemple University
Peer earnings · 4 years$71,430$67,232-$4,198 vs UB
Average annual net price$20,995$28,198+$7,203 vs UB · higher cost
Admission rate74.2%80.4%
Explore Temple 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