10-yr median earnings
$73,792
Federal aid recipients only
Public · Madison, Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Wisconsin-Madison is a public institution in Madison, Wisconsin. Graduates earn a median of $73,792 ten years after enrollment at an average net price of $17,354/yr.
- $73,792
- 10-yr median earnings
- $17,354
- Avg net price / yr
- 45.2%
- Acceptance rate
- 89.4%
- 4-yr completion
The verdict
University of Wisconsin-Madison 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
- 45.2%
- acceptance rate
- 89.4%
- 4-yr completion
- +20%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
City: Large
Carnegie: R1
University of Wisconsin-Madison is a public institution in Madison, Wisconsin enrolling 36,902 students, according to the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard's 2024-25 release. The acceptance rate is 45.2% with an average SAT of 1,427. Graduates earn a median of $73,792 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 $17,354. This profile includes admissions data, graduation rates, program-level earnings, and cost breakdowns to help students compare colleges using official federal data.
Data updated July 2026
What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Wisconsin-Madison operates as a public institution located in Madison, Wisconsin (city: large), with a total reported enrollment of 36,902 students of which 41,069 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 Wisconsin-Madison 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
B
College Value Score
71/100
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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+
$73,792
10-year median graduate earnings
Net Price D
$17,354
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Graduation Rate N/A
N/A
6-year completion rate
Debt F
$20,484
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment A+
87.8%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention A+
96.2%
First-year students returning for year two
Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.
Avg net price
$17,354
After grants and scholarships
4-yr completion
89.4%
First-time, full-time bachelor's
4-year completion vs national average (40%) 89.4%
Higher is better
College ROI Quadrant - University of Wisconsin-Madison vs peers
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 Wisconsin-Madison 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 Wisconsin-Madison: graduate earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$73,792 Top 10% higher than 90% of 5,103 US colleges
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
36,902
Total enrollment
45.2%
Acceptance rate
1,427
SAT average
89.4%
4-yr graduation rate
$73,792
10-yr median earnings
96.2%
First-year retention
Admissions
| Admission Rate | 45.2% |
| SAT Average | 1,427 |
| SAT Math (25th-75th) | 710 – 780 |
| SAT Reading (25th-75th) | 670 – 740 |
| ACT Average | 29 |
| ACT (25th-75th) | 29 – 33 |
Share of applicants admitted
Costs & Financial Aid
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $11,603 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $42,103 |
| Average Net Price | $17,354 |
Net Price by Family Income
| $0 – $30,000 | $4,200 |
| $30,001 – $48,000 | $4,101 |
| $48,001 – $75,000 | $8,134 |
| Over $110,000 | $27,292 |
15.9%
Pell Grant Rate
20.4%
Federal Loan Rate
$20,484
Median Debt
$217/mo
Monthly Payment
Student Demographics
Race & ethnicity
Student body at a glance
53.1%
Female
16.8%
First Generation
Outcomes
89.4%
4-Year Completion Rate
96.2%
Retention Rate
$61,275
Median Earnings (6yr)
$73,792
Median Earnings (10yr)
80.0%
Earning Over $25K
87.8%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Programs & Earnings
Top programs at University of Wisconsin-Madison by graduate earnings
Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file
- Computer and Information S…
Computer and Information Sciences, General
$196,985 median earnings
- Public Health
Public Health
$169,322 median earnings
- Marketing
Marketing
$166,668 median earnings
- Finance and Financial Mana…
Finance and Financial Management Services
$164,371 median earnings
- Business/Commerce, General
Business/Commerce, General
$160,097 median earnings
- Management Sciences and Qu…
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
$156,689 median earnings
- Engineering, General
Engineering, General
$147,101 median earnings
- Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical S…
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration
$139,210 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.
Nearby Schools
Guides & Resources
Is College Worth It?
Analyze the financial return of a degree
Debt vs. Earnings by Major
Which fields of study pay off fastest
Colleges With the Best ROI
Schools where graduates earn the most vs. cost
How to Compare Colleges
A data-driven framework for picking schools
Understanding Earnings Data
How College Scorecard measures outcomes
Community College vs. 4-Year
Compare costs, outcomes, and career paths
Related Colleges
Other public institutions in Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI
16,758 students Earn $54,990 90.7% admit
Milwaukee Area Technical College
Milwaukee, WI
12,024 students Earn $41,113
Madison Area Technical College
Madison, WI
10,073 students Earn $45,413
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Whitewater, WI
9,405 students Earn $55,356 85.7% admit
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
La Crosse, WI
9,277 students Earn $60,378 75.5% admit
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Eau Claire, WI
8,895 students Earn $58,561 82.3% admit
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the acceptance rate at University of Wisconsin-Madison? ▼
University of Wisconsin-Madison is a public institution in Madison, Wisconsin. The acceptance rate is 45.2%. The average SAT score is 1,427. Total enrollment is 36,902 students.
How much do University of Wisconsin-Madison graduates earn? ▼
Graduates of University of Wisconsin-Madison earn a median of $73,792 ten years after enrollment. Six years after enrollment, median earnings are $61,275.
How much does University of Wisconsin-Madison cost? ▼
The average net price at University of Wisconsin-Madison is $17,354. In-state tuition is $11,603 and out-of-state tuition is $42,103. Median student debt at graduation is $20,484.
What is the graduation rate at University of Wisconsin-Madison? ▼
University of Wisconsin-Madison has a 4-year completion rate of 89.4%. The first-year retention rate is 96.2%.
Is University of Wisconsin-Madison worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at University of Wisconsin-Madison is $20,484, while graduates earn a median of $73,792 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 28% of first-year post-graduation earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 87.8% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $217.
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.
- College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education - graduate earnings, cost & completion (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics - enrollment, admissions, Carnegie class & demographics (nces.ed.gov/ipeds).
- U.S. Treasury / IRS earnings linkage - median earnings 6 & 10 years after enrollment for federal-aid recipients (irs.gov).
- College Scorecard, Field of Study - program-level (credential) earnings & debt (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- Federal Student Aid (Title IV / NSLDS) - U.S. Department of Education - net price, student debt & aid-recipient repayment outcomes (studentaid.gov).
What this means for University of Wisconsin-Madison
- University of Wisconsin-Madison's graduates land in the 10th percentile nationally for 10-year earnings among reporting colleges.
- The average net price after aid is $17,354 - 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 Wisconsin.Browse Wisconsin
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.