UC Davis: Cost, Admission Odds And Payoff
- UC Davis admitted 45,674 of 102,988 first-year applicants for fall 2025, and 15% of the students it admitted enrolled.
- California families earning under $100,000 who qualify for financial aid get grants covering at least tuition and fees.
- 31% of the class of 2025 took out student loans. Those who borrowed left with an average of $17,466.
Is UC Davis Worth It? The College Investor Rating
| Family | What They Pay | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | A | |
| Low-Income Families | Average $8,906 a year | A |
| Middle-Income Families | Average $13,604 a year | A |
| High-Income Families, In-State | $43,191 a year | A |
| High-Income Families, Out Of State | $80,793 a year | B |
How Hard Is It To Get Into UC Davis?
UC Davis accepted 44% of first-year applicants for fall 2025: 45,674 admits from 102,988 applications. 6,824 of those students enrolled, a yield of 15%.
What UC Davis Weighs In Admissions
UC Davis rates course rigor and academic GPA as very important. Demonstrated interest counts for nothing: campus visits won't change your odds. Legacy status doesn't count.
Very Important
Important
Considered
Not Considered
What Will UC Davis Actually Cost Your Family?
The average in-state UC Davis student receiving financial aid paid $14,318 a year after grants.
That's against a sticker price of $43,191 a year for in-state students. Out-of-state tuition alone runs $54,948. California families earning under $100,000 who qualify for financial aid get grants covering at least tuition and fees. UC Davis is one of a growing number of colleges offering free tuition by family income.
| Total Borrowed Over Four Years | $0 |
| Within Federal Student Loan Limits | $0 |
| Beyond Federal Student Loan Limits | $0 |
| Monthly Student Loan Payment, 10-Year Plan | $0 |
| Expected Pay In Your Major | $0 |
How UC Davis Meets Financial Need
UC Davis reports meeting 80% of demonstrated financial need on average. In 2025-2026, 16,262 of UC Davis's 30,882 full-time undergraduates had financial need, and their average need-based grant was $27,564. UC Davis determines financial need with the FAFSA, so how your assets are counted affects what you pay. 1,453 students without financial need received merit scholarships averaging $7,889.
Grants made up 94% of UC Davis's need-based financial aid in 2025-2026. The rest came from student jobs, including Federal Work-Study, and $24,044,817 in student loans.
| Source | Need-Based | Not Need-Based |
|---|---|---|
| UC Davis Grants | $163,145,486 | $12,350,859 |
| Federal Grants | $74,839,548 | $2,137,833 |
| State Grants | $200,877,577 | $6,810,969 |
| Outside Scholarships | $5,177,733 | $4,689,320 |
| Student Jobs And Work-Study | $3,671,616 | |
| Student Loans | $24,044,817 | $13,516,846 |
| Parent Loans, Including Parent PLUS | $9,452,945 | $46,431,908 |
| Athletic Scholarships | $7,913,758 |
Families Cover Part Of Their Financial Need
UC Davis met an average of 80% of financial need in 2025-2026. The rest falls to families as savings, income, Parent PLUS loans or private student loans. Read your financial aid award letter carefully and appeal it if the numbers don't work.
| Measure | All Undergrads | First Year |
|---|---|---|
| Students With Financial Need | 16,262 | 3,634 |
| Share Of Financial Need Met | 80% | 82% |
| Average Need-Based Grant | $27,564 | $29,937 |
| Average Financial Aid Package | $29,627 | $32,557 |
| Average Student Loan | $6,748 | $7,157 |
| Students Without Financial Need Receiving Merit Scholarships | 1,453 | 319 |
Does A UC Davis Degree Pay Off?
Generally, yes. That's why UC Davis earns .
UC Davis students earn a median of $86,999 ten years after starting college, and 89% out-earn a typical high school graduate. 20% take out federal student loans, and the typical borrower leaves owing $12,038, about 14% of one year's pay. Earnings still depend heavily on major: Statistics graduates earned a median of $88,033 four years after graduating, compared with $48,441 for Animal Sciences graduates.
Who Borrowed In The Class Of 2025
1,915 of UC Davis's 6,155 bachelor's graduates in 2025 left with student loan debt, averaging $17,466. The 100 graduates who used private student loans averaged $46,598.
| Student Loan Type | Borrowers | Share Of Class | Average Debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any Student Loan | 1,915 | 31% | $17,466 |
| Federal Student Loans | 1,854 | 30% | $14,232 |
| Private Student Loans | 100 | 2% | $46,598 |
How We Graded UC Davis
The overall grade weighs payoff, price, graduation and student debt. Price counts what low-income families pay (5 points), what middle-income families pay (10 points) and the sticker price high-income families pay (10 points). Each income grade swaps in that family's price alone.
Grade Checks
Financial Aid Check
UC Davis meets 80% of financial need on average.
Financial Health Check
No federal heightened cash monitoring and no closure, merger or financial exigency announcements.
Earnings Floor
89% of students out-earn a typical high school graduate. Schools where most don't are capped at a D.
UC Davis In The News
- DOJ Finds UC Davis Medical School Discriminated By Race In Admissions
- UC Covers Tuition For California Families Earning Under $100,000
- UC San Diego’s Remedial Math Class Is Full — Reigniting The Debate Over Test Requirements
- DOJ And Education Department Find UC Berkeley Law Violated Title VI In Admissions
- DOJ Finds UC San Diego Medical School Discriminated By Race In Admissions
- UC Admissions Board Scraps SAT Review Plan One Day Before Regents Meet
More For UC Davis Applicants
Compare UC Davis With Similar Schools
Sources And Methodology
The College Investor Rating scores every four-year college from 0 to 100 on payoff (30%), price (25%), graduation (20%) and student debt (25%) using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data. An earnings floor and a financial health check can cap the grade at D, and a financial aid check flags concerns without changing it. Price is judged on its own, without earnings. The grade measures financial return for families, not teaching quality, campus life or a school's mission.
Notes On The Data
- Low-income families earn under $48,000. Middle-income families earn $48,000 to $110,000. Their prices are federal averages for first-time, full-time students who received financial aid.
- High-income families are those who get no grant aid, so they pay the sticker price (cost of attendance). Out-of-state families pay the in-state cost of attendance plus the difference in tuition.
- Paying full price is the share of undergraduates who received no grant aid from any source in 2022-23, from the Education Department's IPEDS survey. The chance of merit aid divides merit scholarship recipients by full-time undergraduates without financial need, from the Common Data Set.
- Earnings by major are medians four years after graduation. Majors with too few graduates for the government to report earnings are left out. Debt by major is median federal student loan debt among borrowers.
- Admissions, financial aid and class of 2025 student loan figures come from the UC Davis Common Data Set 2025-2026. Student loan debt at graduation excludes Parent PLUS and other parent loans, and students who transferred in.
- The calculator uses federal net price averages for in-state students and adds the tuition difference for out-of-state students. Borrowing up to the $27,000 federal limit for dependent undergraduates uses the 2026-27 undergraduate rate of 6.52%, and anything above it uses the 9.07% Parent PLUS rate. Parent PLUS loans are capped at $20,000 a year and $65,000 per student. See all federal student loan interest rates. UC Davis's own net price calculator gives a personal figure, and College Aid Pro can compare costs across schools.
Data years: Earnings follow students who started college in 2011-12 and 2012-13, measured 10 years later. Net price and borrowing rates are for 2024-25. Graduation rates follow students who started in fall 2019. Median debt covers borrowers who left school in fiscal 2024 and 2025. Full-price shares are for 2022-23.
Work at UC Davis? If a figure looks wrong, send us the source and our editors will review it.
Sources: UC Davis Common Data Set 2025-2026. U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, data updated November 2, 2026. News from The College Investor.