Cost & financial aid brief
University of Kentucky Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid
How much does University of Kentucky cost after financial aid?
Aid reduces the published price for recipients, with lower average prices concentrated in lower family-income bands. Aid covers about 45% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.
Against the $34,391 sticker price, the average net price is $18,851, an average reduction of $15,540. Across the bands, are $12,182, $12,119, $16,313, $21,192, and $26,781 from lowest to highest family income.
The $14,599 spread between the lowest and highest bands is a difference of averages. Lower prices at lower incomes show that the aid pattern is more generous for aid recipients in those bands.
At University of Kentucky, aid-recipient costs vary substantially by family income. The published cost of attendance is $34,391.
Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $12,182 for the lowest family-income band, $12,119 for the lower-middle band, $16,313 for the middle band, $21,192 for the upper-middle band, and $26,781 for the highest band. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $14,599.
Azimuth ranks the university #639 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 45% of the published cost, and the average net price across all aid recipients is $18,851.
That average is $3,217 above the peer median of $15,634 at comparable institutions (same type and size). Published in-state tuition and fees are $13,502, compared with $34,140 for out-of-state tuition and fees.
The higher average price than comparable institutions sits alongside aid that offsets a substantial share of the published cost. Among federal loan borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $22,500, and 89.0% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.
The peer median debt is $20,076 at comparable institutions (same type and size), making Kentucky’s median $2,424 above that benchmark. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $256 a month if repaid over ten years.
Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $30,006.
Student loans: what does repayment look like?
Federal student loan borrowing reaches 89.0% of federal aid recipients at University of Kentucky, making debt a common part of the financing picture. For federal-loan borrowers who completed, median debt is $22,500.
Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median federal debt of $20,076. The university's median is above that benchmark by $2,424, placing its borrower median above the comparable-school figure.
For the separate population of Parent PLUS parent borrowers, median borrowing is $30,006.
At University of Kentucky, the investment picture is mixed: earnings sit close to expectation, while borrower debt is above the comparable-school median. For federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $65,922 four years after completion.
Azimuth places those earnings in the 68th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, falls in the 57th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Graduates earn about $545 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. The program-mix scenarios put typical earnings at $65,922, with a downside scenario of $46,396 and an upside scenario of $87,532.
Borrowers complete with median federal student loan debt of $22,500, which is above the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,424. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $256 a month if repaid over ten years.
Near-expected earnings and higher peer-relative debt leave a mixed return picture.
For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $30,006. For student borrowers, the federal debt figure corresponds to an estimated payment of $256 a month if repaid over ten years.
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
- $30,006
- Estimated parent payment
- $381/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
- $22,500
- Institution Parent PLUS debt
- $30,006
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
- Estimated student payment · monthly
- $256/mo
- Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
- $381/mo
- Modeled student + parent payments
- $637/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 $65,922, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:
7.1% 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.