Private Nonprofit · Rochester, New York

University of Rochester

University of Rochester is a private nonprofit institution in Rochester, New York. Graduates earn a median of $79,042 ten years after enrollment at an average net price of $29,278/yr.

$79,042
10-yr median earnings
$29,278
Avg net price / yr
40.1%
Acceptance rate
85.0%
4-yr completion

The verdict

University of Rochester pairs top-10% graduate earnings with a selective admit.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

Top 10%
graduate earnings, US
40.1%
acceptance rate
85.0%
4-yr completion
+16%
earnings, 6→10 yrs
City: Midsize Carnegie: R1

University of Rochester is a private nonprofit institution in Rochester, New York enrolling 6,331 students, according to the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard's 2024-25 release. The acceptance rate is 40.1% with an average SAT of 1,488. Graduates earn a median of $79,042 ten years after enrollment, based on U.S. Treasury tax records linked to federal financial aid data. The average net price after financial aid is $29,278. This profile includes admissions data, graduation rates, program-level earnings, and cost breakdowns to help students compare colleges using official federal data.

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Data updated July 2026

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for University of Rochester

University of Rochester operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Rochester, New York (city: midsize), with a total reported enrollment of 6,331 students of which 7,447 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile's peer group and cost cohort are determined; University of Rochester is categorized as "Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activity" under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Admissions and cost figures below come from the same annual IPEDS Fall enrollment survey and net-price calculation that every Title IV institution is legally required to submit to the federal government, so the same standardized methodology applies whether comparing a public flagship or a small private college. Net price nets grant and scholarship aid out of the published sticker price, the number financial-aid experts consider the honest comparison point - the table further down breaks that figure out by family income band rather than a single blended average, since what one family actually pays can look very different from what another family pays at the identical school.

The outcomes further down come from federal tax records the U.S. Treasury links to former students who received federal financial aid, not a self-reported alumni survey - an approach that removes response bias but also means graduates who never took federal aid are absent from the earnings figures. Completion and retention rates only count first-time, full-time degree-seeking students, so a school with a large transfer or part-time population can serve those students well without that showing up in these particular metrics. Reading the cost, completion, and earnings figures together, rather than any single one in isolation, is the approach the College Scorecard's own methodology recommends for judging return on investment.

College Value Score

C+
College Value Score
62/100
University of Rochester

A 6-metric composite of earnings, cost, and completion outcomes benchmarked against every reporting US college, not a ranking of teaching quality, campus life, or fit for any individual student. See the full methodology.

Earnings A+
$79,042
10-year median graduate earnings
Net Price F
$29,278
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Graduation Rate N/A
N/A
6-year completion rate
Debt F
$21,000
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment A+
83.7%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention A-
90.7%
First-year students returning for year two
University of Rochester vs. the national benchmark
EarningsNet PriceGrad RateDebtRepaymentRetention

Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.

10-yr median earnings

$79,042

Federal aid recipients only

Avg net price

$29,278

After grants and scholarships

4-yr completion

85.0%

First-time, full-time bachelor's

4-year completion vs national average (40%) 85.0%

Higher is better

College ROI Quadrant - University of Rochester vs peers

University of Rochester positioned by earnings vs cost Two-by-two quadrant chart: x-axis median earnings 10 years after enrollment, y-axis average net price after financial aid. Each dot is a college, colored by 4-year graduation rate (garnet ≥65%, amber 45-64%, red <45%). Net price increases upward, earnings increase rightward, so: bottom-right = best value (low cost, high earnings); top-right = premium (high cost, high earnings); bottom-left = community college tier (low cost, modest earnings); top-left = avoid (high cost, low earnings). Currently plotting 8 colleges. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard joined to Carnegie Classification. University of Rochester positioned by earnin… Carnegie Classification: R1 R1 AVOID PREMIUM COMMUNITY BEST VALUE $20K $109K Median Earnings 10 Years After Enrollment ($) $5K $47K Avg Net Price ($) University of Rochester (you are here): $79K earn · $29K net · 85% grad You are here - University of Roch… New York University: $83K earn · $37K net · 88% grad New York University Cornell University: $104K earn · $29K net · 95% grad Cornell University Syracuse University: $79K earn · $39K net · 82% grad Syracuse University Rochester Institute of Technology: $77K earn · $35K net · 70% grad Rochester Institut… Fordham University: $86K earn · $44K net · 81% grad Fordham University Continental School of Beauty Culture-Rochester: $24K earn · $15K net Monroe Community College: $40K earn · $6K net Grad rate (4yr) ≥65% 45-64% <45%
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education

Each dot is a college plotted by 10-year median earnings (x-axis) vs average net price (y-axis), colored by 4-year graduation rate. Top-left = best ROI; bottom-right = avoid.

How University of Rochester ranks nationally

Where this school's graduate earnings fall within the full national distribution of every US college that reports to the College Scorecard, not just its peer set.

University of Rochester: graduate earnings vs. every US college

10-year median earnings, College Scorecard

$79,042 Top 10% higher than 90% of 5,103 US colleges

$0–$20,000: 169 US colleges (3%). Below this entry. $20,000–$40,000: 2,245 US colleges (44%). Below this entry. $40,000–$60,000: 1,897 US colleges (37%). Below this entry. $60,000–$80,000: 606 US colleges (12%). This entry sits in this band. $80,000–$100,000: 134 US colleges (3%). Above this entry. $100,000–$120,000: 39 US colleges (1%). Above this entry. $120,000–$140,000: 11 US colleges (0%). Above this entry. $140,000–$160,000: 2 US colleges (0%). Above this entry. This college $0 $160,000 every US college, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US colleges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · 2024

Quick Facts

6,331
Total enrollment
40.1%
Acceptance rate
1,488
SAT average
85.0%
4-yr graduation rate
$79,042
10-yr median earnings
90.7%
First-year retention

Admissions

Admission Rate 40.1%
SAT Average 1,488
SAT Math (25th-75th) 730 – 790
SAT Reading (25th-75th) 680 – 750
ACT Average 33
ACT (25th-75th) 31 – 34

Share of applicants admitted

0%100%40.1%
Share of applicants admitted

Costs & Financial Aid

Tuition & Net Price

In-State Tuition $67,080
Out-of-State Tuition $67,080
Average Net Price $29,278

Net Price by Family Income

$0 – $30,000 $9,678
$30,001 – $48,000 $12,185
$48,001 – $75,000 $21,087
Over $110,000 $46,801
17.3%
Pell Grant Rate
39.7%
Federal Loan Rate
$21,000
Median Debt
$223/mo
Monthly Payment

Student Demographics

Race & ethnicity

Student body at a glance

54.9%
Female
18.7%
First Generation

Outcomes

85.0%
4-Year Completion Rate
90.7%
Retention Rate
$68,333
Median Earnings (6yr)
$79,042
Median Earnings (10yr)
74.2%
Earning Over $25K
83.7%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)

Programs & Earnings

Top programs at University of Rochester by graduate earnings

Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file

median earnings

What this shows The highest-earning programs at a school are not necessarily its most popular ones - a small specialized program can post strong median earnings without reflecting the outcome most students here actually see.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard As of 2024
Program Credential Completers Median Earnings Median Debt
Computer Science Bachelor's 161 $155,464 $19,000
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods Master's 389 $149,877 $46,751
Business Administration, Management and Operations Master's 145 $138,177 $40,170
Physics Master's 47 $127,533 -
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing Master's 86 $119,636 $34,054
Economics Bachelor's 103 $109,324 $19,946
Medicine First Professional 106 $106,097 $170,110
Biomedical/Medical Engineering Master's 26 $105,240 $20,500
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering Bachelor's 65 $105,183 $18,175
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods Bachelor's 218 $102,625 $21,625
Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General Master's 16 $100,807 -
Educational Administration and Supervision Doctoral 24 $97,103 -
Biomedical/Medical Engineering Bachelor's 60 $95,957 $20,500
Health Professions Education, Ethics, and Humanities Master's 34 $95,894 -
Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's 59 $95,060 $21,000

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the acceptance rate at University of Rochester?
University of Rochester is a private nonprofit institution in Rochester, New York. The acceptance rate is 40.1%. The average SAT score is 1,488. Total enrollment is 6,331 students.
How much do University of Rochester graduates earn?
Graduates of University of Rochester earn a median of $79,042 ten years after enrollment. Six years after enrollment, median earnings are $68,333.
How much does University of Rochester cost?
The average net price at University of Rochester is $29,278. In-state tuition is $67,080 and out-of-state tuition is $67,080. Median student debt at graduation is $21,000.
What is the graduation rate at University of Rochester?
University of Rochester has a 4-year completion rate of 85.0%. The first-year retention rate is 90.7%.
Is University of Rochester worth the student debt?
The median student debt at University of Rochester is $21,000, while graduates earn a median of $79,042 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 27% of first-year post-graduation earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 83.7% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $223.

Sources & methodology

According to the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard's 2024-25 release, PlainCollege tracks 6,243 postsecondary institutions and 70,827 individual school-and-program earnings records nationwide.

Every figure on this page is read live from official U.S. federal datasets, as of the 2024-25 release. Read the full methodology for how the data is sourced, computed, and verified.

What this means for University of Rochester

  • University of Rochester's graduates land in the 10th percentile nationally for 10-year earnings among reporting colleges.
  • The average net price after aid is $29,278 - compare it against schools with similar outcomes but a lower cost.Find similar schools that cost less
  • See how this school compares to every other college in New York.Browse New York

This profile is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or admissions advice. Figures are historical averages and may not predict an individual student's outcome - confirm current details directly with the institution before making enrollment decisions.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Institution profiles are compiled directly from College Scorecard, IPEDS, and Treasury earnings-linkage data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2024-25.