District of Columbia · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's
Howard
Washington, District of Columbia. 9,604 undergraduate students. 156 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
UNITID 131520 · OPEID 001448 · IPEDS HDVINTAGE · COLLEGE SCORECARD · 2025-05 · HISTORY 1996–2024
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Howard
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+24%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at Howard University rose 24% between 2021 and 2024 ($28.9k → $35.8k).
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Howard University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (2.7% → 0.0%).
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+24%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Howard University rose 24% between 2021 and 2024 ($28.9k → $35.8k).
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER+14%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at Howard University rose 14% between 2021 and 2024 (8.9k → 10.1k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. District of Columbia
Each tile compares this institution to the District of Columbia median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 10Y
$63,066+33% · 6→10y
District of Columbia median $49,020
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 6Y
$47,379
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry
COMPLETION · 150%
68.9%+40% · '97→'24
District of Columbia median 55.8%
MEDIAN FEDERAL DEBT
$19,200+165% · '97→'20
At program completion
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT
9,604+52% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS
RETENTION
90.1%+1% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time
ADMISSION RATE
34.9%-39% · '01→'24
latest cohort
IN-STATE TUITION
$33,344+267% · '00→'24
out-of-state $33,344
SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
ALL FEDERALLY AIDED STUDENTS · TAX-RECORD EARNINGSVINTAGE 2025-05
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
4.1%
0%8% · GE20%+
Median federal debt $19,200 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $63,066 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Ten-plus year arc
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
UNDERGRAD · 1996–202410,108
Undergraduate enrollment.IPEDS EF
COMPLETION 150% · 1997–202470.0%
150%-time completion rate.IPEDS GR
MEDIAN DEBT · 1997–2020$24,500
Median federal student debt at exit.SCORECARD
COMPLETION · 150% · 1997→2024+40%
Howard · completion · 150% rose
50.0% → 70.0%
COMPLETION · 100% · 1997→2024+130%
Howard · completion · 100% rose
25.8% → 59.6%
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT · 1996→2024+52%
Howard · undergrad enrollment rose
6,636 → 10,108
IN-STATE TUITION · 2000→2024+267%
Howard · in-state tuition rose
$9,745 → $35,810
OUT-OF-STATE TUITION · 2000→2024+267%
Howard · out-of-state tuition rose
$9,745 → $35,810
MEDIAN DEBT · 1997→2020+165%
Howard · median debt rose
$9,250 → $24,500
COHORT DEFAULT RATE · 2011→2024-100%
Howard · cohort default rate fell
7.2% → 0.0%
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_10YR · 2007→2020+34%
Howard · earnings_median_10yr rose
$46,900 → $63,066
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_8YR · 2005→2020+27%
Howard · earnings_median_8yr rose
$43,200 → $54,819
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_6YR · 2003→2020+35%
Howard · earnings_median_6yr rose
$35,000 → $47,379
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$47,850
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 32
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
Cost per year
$49,005
HS-only baseline · DC
$47,200
Years to complete
4
CIP family
26
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in District of Columbia
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
“Howard graduates earn $X” — not “Howard makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Howard caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.