Skip to content
Best College Rankings

Public · Suburban campus · verified rankings · federal data

University of California, Davis

Students comparing University of California, Davis on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

CompareOfficial site
Davis, California32,253 undergraduatesMean consensus percentile 5Public universityResearch universityU.S. News ranked

The short answer

University of California, Davis: U.S. News ranks it #32 on National Universities (2026); Forbes ranks it #44 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #63 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #12 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #51 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 5 stars; Princeton Review lists it on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); QS ranks it #115 on World University Rankings (2026). It enrolls 32,253 undergraduates, admits 41.8% of applicants, and posts a 85.7% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $50,974; aid recipients pay $14,741 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $80,838.

The six numbers that matter most

Acceptance rate
41.8%

Below the dataset median of 76%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Average net price
$14,741

79% below the $70,400 published price

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardAverage for full-time first-time aid recipients, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median earnings, 10 yrs
$80,838

Above the dataset median of $54,053

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian earnings 10 years after entry, working and not enrolled, College Scorecard June 2026 release

6-year graduation rate
85.7%

Above the dataset median of 56%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent six-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median debt at graduation
$13,000

Above the dataset median of $23,250

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian federal loan debt of completers, College Scorecard June 2026 release

SAT middle 50%
Not reportedUniversity of California-Davis reports that it neither requires nor recommends admissions test scores, and does not report a score range to the Department of Education.

U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard

Where UC Davis ranks, and why the answers differ

Each publisher's position, the list it belongs to, and how many institutions it was drawn from.

SourceListRank
US News2026National Universities#32of 436National universities
Forbes2026America's Top Colleges#44of 500Top colleges (Forbes)
Washington Monthly2026Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars#63of 1,504Tuition & tax value (WM)
WSJ2026Best Colleges in the U.S.#12of 500U.S. colleges (WSJ)
Niche2026Best Colleges (Overall)A+#51of 2,605Overall (Niche)
Money2026Best Value Colleges5 starsListedBest value (Money)
Princeton Review2026Best Colleges (Overall)ListedOverall (Niche)
QS2026World University Rankings#115of 1,504World (QS)

Methodology sensitivity: UC Davis's position moves 7 percentile points depending on which published list you read. That is a moderate spread; the ranking you look at changes the answer somewhat. How we compute this

Ranking positions are the editorial property of their publishers and are reproduced here with attribution for comparison and commentary. Follow each source link for its full list and methodology.

About UC Davis

University of California, Davis is a public institution in Davis, California. Federal data show 92.8% first-year retention and a 21:1 student-faculty ratio. Figures on this page come from College Scorecard and IPEDS; publisher rankings shown here are transcribed from named sources and checked in our dataset.

Strengths and honest considerations

Strengths

  • Cost and outcome metrics on this profile come directly from federal collections, not self-reported marketing sheets.
  • Net price $14,741 reflects what aid recipients actually paid in the most recent federal reporting year.

Considerations

  • This school may not appear on every publisher list we track; an empty rankings table means no tracked publisher ranked it, not missing federal data.
  • Compare $70,400 sticker cost against $14,741 net price before ruling a school in or out on price alone.
  • Publishers we have not loaded yet, or lists that omit this school, show as “not ranked by this source” — that is expected.

Who this school genuinely fits

Students comparing University of California, Davis on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

What it costs

Published price, then what families actually pay after grants and scholarships.

In-state tuition & fees
$16,774

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Out-of-state tuition & fees
$50,974

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Room & board
$19,426

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Published cost of attendance comes to roughly $70,400 a year, but the average family pays $14,741 — a 79% difference. 31.4% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, the federal marker of low family income.

Net price varies enormously by income band, so run UC Davis's net price calculator for your own household before drawing conclusions. Why net price is the only cost number that matters.

Programs and academics

Most popular majors

  1. 1Business
  2. 2Biology
  3. 3Psychology
  4. 4Computer Science
  5. 5Economics

Standout programs

    Student-faculty ratio
    21:1

    IPEDS / National Center for Education StatisticsIPEDS 2023 fall enrollment

    First-year retention
    92.8%

    U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent first-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

    Undergraduate enrollment
    32,253

    U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

    UC Davis: questions families ask

    Out-of-state tuition is $50,974 and on-campus room and board is $19,426, for a published total of $70,400 before aid. The average net price for first-time full-time students receiving aid is $14,741.

    The most recent federal admissions rate reported to the Department of Education is 41.8%. Test policy as reported in IPEDS: see the admissions section on this page for the institution's own category.

    Similar colleges

    Matched on institutional character, overlapping majors and comparable cross-source standing.

    University of Wisconsin-Madison

    Madison, WIPublic

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    University of Wisconsin-Madison: U.S. News ranks it #36 on National Universities (2026); Forbes ranks it #53 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #69 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #73 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #44 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 5 stars; Princeton Review lists it on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026) — #18 College City Gets High Marks; QS ranks it #111 on World University Rankings (2026). It enrolls 36,902 undergraduates, admits 45.2% of applicants, and posts a 89.5% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $42,103; aid recipients pay $17,354 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $73,792.

    Acceptance rate
    45.2%
    Average net price
    $17,354
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $73,792
    6-yr graduation rate
    89.5%
    US News · National universities#36 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#53 of 500Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#69 of 1,504+5 more on profile

    36,902 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 8 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Michigan State University

    East Lansing, MIPublic

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    Michigan State University: U.S. News ranks it #64 on National Universities (2026); Forbes ranks it #79 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #127 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #60 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #97 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 4.5 stars; Princeton Review lists it on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026) — #25 Best Campus Food; QS ranks it #161 on World University Rankings (2026). It enrolls 40,922 undergraduates, admits 84.8% of applicants, and posts a 80.7% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $43,842; aid recipients pay $19,680 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $67,253.

    Acceptance rate
    84.8%
    Average net price
    $19,680
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $67,253
    6-yr graduation rate
    80.7%
    US News · National universities#64 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#79 of 500Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#127 of 1,504+5 more on profile

    40,922 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 11 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    University of California-Riverside

    Riverside, CAPublic

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    University of California-Riverside: U.S. News ranks it #75 on National Universities (2026); Forbes ranks it #77 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #101 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #108 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #161 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 4.5 stars; Princeton Review lists it on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); QS ranks it #444 on World University Rankings (2026). It enrolls 22,593 undergraduates, admits 76.4% of applicants, and posts a 76.0% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $49,806; aid recipients pay $14,304 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $67,699.

    Acceptance rate
    76.4%
    Average net price
    $14,304
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $67,699
    6-yr graduation rate
    76.0%
    US News · National universities#75 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#77 of 500Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#101 of 1,504+5 more on profile

    22,593 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 16 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Compare UC Davis against these