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College Ledger

Statement · West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University-Main Campus

Public4-year · Bachelor's degreesCompare with other schools →

  1. Families earning under $30k paid $5,098 a year after grants and aid, against a published cost of $24,591.

  2. Students who received federal aid earned a median $72,424 ten years after entering, the 92nd percentile among public 4-years.

  3. 83% of students finish within 150% of normal time.

Founded
1869
Enrollment, 2023
56,210
Website
purdue.edu
Campus of Purdue University-Main Campus

Abhijitsathe · CC BY 3.0

AboutPublic university in West Lafayette and Indianapolis, Indiana, US. Wikipedia ↗

Read the Wikipedia extract

Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system, which also includes Purdue University in Indianapolis as an ongoing expansion of the West Lafayette campus. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money to establish a college of science, technology, and agriculture; the first classes were held on September 16, 1874.

From the Wikipedia article “Purdue University”, revision 1361978799, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.

What it costs

The published sticker cost is $24,591 a year; after grants, families who received aid paid between $5,098 and $22,742 a year depending on income at Purdue University-Main Campus.

Statement of cost · Purdue University-Main Campus

Family income (per year)
Sticker costPublished yearly cost of attendance, all students
$24,591
What families earning under $30k paidYearly net price after grants, for students receiving federal aid
$5,098
Average net price, all incomesAided students, all family incomes
$14,600
In-state tuition & feesLatest reported, 2024
$9,992

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: $5,098; $30–48k: $6,241; $48–75k: $9,438; $75–110k: $18,177; over $110k: $22,742. Shaded band: middle half of public 4-years, from $8,778 to $16,425; dotted line at the median, $12,780.
  • Shaded: the middle half of public 4-years (all incomes), $8,778 to $16,425. Dotted line: the median, $12,780.
Table of the same numbers
Average yearly net price by family income bracket
Family incomePaid per year
Under $30k$5,098
$30k–$48k$6,241
$48k–$75k$9,438
$75k–$110k$18,177
Over $110k$22,742

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

What graduates earn and owe

Ten years after entry, the median federally aided student here earns $72,424; the median graduate who borrowed owes $19,500.

Statement, continued

Earnings, 6 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
$60,838
Earnings, 8 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
$66,951
Median earnings 10 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
92nd percentile among public 4-years
$72,424
Median debt, graduatesStudents who finished and borrowed federal loans.
49th percentile among public 4-years
$19,500
Median debt, all who borrowedEveryone who borrowed, whether or not they finished.
$15,000

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 public 4-years at 10 years: $42,655 to $60,720.

6 yrs after entry: $60,838; 8 yrs after entry: $66,951; 10 yrs after entry: $72,424. Median graduate debt: $19,500. Shaded band: middle half of public 4-years at 10 years, from $42,655 to $60,720; dotted line at the median, $50,178.
  • Shaded: middle half of public 4-years, 10 years out ($42,655 to $60,720); dotted line is the median.
  • Dashed: median graduate debt, $19,500.

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$60,838
Median earnings, 8 yrs after entry$66,951
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry$72,424
Median graduate debt$19,500

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 Purdue University-Main Campus
ProgramCredentialGraduatesEarnings, 5 yrsMedian debt
Computer ScienceBachelor's Degree560$149,545$19,375
Business Administration, Management and OperationsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma509$76,560$19,500
Mechanical EngineeringBachelor's Degree478$97,551$19,937
Management Sciences and Quantitative MethodsMaster's Degree426not reportednot reported
Computer EngineeringBachelor's Degree319$118,081$23,000
Research and Experimental PsychologyBachelor's Degree318$49,575$19,500
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space EngineeringBachelor's Degree314$97,947$21,500
Biology, GeneralBachelor's Degree290$77,863$20,380
Industrial EngineeringBachelor's Degree269$100,438$19,427
Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/TechniciansBachelor's Degree265$81,374$20,500
Finance and Financial Management ServicesBachelor's Degree224$78,926$22,335
Mechanical EngineeringMaster's Degree219$127,247not reported
Show all 26 programs
Remaining programs
ProgramCredentialGraduatesEarnings, 5 yrsMedian debt
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications EngineeringMaster's Degree211not reportednot reported
StatisticsBachelor's Degree205$97,489$19,500
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, GeneralUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma197not reportednot reported
Curriculum and InstructionMaster's Degree196not reportednot reported
Business Administration, Management and OperationsMaster's Degree189$134,207not reported
Communication and Media StudiesMaster's Degree186$79,601not reported
Computer Software and Media ApplicationsBachelor's Degree181$54,013$21,250
Civil EngineeringBachelor's Degree180$85,536$19,500
Agricultural Business and ManagementMaster's Degree30not reportednot reported
Engineering, OtherMaster's Degree97$135,236not reported
Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralMaster's Degree35not reportednot reported
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and AdministrationFirst Professional Degree144$143,079not reported
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space EngineeringMaster's Degree174$126,554not reported
Veterinary MedicineFirst Professional Degree80$126,992not reported

Source: College Scorecard field-of-study data.

Who goes here

Purdue University-Main Campus: 44,503 undergraduates; 13% of students receive Pell grants; 50% of applicants are admitted.

Admission rate

50%

10th percentile among public 4-years

Undergraduates

44,503

99th percentile among public 4-years

Pell share

13%

of undergraduates receive Pell grants

4th percentile among public 4-years

Completion

83%

finish within 150% of normal time

96th percentile among public 4-years

First-generation

19%

parents did not attend college

Median family income

$81,834

97th percentile among public 4-years

Students by family income

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

  • Under $30k15%
  • $30k–$48k13%
  • $48k–$75k15%
  • $75k–$110k18%
  • Over $110k39%
Show as a table
Students by family income
Family incomeShare of students
Under $30k15%
$30k–$48k13%
$48k–$75k15%
$75k–$110k18%
Over $110k39%

Who Wikipedia remembers

Wikidata records 6,451 people who studied at Purdue University-Main Campus, most often in science & academia (62%). 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 62% (3,101 people); medicine 0.8% (40 people); law 0.5% (23 people); politics & gov 3.3% (166 people); business 2.3% (118 people); engineering & tech 7.6% (384 people); writing & journalism 3.2% (163 people); film & stage 0.7% (36 people); music 0.2% (11 people); visual arts 0.9% (43 people); sports 17% (867 people); religion 0.2% (8 people); military 1.4% (72 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 & academia3,10161.6%
medicine400.8%
law230.5%
politics & gov1663.3%
business1182.3%
engineering & tech3847.6%
writing & journalism1633.2%
film & stage360.7%
music110.2%
visual arts430.9%
sports86717.2%
religion80.2%
military721.4%

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

most recorded occupationsresearcher (2,133) · university teacher (619) · basketball player (576) · American football player (182) · mathematician (174) · politician (147) · engineer (132) · writer (112)

Women among recorded alumni, by birth decade

Counts reflect who the archive records, not a census.

Share of women among recorded alumni, from 10% for the 1860s to 29% 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
1840s11not reported
1850s11not reported
1860s1910%
1870s42017%
1880snot reported24not reported
1890s2375%
1900s84914%
1910s6857%
1920s141957%
1930s2419811%
1940s2621411%
1950s5619722%
1960s2915616%
1970s279622%
1980s319425%
1990s436341%
2000s205029%

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 119,191 in 2024-04.
Table of the same numbers
Wikipedia article views by month
MonthViews
2026-0623,542
2026-0528,521
2026-0431,164
2026-0352,215
2026-0228,547
2026-0137,823
2025-1232,276
2025-1140,548
2025-1034,718
2025-0943,248
2025-0831,879
2025-0726,954
2025-0625,440
2025-0529,155
2025-0433,236
2025-0350,359
2025-0233,294
2025-0142,785
2024-1250,008
2024-1147,730
2024-1047,695
2024-0942,159
2024-0837,594
2024-0731,343
2024-0639,765
2024-0539,757
2024-04119,191
2024-03103,353
2024-0252,542
2024-0167,250
2023-1248,345
2023-1151,066
2023-1051,455
2023-0963,399
2023-0874,219
2023-0748,576
2023-0644,744
2023-0549,470
2023-0461,989
2023-0387,693
2023-0252,418
2023-0164,419
2022-1275,365
2022-1174,309
2022-1065,540
2022-0977,741
2022-0872,487
2022-0746,885
2022-0644,348
2022-0543,274
2022-0446,000
2022-0376,088
2022-0244,260
2022-0153,224
2021-1265,648
2021-1161,108
2021-1054,217
2021-0953,862
2021-0851,075
2021-0747,502
2021-0634,575
2021-0541,535
2021-0440,990
2021-0350,787
2021-0236,026
2021-0148,056
2020-1241,310
2020-1141,271
2020-1041,514
2020-0935,992
2020-0838,952
2020-0738,320
2020-0634,341
2020-0550,192
2020-0456,825
2020-0348,234
2020-0250,301
2020-0152,983
2019-1249,621
2019-1155,028
2019-1055,515
2019-0962,124
2019-0850,100
2019-0753,524
2019-0638,953
2019-0546,396
2019-0451,579
2019-0398,927
2019-0245,453
2019-0156,146
2018-1251,850
2018-1151,557
2018-1095,960
2018-0951,323
2018-0856,402
2018-0745,456
2018-0640,027
2018-0547,211
2018-0444,453
2018-0366,392
2018-0242,964
2018-0157,100
2017-1245,086
2017-1144,756
2017-1049,024
2017-0951,399
2017-0838,920
2017-0736,003
2017-0633,158
2017-0541,215
2017-0444,156
2017-0363,610
2017-0239,547
2017-0145,147
2016-1242,710
2016-1143,857
2016-1047,043
2016-0945,517
2016-0845,834
2016-0737,387
2016-0634,096
2016-0536,992
2016-0439,707
2016-0348,336
2016-0240,367
2016-0140,855
2015-1239,926
2015-1141,112
2015-1044,484
2015-0942,827
2015-0838,668
2015-0735,570

Source: Wikimedia pageviews.

Nobel laureates who studied here

  • Edward Mills Purcell Physics 1952
  • Ben Roy Mottelson Physics 1975
  • Akira Suzuki Chemistry 2010

The portrait wall

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 1361978799), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.