University of California-Davis
Public Research University in Davis, CA. Six-year graduation rate 86%. Median 10-year earnings $80,838.
Students who entered University of California-Davis reach a median of $80,838 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. The six-year graduation rate of 86% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Graduates leave owing a median of $13,000 — modest by four-year standards. It also moves people — 4.4% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.16 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 86% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Selectivity is real here: only 42% of applicants are offered a place. 98,864 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. A 16% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of California-Davis →Academics
A 86% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. First-year retention of 93% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 83% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. At 22:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 31,777 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $17,270 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $9,211 at the $0–30k band to $31,272 at $110k+. About 59% get grants averaging $22,843, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 20% of students.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 6,412 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $9,211 |
| $30–48k | $9,966 |
| $48–75k | $11,951 |
| $75–110k | $16,294 |
| $110k+ | $31,272 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 6,250 of these 31,777 students, totalling $32,274,198 — an average of $5,164 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Yolo County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)