College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Yale University

CTMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #57 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Yale University #57 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Yale University is a private nonprofit university in New Haven, Connecticut, where the degree mix is led by Social Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Computer & Information Sciences. Return is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes more of that gain to a remainder it does not explain than to the factors it measures.

Affordability is above average, and the spread between the lowest and highest income bands is wide. The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions.

An estimated share of graduates continues to graduate study, based on the program mix, and the four-year earnings figure counts only graduates who are not enrolled.

Yale University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
3.9%
Six-year completion[2]
95.7%
Four-year earnings[3]
$112,971

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$17,943
Median student debt[4]
$12,975
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$29,769

Yale University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Yale University is a private nonprofit university in New Haven, Connecticut, with an undergraduate body of 6,758. The university sits near the top of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (96th percentile).

Yale University admits 3.9% of applicants, against a median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). Of students who start full time, 98.8% return for a second year, compared with a peer median of 83.4%.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time, full-time cohort is 95.7%, compared with a peer median of 68.8% for comparable institutions. With an estimated 1.5% of entrants arriving as transfers or part-time students, the graduation rate describes nearly the entire entering class.

Return is the strongest of the four (99th percentile) and affordability is the weakest (66th percentile). Access and mobility sit between them (86th and 81st percentiles).

The four pillars are spread across the ranking, with a wide gap between the strongest and weakest.

Azimuth evaluates Yale University across four pillars among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. The return pillar is the strongest, in the 99th percentile, reflecting completers who earn about $18,580 more than the model expects for similar students.

The access pillar sits in the 86th percentile and the mobility pillar in the 81st percentile. Affordability is the weakest pillar, in the 66th percentile, though it still clears the national median.

20.4% of undergraduates at Yale University receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks Yale University #208 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The access pillar is shaped by the Pell share and the completion rate of those students. Azimuth ranks the university #282 for mobility. Graduates earn about $18,580 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

Yale University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#57

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 81
Access & reach
National percentile: 86
Affordability
National percentile: 66
Return on investment
National percentile: 99

Top-ranked majors

  1. Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences#2
  2. History#2
  3. Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies#3

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 / Yale University briefing

Yale University cost & financial aid[6][7]

The published cost of attendance at Yale University is $88,300. Tuition and fees are $67,250, and room and board are $19,900.

Aid covers about 73% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. For the average aid recipient, the average net price is $23,777.

That is $3,594 below the $27,371 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Financial aid reduces the sticker price by $64,523 on average.

Azimuth ranks the university #487 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the affordability pillar in the 66th percentile.

Yale University publishes a cost of attendance of $88,300. After accounting for financial aid, the average net price for families earning under $30,000 is $17,633.

For families in the $48,001–$75,000 income band, the is $17,943, and for families earning over $110,000 it is $45,951. Azimuth ranks Yale #487 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The average financial aid package at Yale offsets the sticker price by $64,523, bringing the average net price across all aid recipients to $23,777. Among comparable institutions (same type and size), the median net price is $27,371, which places Yale's average net price below that peer figure by $3,594.

Published tuition and fees are $67,250. The median federal student debt at completion is $12,975, with 44.9% of federal aid recipients borrowing federal loans.

Among comparable institutions (same type and size), the median federal debt is $24,199, so Yale's median debt sits below the peer median by $11,224. Median Parent PLUS borrowing stands at $29,769.

The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $147 a month if repaid over ten years.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$17,943

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Yale University

Borrowers who complete a degree at Yale University finish with a median federal debt of $12,975. That median sits below the $24,199 level for comparable institutions (same type and size), a difference of $11,224.

For the separate parent-borrower population, the median Parent PLUS loan is $29,769. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 13% of graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $22,185 per borrower.

Of those borrowers, 11% held federal loans averaging $14,323 and 2% held private loans averaging $60,087.

Those who complete a degree at Yale University earn about $18,580 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completion, the median for completers working and not enrolled is $112,971, a level in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios tied to the program mix show a typical outcome of $112,971, with a downside of $55,812 and an upside of $151,400. The median federal student loan debt among completers who borrowed is $12,975, a balance below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). The estimated monthly payment if repaid over ten years is $147.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $29,769. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $147.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$12,975
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$29,769

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$147/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$378/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 / Yale University briefing

Yale University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Azimuth places Yale University in the 99th percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $18,580 more than the model expects for similar students, a level in the 94th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,246. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $12,334.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,376. Four years after completion, the median earnings of the university's federally aided completers working and not enrolled reach $112,971, in the 98th percentile.

That figure runs above the peer median of $68,250 by $44,721 among comparable institutions (same type and size).

The median earnings of Yale University graduates four years after completion stand at $112,971, drawn from a cohort of 939 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. That figure places the university in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $18,580 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that ranks in the 94th percentile nationally. Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix point to a typical outcome of $112,971, with a downside scenario of $55,812 and an upside scenario reaching $151,400.

An estimated 41.0% of the university's graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the institution's program mix rather than observed enrollment.

Four years after completion, the median earnings of Yale University graduates stand at $112,971, in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure is above the median of $68,250 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $44,721.

Graduates earn about $18,580 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 94th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,246.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $12,334. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,376.

Azimuth ranks the university #6 for return on investment. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $55,812 and an upside of $151,400.

The largest program, Economics, awarded 204 bachelor's degrees and shows median earnings of $142,936 four years after completion. The highest-earning program is Computer and Information Sciences, with 121 degrees awarded and a median of $188,157, which is 2.04x the national median for the field.

Political Science awarded 137 degrees and its completers earn a median of $90,764, while History graduates, with 94 degrees awarded, earn a median of $109,947, or 2.17x the national median for the field.

The downside earnings scenario for Yale University graduates sits at $55,812 four years after completion, while the upside scenario reaches $151,400. The typical earnings scenario, anchored on the university's program mix, is $112,971.

Among the largest programs, Economics shows median earnings of $142,936, and Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn a median of $188,157.

Those who finish at Yale University earn about $18,580 more than the model expects for similar students. Borrowers who complete a degree finish with a median federal student debt of $12,975, a figure that sits below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $147. Average net price for aid recipients is $23,777, below the $27,371 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Aid covers about 73% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. For families in the lowest income band, the average net price is $17,633, and the spread between the lowest and highest bands is $28,318.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$6,246
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$12,334
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$18,580

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 / Yale University briefing

Yale University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Yale University admits 3.9% of applicants, the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 50,264 applicants, 2,387 admitted, and 1,633 enrolled.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
3.9%
25th percentile
1470
Median
1530
75th percentile
1560

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Yale University briefing

What are the largest majors at Yale University?[12]

The largest programs at Yale University show a wide earnings spread four years after completion, from $90,764 in Political Science to $188,157 in Computer and Information Sciences. Economics awards the most degrees, at 204 a year, and its graduates earn a median of $142,936.

Azimuth ranks the program #8 nationally in its field. Computer and Information Sciences awarded 121 degrees and has a median of $188,157.

Azimuth ranks it #3 in its field. History, a more moderate-earning field, awards 94 degrees and its graduates earn $109,947, with a national rank of #2.

Yale University has 6 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, and the top-ranked ones are not always the largest. History is the highest-ranked, at #2 in its field, with 94 degrees awarded and median earnings of $109,947 four years after completion.

The largest program is Economics, awarding 204 degrees a year. Azimuth ranks it #8 nationally, and its completers earn a median of $142,936.

Computer and Information Sciences is the highest-earning program among the largest five, at $188,157. It awards 121 degrees and Azimuth ranks it #3 in its field.

Political Science and History are also among the five largest programs, with earnings that range from $90,764 to $109,947.

Social Sciences accounts for 25.8% of bachelor's degrees awarded, with Biological Sciences next at 10.9% and Computer & Information Sciences at 7.7%. Yale University has 6 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 10 with published four-year earnings data.

The largest programs by degrees awarded are Economics at 204, Political Science at 137, and Computer and Information Sciences at 121. History is the highest-ranked program, with 94 degrees awarded and median earnings of $109,947 four years after completion.

It carries a benchmark ratio of 2.17x against the national median for its field. Computer and Information Sciences ranks #3 nationally within its field and #1 in Connecticut, with median earnings of $188,157.

Economics, the largest program, ranks #8 nationally within its field and #1 in Connecticut, with median earnings of $142,936. Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies ranks #3 nationally within its field with 40 degrees awarded and median earnings of $65,213.

The strongest programs are spread across the social sciences, humanities, and sciences, with high ranks in fields that do not always command the highest earnings. For fields where graduate study is common, four-year earnings may understate later trajectories. 36.5% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Economics 204 degrees awarded
$142,936
Political Science and Government 137 degrees awarded
$90,764
Computer and Information Sciences, General 121 degrees awarded
$188,157
History 94 degrees awarded
$109,947
Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences 89 degrees awarded
$92,646
Research and Experimental Psychology 81 degrees awarded
$65,752

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 / Yale University briefing

How does Yale University serve students from different backgrounds?

The mobility pillar sits in the 81st percentile nationally. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 95.7%.

Graduates earn about $18,580 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that lands in the 94th percentile.

Azimuth places the access pillar of Yale University in the 86th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The university admits 3.9% of applicants, well below the peer median of 71.2%, and enrolls 6,758 undergraduates in New Haven, Connecticut.

Pell Grant recipients make up 20.4% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 1.5% enter as transfers or part-time students.

06 / Yale University briefing

What colleges are similar to Yale University?[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 Yale University.

Admissions peerWilliams College8.3% admitted
Comparison with Yale University
MeasureYale UniversityWilliams College
Peer earnings · 4 years$112,971$80,487-$32,484 vs Yale University
Average annual net price$23,777$17,716-$6,061 vs Yale University · lower cost
Admission rate3.9%8.3%
Explore Williams College →
Higher-admission alternativeStevens Institute of Technology47.6% admitted
Comparison with Yale University
MeasureYale UniversityStevens Institute of Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$112,971$112,538-$433 vs Yale University
Average annual net price$23,777$41,346+$17,569 vs Yale University · higher cost
Admission rate3.9%47.6%
Explore Stevens Institute of Technology →
Nearby alternativeColumbia University in the City of New YorkNearby option · NY
Comparison with Yale University
MeasureYale UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York
Peer earnings · 4 years$112,971$115,519+$2,548 vs Yale University
Average annual net price$23,777$21,590-$2,187 vs Yale University · lower cost
Admission rate3.9%4.0%
Explore Columbia University in the City of New York →
Lower-cost alternativePrinceton University$6,128 average net price
Comparison with Yale University
MeasureYale UniversityPrinceton University
Peer earnings · 4 years$112,971$108,590-$4,381 vs Yale University
Average annual net price$23,777$6,128-$17,649 vs Yale University · lower cost
Admission rate3.9%4.6%
Explore Princeton University →
Similar profilePrinceton UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Yale University
MeasureYale UniversityPrinceton University
Peer earnings · 4 years$112,971$108,590-$4,381 vs Yale University
Average annual net price$23,777$6,128-$17,649 vs Yale University · lower cost
Admission rate3.9%4.6%
Explore Princeton 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