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Cost & financial aid brief

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# University of California-Santa Cruz Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid

Updated October 1, 2026

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

**On this page**+

## How much does UC Santa Cruz cost after financial aid?

For aid recipients, the published cost at University of California-Santa Cruz is substantially reduced after grants and scholarships are applied. The university lists $41,179 as its published cost of attendance.

Its average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/), what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $17,890, an average savings of $23,289 from that published cost. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported in-state tuition of $14,202, required fees of $3,037, and on-campus food and housing of $21,591 for the 2026-27 academic year.

It reported out-of-state tuition of $53,472 for the same year. These are sticker charges, rather than an estimate of what an aid recipient pays.

The average net price is above the $15,634 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,256. Azimuth places the affordability pillar in the 74th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The above-peer average net price sits alongside a solid affordability standing.

The average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/) at University of California-Santa Cruz is $17,890 after grants and scholarships, which is $2,256 above the $15,634 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth places the affordability pillar in the 74th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The median federal debt for borrowers who finish is $16,666, $3,410 below the $20,076 median at comparable institutions. Average net prices run from $8,717 in the lowest income band to $33,323 in the highest, a spread of $24,606.

Prices vary widely across the income bands. The lowest band has an average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/) of $8,717, followed by $10,613 in the next-lowest band and $14,418 in the middle band.

The next-highest band averages $18,986, and the highest band averages $33,323. Pell Grant recipients account for 31.6% of undergraduates, providing financial-access context for the lowest band. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $24,606.

Average net price by family income

**$0–30K**
$8,717

**$30–48K**
$10,613

**$48–75K**
$14,418

**$75–110K**
$18,986

**$110K+**
$33,323

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Overall average annual net price: **$17,890**. After grants and scholarships, including living costs. [Source and coverage](#cost-data-notes).

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that first-year aid recipients with need had an average 88% of need met for the 2025-26 academic year. Their average need-based grant was $31,152, and their average aid package was $35,200.

The university reported 2,379 first-year students determined to have financial need and 2,318 receiving need-based grant aid. For the average aid recipient, the difference between the published cost of $41,179 and the average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/) of $17,890 is $23,289.

Aid covers about 57% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The lowest income band averages $8,717, compared with $33,323 for the highest band.

The lower average net prices in the lower-income bands show that the published discount is concentrated more heavily among aid recipients with lower family incomes.

The published cost of attendance is $41,179, with costs after grants and scholarships differing across family-income bands. Average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/), what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $8,717 in the lowest family-income band; $10,613 in the lower-middle band; $14,418 in the middle band; $18,986 in the upper-middle band; and $33,323 in the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $24,606, and Azimuth ranks University of California-Santa Cruz #372 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 57% of the published cost and offsets $23,289 against the sticker price.

For first-time full-time aid recipients, the average net price is $17,890. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $15,634, placing the university's average net price $2,256 above that benchmark.

Aid offsets much of the published cost, though the overall price remains above the comparable-institution midpoint. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $16,666, and 81.7% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

Comparable institutions (same type and size) have median federal debt of $20,076, so the university's figure is $3,410 below the peer figure. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $189 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) borrowing is $28,682.

## Student loans: what does repayment look like?

At University of California-Santa Cruz, completing federal borrowers have a median debt figure below that of comparable institutions, even though 81.7% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Median federal student loan debt at completion is $16,666.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt is $20,076; the university's median is $3,410 below it. For the separate population of parent borrowers, median [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) borrowing is $28,682.

At University of California-Santa Cruz, four-year earnings sit above the model's expectation and borrowing is lower than the peer benchmark. Median earnings four years after completion are $67,085, which Azimuth places in the 70th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

[Earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/), the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, also rate well among nonprofit four-year institutions at the 69th percentile. Graduates earn about $4,331 more than the model expects for similar students.

Program-mix earnings scenarios set a downside at $49,865 and an upside at $110,656, with the typical scenario matching the reported median. Median federal debt at completion is $16,666, $3,410 below the $20,076 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $189 a month if repaid over ten years. Above-expected earnings and lower peer debt point in the same direction.

For the separate parent-borrower population using [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/), median borrowing is $28,682. The median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $189 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**
$28,682

**Estimated parent payment**
$364/mo

Modeled Parent PLUS pressure by income

| 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](#cost-data-notes).

## Student and parent loans: the monthly payments

Financial GPS

### What does repayment look like?

**Institution median student debt**
$16,666

**Institution Parent PLUS debt**
$28,682

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

**Estimated student payment · monthly**
$189/mo

**Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly**
$364/mo

**Modeled student + parent payments**
$553/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 $67,085, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:

**5.1%** 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, $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.

[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=university-of-california-santa-cruz#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.