+14%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at University of Chicago rose 14% between 2021 and 2024 ($62.2k → $70.7k).
Illinois · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's
UChicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1890, it is known for its rigorous core curriculum and its influence on economics, physics, and the social sciences, with dozens of Nobel laureates in its history.
7,540 undergraduate students. 192 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
Earnings, completion, debt, and enrollment anomalies at UChicago
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.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at University of Chicago fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (0.5% → 0.0%).
+14%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at University of Chicago rose 14% between 2021 and 2024 ($62.2k → $70.7k).
+57%
Private nonprofit bachelor's-predominant peer
10-year earnings at University of Chicago are 57% above the private nonprofit bachelor's-predominant peer median ($91.9k vs $58.7k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
UChicago earnings, debt, and completion vs. the Illinois median
Each tile compares this institution to the Illinois median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$91,885+14% · 6→10y
Illinois median $40,810$80,870
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry94.9%+15% · '97→'24
Illinois median 53.3%$13,368+28% · '97→'20
At program completion7,540+113% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS99.4%+4% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time4.8%-90% · '01→'24
latest cohort$66,939+185% · '00→'24
out-of-state $66,939SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How UChicago 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).
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 at UChicago
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
1.9%Median federal debt $13,368 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $91,885 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
UChicago enrollment, completion, and debt over time
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
+113%
UChicago · undergrad enrollment rose
3,559 → 7,569
+185%
UChicago · in-state tuition rose
$24,807 → $70,662
+185%
UChicago · out-of-state tuition rose
$24,807 → $70,662
+28%
UChicago · median debt rose
$11,700 → $15,000
-100%
UChicago · cohort default rate fell
2.3% → 0.0%
+21%
UChicago · pell share rose
12.6% → 15.3%
+57%
UChicago · earnings_median_10yr rose
$58,400 → $91,885
+69%
UChicago · earnings_median_8yr rose
$51,700 → $87,164
+82%
UChicago · earnings_median_6yr rose
$44,500 → $80,870
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
UChicago 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.
Law$308,354Business Administration, Management and Operations$231,911Computer Science$227,147Statistics$171,616Economics$157,181Computer Science$151,585Statistics$147,558Mathematics$146,679Medicine$143,277Public Policy Analysis$118,011International Relations and National Security Studies$104,862Criminal Justice and Corrections$101,305Public Policy Analysis$99,986International Relations and National Security Studies$98,430Physics$91,650Political Science and Government$88,531Research and Experimental Psychology$84,957Philosophy$72,246Psychology, General$70,596Social Work$69,739Social Sciences, General$69,143Education, General$68,756Biology, General$68,610Area Studies$68,367
Showing top 24 of 29 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
29 UChicago programs with earnings, grouped by field
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
EDUCATION · CIP 13
LEGAL PROFESSIONS · CIP 22
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS · CIP 27
PHILOSOPHY & RELIGIOUS STUDIES · CIP 38
THEOLOGY & RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS · CIP 39
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
HISTORY · CIP 54
AREA, ETHNIC & CULTURAL STUDIES · CIP 05
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at UChicago
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
$2,070,773
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 4
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $770
- HS-only baseline · IL
- $38,300
- Years to complete
- 4
- CIP family
- 45
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
Institutions similar to UChicago in Illinois
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“UChicago graduates earn $X” — not “UChicago makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending UChicago 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.