Skip to content
Best College Rankings

Public · Urban campus · verified rankings · federal data

University of Houston-Downtown

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

CompareOfficial site
Houston, Texas12,555 undergraduatesMean consensus percentile 31Public universityUrban campusResearch university

The short answer

University of Houston-Downtown: U.S. News ranks it #58 on Regional Universities (West) (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #133 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #295 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #231 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 4 stars. It enrolls 12,555 undergraduates, admits 90.0% of applicants, and posts a 33.2% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $17,548; aid recipients pay $10,542 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $53,551.

The six numbers that matter most

Acceptance rate
90.0%

Above the dataset median of 76%

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

Average net price
$10,542

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

Median earnings, 10 yrs
$53,551

About the dataset median

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
33.2%

Below 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
$18,750

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%
940–1110

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardSum of reported reading and math section percentiles for the most recent entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release. Section percentiles added together approximate, but do not exactly equal, the composite score range.

Where Houston-Downtown 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 News2026Regional Universities (West)#58of 118Regional univ. (West)
Forbes2026America's Top CollegesNot ranked by this source
Washington Monthly2026Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars#133of 1,504Tuition & tax value (WM)
WSJ2026Best Colleges in the U.S.#295of 500U.S. colleges (WSJ)
Niche2026Best Colleges (Overall)B+#231of 2,605Overall (Niche)
Money2026Best Value Colleges4 starsListedBest value (Money)
Princeton Review2026Best Colleges (Overall)Not ranked by this source
QS2026World University RankingsNot ranked by this source

Methodology sensitivity: Houston-Downtown's position moves 50 percentile points depending on which published list you read. That is a wide spread, so which list you consult substantially changes the impression you get. 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 Houston-Downtown

University of Houston-Downtown is a public institution in Houston, Texas. Federal data show 67.1% first-year retention and a 18:1 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 $10,542 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 not reported sticker cost against $10,542 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 Houston-Downtown 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
$7,708

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

Out-of-state tuition & fees
$17,548

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

Room & board
Not reportedNot reported by University of Houston-Downtown in the most recent federal collection.

U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard

Published cost of attendance comes to roughly Not reported a year.

Net price varies enormously by income band, so run Houston-Downtown'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
    18:1

    IPEDS / National Center for Education StatisticsIPEDS 2023 fall enrollment

    First-year retention
    67.1%

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

    Undergraduate enrollment
    12,555

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

    Houston-Downtown: questions families ask

    Out-of-state tuition is $17,548 and on-campus room and board is not reported, for a published total of not reported before aid. The average net price for first-time full-time students receiving aid is $10,542.

    The most recent federal admissions rate reported to the Department of Education is 90.0%. 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 Texas at Dallas

    Richardson, TXPublic

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    University of Texas at Dallas: U.S. News ranks it #110 on National Universities (2026); Forbes ranks it #141 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #582 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #319 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #219 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 #604 on World University Rankings (2026). It enrolls 21,751 undergraduates, admits 65.1% of applicants, and posts a 75.7% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $40,144; aid recipients pay $18,267 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $68,227.

    Acceptance rate
    65.1%
    Average net price
    $18,267
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $68,227
    6-yr graduation rate
    75.7%
    US News · National universities#110 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#141 of 500Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#582 of 1,504+5 more on profile

    21,751 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 34 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Texas Tech University

    Lubbock, TXPublic

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    Texas Tech University: U.S. News ranks it #198 on National Universities (2026); Forbes ranks it #161 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #438 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #229 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #103 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 3.5 stars; QS ranks it #740 on World University Rankings (2026). It enrolls 32,394 undergraduates, admits 72.7% of applicants, and posts a 68.7% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $24,451; aid recipients pay $19,070 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $62,454.

    Acceptance rate
    72.7%
    Average net price
    $19,070
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $62,454
    6-yr graduation rate
    68.7%
    US News · National universities#198 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#161 of 500Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#438 of 1,504+4 more on profile

    32,394 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 34 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    University of North Florida

    Jacksonville, FLPublic

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    University of North Florida: U.S. News ranks it #222 on National Universities (2026); Forbes ranks it #330 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #129 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #170 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #391 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 4 stars. It enrolls 13,359 undergraduates, admits 53.2% of applicants, and posts a 69.2% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $20,793; aid recipients pay $10,154 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $56,343.

    Acceptance rate
    53.2%
    Average net price
    $10,154
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $56,343
    6-yr graduation rate
    69.2%
    US News · National universities#222 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#330 of 500Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#129 of 1,504+3 more on profile

    13,359 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 35 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Compare Houston-Downtown against these