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College Ledger

Statement · Stanford, CA

Stanford University

Private nonprofit4-year · Bachelor's degreesCompare with other schools →

  1. Families earning under $30k paid −$2,536 a year after grants and aid, against a published cost of $87,833.

  2. Students who received federal aid earned a median $124,080 ten years after entering, the 99th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years.

  3. 92% of students finish within 150% of normal time.

Founded
1885
Enrollment, 2023
20,955
Campus of Stanford University

King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 3.0

AboutPrivate university in California, US. Wikipedia ↗

Read the Wikipedia extract

Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane, in memory of their only child, Leland Jr.

From the Wikipedia article “Stanford University”, revision 1364372408, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.

What it costs

The published sticker cost is $87,833 a year; after grants, families who received aid paid between −$2,536 and $53,882 a year depending on income at Stanford University.

Statement of cost · Stanford University

Family income (per year)
Sticker costPublished yearly cost of attendance, all students
$87,833
What families earning under $30k paidYearly net price after grants, for students receiving federal aid
−$2,536
Average net price, all incomesAided students, all family incomes
$13,807
In-state tuition & feesLatest reported, 2024
$65,910

Each figure is reported separately; none is computed from another.

Net price by family income

Pick an income bracket above; the marked point follows. Dollars are what aided families paid each year after grants.

Yearly net price by family income, in dollars

under $30k: −$2,536; $30–48k: −$193; $48–75k: $3,212; $75–110k: $11,092; over $110k: $53,882. Shaded band: middle half of private nonprofit 4-years, from $17,360 to $28,210; dotted line at the median, $22,313.
  • Shaded: the middle half of private nonprofit 4-years (all incomes), $17,360 to $28,210. Dotted line: the median, $22,313.
Table of the same numbers
Average yearly net price by family income bracket
Family incomePaid per year
Under $30k−$2,536
$30k–$48k−$193
$48k–$75k$3,212
$75k–$110k$11,092
Over $110k$53,882

College Scorecard, 2023–24 aid cohort (students who received federal aid)

A negative figure is reported as is: on average, grants and aid exceeded the listed cost.

What graduates earn and owe

Ten years after entry, the median federally aided student here earns $124,080; the median graduate who borrowed owes $12,000.

Statement, continued

Earnings, 6 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
$102,887
Earnings, 8 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
$109,851
Median earnings 10 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
99th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years
$124,080
Median debt, graduatesStudents who finished and borrowed federal loans.
4th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years
$12,000
Median debt, all who borrowedEveryone who borrowed, whether or not they finished.
$9,851

Earnings and debt come from federal aid records, so students who never received federal aid are not counted.

Earnings after entry

The shaded band is the middle half of private nonprofit 4-years at 10 years: $43,845 to $62,830.

6 yrs after entry: $102,887; 8 yrs after entry: $109,851; 10 yrs after entry: $124,080. Median graduate debt: $12,000. Shaded band: middle half of private nonprofit 4-years at 10 years, from $43,845 to $62,830; dotted line at the median, $52,889.
  • Shaded: middle half of private nonprofit 4-years, 10 years out ($43,845 to $62,830); dotted line is the median.
  • Dashed: median graduate debt, $12,000.

Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only. Hollow marks are rungs with no reported value, not zero.

Table of the same numbers
Earnings after entry and graduate debt
MeasureDollars
Median earnings, 6 yrs after entry$102,887
Median earnings, 8 yrs after entry$109,851
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry$124,080
Median graduate debt$12,000

College Scorecard, federal tax and aid records

What programs pay

Median earnings five years after completing, by field of study. Small programs are privacy-suppressed and shown as not reported, never zero.

What programs pay at Stanford University
ProgramCredentialGraduatesEarnings, 5 yrsMedian debt
Management Sciences and Quantitative MethodsMaster's Degree493not reportednot reported
Computer ScienceMaster's Degree383$331,747not reported
Computer ScienceBachelor's Degree293$247,797$10,399
Civil EngineeringMaster's Degree212$122,256not reported
LawFirst Professional Degree183$289,230not reported
Mechanical EngineeringMaster's Degree148$161,655not reported
Human BiologyBachelor's Degree140$79,098$12,500
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications EngineeringMaster's Degree138$230,373not reported
Education, GeneralMaster's Degree120$88,795not reported
EconomicsBachelor's Degree112$148,692$12,500
Engineering-Related FieldsMaster's Degree110$227,320not reported
Legal Research and Advanced Professional StudiesMaster's Degree94not reportednot reported
Show all 23 programs
Remaining programs
ProgramCredentialGraduatesEarnings, 5 yrsMedian debt
Engineering, OtherBachelor's Degree89$122,212$7,500
MedicineFirst Professional Degree87$146,203not reported
Cognitive ScienceBachelor's Degree83not reported$8,055
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications EngineeringDoctoral Degree72$314,606not reported
Political Science and GovernmentBachelor's Degree72$73,221$12,000
MathematicsBachelor's Degree65not reportednot reported
International Relations and National Security StudiesBachelor's Degree61$128,687not reported
PhysicsDoctoral Degree60not reportednot reported
Business Administration, Management and OperationsMaster's Degree0$283,761not reported
Mechanical EngineeringDoctoral Degree42not reportednot reported
ChemistryDoctoral Degree44not reportednot reported

Source: College Scorecard field-of-study data.

Who goes here

Stanford University: 7,554 undergraduates; 19% of students receive Pell grants; 4% of applicants are admitted.

Admission rate

4%

below the 1st percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

Undergraduates

7,554

96th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

Pell share

19%

of undergraduates receive Pell grants

19th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

Completion

92%

finish within 150% of normal time

95th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

First-generation

30%

parents did not attend college

Median family income

$44,842

52nd percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

Students by family income

Share of students in each family-income bracket, for students who received federal aid.

not reported

Show as a table
Students by family income
Family incomeShare of students
Under $30knot reported
$30k–$48knot reported
$48k–$75knot reported
$75k–$110knot reported
Over $110knot reported

Who Wikipedia remembers

Wikidata records 17,293 people who studied at Stanford University, most often in science & academia (58%). That is the archive's memory, not a census.

What the recorded alumni are remembered for

Share of recorded people by field, in a fixed order so schools compare.

Fields of the people the archive recorded for this school, in a fixed order: science & academia 58% (9,237 people); medicine 1.6% (250 people); law 2.2% (353 people); politics & gov 3.3% (525 people); business 5.6% (895 people); engineering & tech 7.7% (1,233 people); writing & journalism 6.7% (1,074 people); film & stage 2.1% (340 people); music 1.1% (176 people); visual arts 1.4% (229 people); sports 9.3% (1,478 people); religion 0.3% (40 people); military 0.9% (151 people). These are shares of people recorded in Wikidata, the archive's memory, not a census of alumni.
Table of the same numbers
Fields of the people the archive recorded for this school (the archive's memory, not a census)
FieldPeople recordedShare
science & academia9,23757.8%
medicine2501.6%
law3532.2%
politics & gov5253.3%
business8955.6%
engineering & tech1,2337.7%
writing & journalism1,0746.7%
film & stage3402.1%
music1761.1%
visual arts2291.4%
sports1,4789.3%
religion400.3%
military1510.9%

Source: Wikidata, via the archive's memory (not a census).

most recorded occupationsresearcher (5,337) · university teacher (2,169) · computer scientist (598) · writer (581) · basketball player (540) · economist (516) · businessperson (455) · politician (410)

Women among recorded alumni, by birth decade

Counts reflect who the archive records, not a census.

Share of women among recorded alumni, from 50% for the 1860s to 40% for the 2000s. Decades with fewer than 5 recorded people are not drawn, and 1 decade is marked not reported for women. The line breaks at every decade not drawn.

Counts only people the archive records with a gender. Hollow marks are decades with no women reported or fewer than 5 recorded, not zero.

Table of the same numbers
Recorded alumni by birth decade
BornWomenMenShare women
1840snot reported2not reported
1850s12not reported
1860s181850%
1870s2310518%
1880s258323%
1890s309624%
1900s5022518%
1910s3929712%
1920s6340114%
1930s8063211%
1940s19591518%
1950s28686125%
1960s28960632%
1970s24347634%
1980s17533734%
1990s11717041%
2000s8312640%

Source: Wikidata, via the archive's memory (not a census).

Wikipedia attention, by month

Wikipedia attention

monthly views

Monthly Wikipedia article views from 2015-07 to 2026-06; peak 197,437 in 2022-10.
Table of the same numbers
Wikipedia article views by month
MonthViews
2026-0670,617
2026-0578,644
2026-0473,242
2026-0373,070
2026-0281,086
2026-0177,407
2025-1273,973
2025-1180,914
2025-1091,245
2025-0983,869
2025-0888,084
2025-0775,414
2025-0674,033
2025-0581,211
2025-0488,401
2025-03101,445
2025-0289,692
2025-01106,365
2024-1295,084
2024-11102,866
2024-10104,425
2024-09114,677
2024-08121,352
2024-07145,728
2024-06100,989
2024-05111,731
2024-04109,405
2024-03122,860
2024-02110,313
2024-01129,632
2023-12116,921
2023-11114,044
2023-10118,406
2023-09130,580
2023-08128,625
2023-07138,822
2023-06134,440
2023-05130,766
2023-04131,233
2023-03144,049
2023-02118,940
2023-01125,751
2022-12118,520
2022-11140,742
2022-10197,437
2022-09128,171
2022-08129,622
2022-07150,413
2022-06120,780
2022-05125,853
2022-04134,917
2022-03123,371
2022-02118,384
2022-01130,087
2021-12115,144
2021-11121,887
2021-10138,188
2021-09132,759
2021-08128,415
2021-07130,623
2021-06102,437
2021-05107,554
2021-04126,649
2021-03125,980
2021-02142,346
2021-01139,862
2020-12127,487
2020-11141,576
2020-10126,361
2020-09117,477
2020-08126,604
2020-07117,377
2020-06118,329
2020-05138,993
2020-04155,845
2020-03138,151
2020-02120,387
2020-01134,634
2019-12148,016
2019-11140,920
2019-10148,840
2019-09143,136
2019-08124,687
2019-07120,070
2019-06122,058
2019-05119,293
2019-04123,602
2019-03135,712
2019-02110,012
2019-01127,886
2018-12133,940
2018-11117,786
2018-10139,505
2018-09155,548
2018-08119,752
2018-07113,713
2018-06111,080
2018-05125,726
2018-04124,121
2018-03131,683
2018-02113,687
2018-01124,800
2017-12122,123
2017-11133,548
2017-10118,639
2017-09117,450
2017-08107,345
2017-07110,602
2017-06106,321
2017-05114,021
2017-04122,070
2017-03128,336
2017-02108,737
2017-01126,107
2016-12112,741
2016-11121,854
2016-10135,233
2016-09140,892
2016-08129,564
2016-07111,088
2016-06124,004
2016-05118,180
2016-04123,037
2016-03122,409
2016-02121,518
2016-01155,093
2015-12135,676
2015-11152,018
2015-10137,461
2015-09165,438
2015-08143,828
2015-07106,160

Source: Wikimedia pageviews.

Nobel laureates who studied here

  • John Steinbeck Literature 1962
  • Gérard Debreu Economics 1983
  • Dudley R. Herschbach Chemistry 1986
  • Henry Way Kendall Physics 1990
  • Jerome Isaac Friedman Physics 1990
  • Richard E. Taylor Physics 1990
Show all 21
  • John Harsanyi Economics 1994
  • Karl Barry Sharpless Chemistry 2001
  • Eric Allin Cornell Physics 2001
  • Carl Wieman Physics 2001
  • Theodor W. Hänsch Physics 2005
  • Robert H. Grubbs Chemistry 2005
  • Roger D. Kornberg Chemistry 2006
  • Andrew Fire Medicine 2006
  • Alvin Eliot Roth Economics 2012
  • Randy Schekman Medicine 2013
  • Paul L. Modrich Chemistry 2015
  • Bengt Holmström Economics 2016
  • M. Stanley Whittingham Chemistry 2019
  • Paul Milgrom Economics 2020
  • Karl Barry Sharpless Chemistry 2022

Similar schools

These are the nearest neighbors in the same sector. The list is not an ordering.

Sources & caveats

Figures come from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Built 2026-07-17.

not reported
Not reported: suppressed for privacy or never collected. It is not zero, and nothing has been filled in.
Percentiles
A percentile compares this school with others in its own sector (for example, public 4-year schools). It describes position, not quality.
Earnings
Earnings cover students who received federal (Title IV) aid, measured from the year they entered. Students who never received federal aid are not included.
Provenance notes
  • U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, 2026-06 release. Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only. Suppressed values are null, never imputed.
  • Annual Scorecard files 1996-2026. A null in early years usually means the measure was not yet collected, not zero.
  • Coordinates and locale describe the campus address, not where students live.
  • Wikidata is not an alumni census: a person appears only when volunteer editors record them. Counts measure the archive's memory - access x achievement x documentation - never placement rates or institutional quality.
  • Images are from Wikimedia Commons under free licenses. Render the credit line (artist + license) with every image.

Lead text from Wikipedia (revision 1364372408), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.