Cost & financial aid brief
University of Nevada-Reno Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid
How much does UNR cost after financial aid?
The published cost of $25,786 falls to an average net price of $15,927 for aid recipients, a difference of $9,859. Aid covers about 38% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.
The pricing pattern is lower at the bottom of the income range, where the is $12,674, than at the top, where it is $21,646. The middle bands fall between those endpoints: $13,125, $14,537, and $18,317.
This pattern shows aid concentrated more heavily toward lower-income aid recipients, alongside higher average prices in the upper bands.
At University of Nevada-Reno, the published cost of attendance is $25,786, and aid leaves different prices across family-income bands. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $12,674 for the lowest family-income band, $13,125 for the lower-middle band, $14,537 for the middle band, $18,317 for the upper-middle band, and $21,646 for the highest band.
The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $8,972. Azimuth ranks the university #351 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.
For the average aid recipient, financial aid savings total $9,859 against the sticker price, and aid covers about 38% of the published cost. Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $15,927.
The peer median net price, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $15,634, placing the university’s average $293 above that benchmark. Aid offsets part of the published cost, though the typical net price sits above the peer midpoint.
Borrowing is lower than the peer median, though federal loans reach many undergraduates. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $18,922, and 75.4% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.
Comparable institutions (same type and size) have median federal debt of $20,076, making the university’s figure $1,154 below the peer median. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $215 a month if repaid over ten years.
Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $26,150.
Student loans: what does repayment look like?
At University of Nevada-Reno, completing federal-loan borrowers have median debt of $18,922, which is $1,154 below the peer median of $20,076 for comparable institutions (same type and size). For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $26,150.
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 100% of graduates borrowed from any source, with average cumulative borrowing of $22,729 per borrower. The figures include 98% of graduates with federal loans, averaging $18,070 in cumulative federal borrowing.
They also include 15% of graduates with private loans, averaging $33,238 in cumulative private borrowing.
At University of Nevada-Reno, earnings above expectation and debt below peers give the investment picture a favorable lean, though earnings scenarios vary across the program mix. Four years after completion, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $67,498.
Azimuth places that measure in the 71st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is a separate modeled measure.
Graduates earn about $4,126 more than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places in the 69th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
The downside, typical, and upside earnings scenarios are $50,820, $67,498, and $85,437. Median federal debt of $18,922 is $1,154 below the peer median of $20,076.
That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $215 a month if repaid over ten years. Above-expected earnings and lower debt point in the same direction, while the scenarios show a broad range.
Parent PLUS parent borrowers have median borrowing of $26,150, separate from federal student loan borrowers. The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $215 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
- $26,150
- Estimated parent payment
- $332/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
- $18,922
- Institution Parent PLUS debt
- $26,150
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
- Estimated student payment · monthly
- $215/mo
- Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
- $332/mo
- Modeled student + parent payments
- $547/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 $67,498, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:
5.7% 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.