More selective than 59% of Texas colleges we cover.
College Scorecard, Fall 2024 entering class
Average after grants for all families receiving federal aid. Pick your income above.
Sticker price $26,185. College Scorecard.
Higher than 83% of Texas colleges we cover and 69% of colleges nationwide. U.S. median 54%.
Within 6 years · College Scorecard
Higher than 85% of Texas colleges we cover and 74% of colleges nationwide. U.S. median $53,263.
Median, 10 years after starting · College Scorecard
UH acceptance rate & admissions
Of 30,327 applicants, University of Houston admitted 21,087 and 5,652 enrolled (IPEDS, Fall 2023 entering class). The middle half of enrolled first-year students scored 1160–1340 on the SAT or 23–29 on the ACT.
IPEDS Admissions, Fall 2023 entering class
Test scores: College Scorecard, Fall 2024. Other figures: College Scorecard; IPEDS
UH tuition, cost & net price
What families actually pay per year, by income
Average net price after grants and scholarships for Texas residents who receive federal aid. Tap your income band.
College Scorecard, latest reported year (in-state, federal aid recipients)
Sticker price (before aid)
IPEDS 2023-24 cost items; total from College Scorecard
College Scorecard; Urban Institute Education Data Portal
State aid: Texas residents with financial need may receive a TEXAS Grant at Texas public universities; amounts are set each year and vary by college. Not included in the prices above. Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (College for All Texans)
What UH costs to finish, and how fast it pays back
Graduates of University of Houston took 4.4 years on average to finish, so the yearly price adds up to the total below. Payback compares former students' earnings with what high school graduates earn in Texas. The figures follow your residency and income choices above.
| Family income | Net price / yr | Cost to finish | Years to pay back |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0–30k | $10,929 | $47,978 | 1.7 years |
| $30–48k | $10,220 | $44,866 | 1.6 years |
| $48–75k | $12,528 | $54,998 | 1.9 years |
| $75–110k | $19,197 | $84,275 | 2.9 years |
| $110k+ | $23,811 | $104,530 | 3.6 years |
Cost to finish = yearly price × 4.4 years, the average time graduates took (45% finished in 4 years; students who entered fall 2017, IPEDS). Years to pay back = cost to finish ÷ the earnings gain: median earnings of former students 10 years after starting ($62,377) minus $33,516 for high school graduates ages 25-34 in TX (Census ACS 2020-2024), a gain of $28,861 a year. Before taxes, loan interest and earnings given up while in school. Method
College Scorecard (net price, earnings); IPEDS Graduation Rates (time to finish); U.S. Census Bureau ACS (high school earnings). Calculated by EducationGuide.
UH majors, earnings & careers
University of Houston offers 74 bachelor's majors across 9 areas. Earnings below are for this school's graduates of each major, four years after finishing.
- Engineering · 15
- Humanities & Languages · 13
- Business & Finance · 12
- Science & Math · 9
- Arts & Design · 6
- Social Sciences & Public Service · 6
- Health & Medicine · 5
- Communications & Media · 4
- Technology & Computing · 4
Highest-earning majors at UH
| Major | Earnings, 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical Engineering | $110,184 | $20,000 |
| Electrical Engineering | $107,399 | $25,692 |
| Computer Engineering | $107,283 | $21,582 |
| Computer and Information Sciences | $98,790 | $18,751 |
| Construction Engineering Technology / Technician | $97,201 | $22,629 |
| Industrial Engineering | $94,814 | $21,500 |
| Petroleum Engineering | $94,651 | $23,366 |
| Mechanical Engineering | $93,275 | $20,000 |
Quick list of all 74 majors
- Accounting$84,668
- American Sign Language—
- Anthropology$42,146
- Applied Mathematics—
- Architecture$70,616
- Area Studies—
- Biochemistry$61,122
- Biology$57,716
- Biomedical Engineering—
- Biotechnology$78,750
- Broadcasting / Digital Media$40,419
- Business / Corporate Communications$64,374
- Business Administration$73,125
- Chemical Engineering$110,184
- Chemistry$68,504
- Civil Engineering$89,653
- Communications$49,545
- Computer and Information Sciences$98,790
- Computer Engineering$107,283
- Computer Engineering Technologies / Technicians$78,396
- Computer Systems Analysis$82,416
- Construction Engineering Technology / Technician$97,201
- Dance—
- East Asian Languages (Chinese / Japanese / Korean)—
- Economics$78,204
- Electrical / Electronic Engineering Technologies / Technicians$87,022
- Electrical Engineering$107,399
- English$49,884
- Entrepreneurship—
- Environmental Design—
- Environmental Science / Conservation—
- Ethnic / Gender Studies—
- Family and Consumer Sciences / Human Sciences Business Services$53,410
- Film and Photography—
- Finance$78,009
- Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services$49,724
- General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations$72,199
- Geology / Earth Science$68,127
- Graphic / Interior / Fashion Design$64,612
- Health Sciences$54,471
- History$55,475
- Hospitality Management$53,344
- Human Development and Family Studies$54,871
- Human Resources$69,010
- Industrial Engineering$94,814
- Information Science / Studies—
- Interior Architecture—
- Journalism$53,195
- Kinesiology / Exercise Science$53,483
- Liberal Arts / General Studies$58,450
- Linguistics—
- Management Information Systems$91,983
- Management Science / Analytics—
- Marketing$68,139
- Mathematics$62,833
- Mechanical Engineering$93,275
- Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies / Technicians$84,692
- Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies, Other$58,705
- Music$56,667
- Nursing$91,276
- Petroleum Engineering$94,651
- Philosophy$55,875
- Physics$86,078
- Political Science$61,533
- Psychology$52,892
- Public Relations and Advertising$60,180
- Religious Studies—
- Sociology$45,530
- Software and Media Applications$51,596
- Spanish / French / Romance Languages$56,442
- Speech-Language Pathology / Communication Disorders$54,126
- Studio Art$45,446
- Theatre$42,301
- Writing$39,645
— means too few graduates to report earnings.
College Scorecard field of study, latest release
All majors by area with earnings 1 and 4 years out, and debt →Business Administration → Management analyst
Median annual wage for all workers in this job, not only new graduates. U.S. jobs projected to grow 10.1% from 2025 to 2035.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35
Accounting → Accountant / auditor
Median annual wage for all workers in this job, not only new graduates. U.S. jobs projected to grow 5.0% from 2025 to 2035.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35
Living in Houston
Overall prices in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX area.
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
2 bedrooms $1,497. Housing costs 5% above the U.S. average.
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027
January and July average highs. 55 inches of rain a year, almost no snow.
NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020
Highest: hurricane (very high); tornado (very high); river flooding (very high); coastal flooding (relatively high); heat wave (very high); winter weather (relatively high).
FEMA National Risk Index, Harris County
Campus & students
IPEDS fall enrollment; Carnegie Classification; EADA via Urban Institute
Harris County at a glance
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year 2024
Compare UH with similar schools
Similar public colleges in Texas by selectivity, graduation rate and size. Tap “Why?” to see where the price difference comes from.
| School | Acceptance | You'd pay | Graduation | Earnings, 10 yrs | Price gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Houston | 74% | $14,276 | 65% | $62,377 | This school |
| University of North Texas | 72% | $15,649 | 61% | $57,010 | |
| Texas Tech University | 73% | $19,070 | 69% | $62,454 | |
| The University of Texas at Arlington | 80% | $13,951 | 54% | $63,199 | |
| Texas State University | 89% | $16,805 | 55% | $56,906 |
College Scorecard, latest reported year. “You'd pay” follows your residency and income choices above.
Why the price is different
University of Houston would cost you $1,373 less per year than University of North Texas, on average.
- Lower sticker price at University of Houston, mostly from lower tuition & fees (−$1,592).
- University of Houston gives aided families $1,315 more in grants, on average.
| Per year, Texas resident | UH | UNT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition & fees | $9,717 | $11,309 | −$1,592 |
| Books & supplies | $1,556 | $1,120 | +$436 |
| Housing & meals | $10,830 | $10,805 | +$25 |
| Personal & travel | $4,637 | $3,898 | +$739 |
| Living-at-home adjustment | −$555 | −$889 | +$334 |
| Sticker price | $26,185 | $26,243 | −$58 |
| Average grants | −$11,909 | −$10,594 | −$1,315 |
| You pay | $14,276 | $15,649 | −$1,373 |
“+” means UH costs more; “−” means it costs less. Grants are the sticker price minus the net price. Cost items: IPEDS, on-campus budget. Sticker and net price: College Scorecard, latest reported year; the adjustment reconciles the two. Net price is an average for first-time, full-time students receiving federal aid, not a quote.
Common questions about UH
What is the UH acceptance rate?
University of Houston accepts 74% of applicants (College Scorecard). In the latest IPEDS admissions year, 21,087 of 30,327 applicants were admitted. The middle half of enrolled first-year students scored 1160–1340 on the SAT or 23–29 on the ACT.
How much does University of Houston cost per year?
The sticker price (cost of attendance) is $26,185 a year for in-state students. After grants and scholarships, students receiving federal aid pay $14,276 a year on average; families earning $0–30k pay $10,929 and families earning $110k+ pay $23,811.
How much do UH graduates earn?
Former University of Houston students earn a median $62,377 ten years after starting college, compared with a U.S. median of $53,263 across the colleges we cover.
What is the UH graduation rate?
65% of first-time, full-time students graduate within six years, and 87% return for their second year.
How long does a UH degree take to pay off?
For a family earning $48–75k, finishing at University of Houston costs about $54,998 after grants ($12,528 a year for 4.4 years, the average time graduates took). Former students earn a median $62,377 ten years after starting, $28,861 more than high school graduates in Texas ($33,516), so the cost is repaid in 1.9 years of that gain, before taxes and interest (EducationGuide calculation).
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Sources on this page: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS; U.S. Census Bureau (ACS); Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections); Bureau of Economic Analysis; HUD; NOAA; FEMA; Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By); Wikidata. “Colleges we cover” means colleges awarding bachelor's degrees to at least 100 undergraduates. Averages are not quotes; confirm costs with the school. How we score
Data: download this school's data (JSON) · Markdown · all datasets
Cite this: “University of Houston: cost, admissions and outcomes,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/colleges/university-of-houston (College Scorecard and IPEDS data).