College dataData from U.S. Dept of EducationUpdated May 2026 · 4 min read
Data: 2026-05 Next refresh: Nov 2026

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: Cost, Graduate Salary, Acceptance Rate and Return on Investment

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor is a public college in Ann Arbor, MI. Students pay about $13,138 a year in net price, and the median graduate earns $83,648 ten years after enrolling. By our Degree-ROI measure the degree pays back in about 2 years and adds $297,428 over a decade, ranking it #40 of 918 (top 5%) by value added.

Avg net price / yr
$13,138
Median salary (10 yrs)
$83,648
10-yr value added
$297,428
Acceptance rate
15.6%

What is University of Michigan-Ann Arbor's acceptance rate?

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor has an acceptance rate of 15.6%, which makes it highly selective. It is a public institution in Ann Arbor, MI enrolling about 34,177 students, with a 93.2% graduation rate.

How much does University of Michigan-Ann Arbor cost?

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor costs about $13,138 per year in average net price, what a typical student actually pays after grants and scholarships. Over four years, including typical borrowing, that totals roughly $72,052. Published sticker cost of attendance is $34,654 per year.

How much do University of Michigan-Ann Arbor graduates earn?

Ten years after enrolling, the median University of Michigan-Ann Arbor student earns $83,648 per year. That is $36,948 more than the $46,700 that the typical worker with only a high-school diploma earns.

Is University of Michigan-Ann Arbor worth it? Degree ROI and payback period

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor pays back its roughly $72,052 cost in about 2 years, then keeps returning the earnings premium. Over the first decade the degree adds about $297,428 net of cost, a 5.13x return on the money invested. That ranks it #40 of 918 (top 5%) by value added. Its top-tier value is driven mainly by a low net price and strong graduate earnings.

Top 10% value

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor graduation rate and student debt

93.2% of University of Michigan-Ann Arbor students complete their degree, and the median graduate leaves with $19,500 in federal student debt. That debt is about 23% of one year of median graduate earnings.

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor by the numbers (vs the typical college)

How University of Michigan-Ann Arbor compares to the median four-year college in our snapshot. Percentile is its rank among the 918 colleges that report both earnings and cost (higher is better).

MetricThis schoolMedian collegePercentile
Avg net price / yr$13,138$20,299cheaper than 83%
Median earnings (10 yrs)$83,648$54,76893th
Graduation rate93.2%57.0%98th
Acceptance rate15.6%75.7%more selective than 95%
10-yr value added$297,428-$28,19296th
ROI multiple (per $1)5.13x0.73x98th
Payback period2 yrs8.8 yrsfaster than 97%
How we compute Degree value-add & ROI. Investment basis = average net price × 4 years + median debt (net price preferred; published sticker cost used as a fallback). Earnings premium = median earnings 10 years after entry minus the $46,700 typical earnings of a worker with only a high-school diploma (BLS Current Population Survey, median annual earnings for workers with a high-school diploma and no college (~$899/week, 2023)). Degree value-add = premium × 10 years minus total cost, the net return of the degree itself over a high-school career (it can be negative). ROI multiple = 10-year premium ÷ cost. Payback = cost ÷ annual premium. Ranked by value-add among the 918 four-year colleges in this snapshot that report both earnings and cost; 226 of them do not pay back at ten years. Missing values are excluded, never estimated.
Open data: these figures come from the public College Scorecard (public domain). Our computed Degree value-add, ROI multiple, and payback are free to cite/reuse under CC-BY 4.0.

Frequently asked

Is University of Michigan-Ann Arbor worth the cost compared to other colleges?

By value added net of cost, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor ranks #40 of 918 (top 5%) of the 918 four-year colleges we rank, and returns about 5.13x the money invested over a decade.

Is University of Michigan-Ann Arbor expensive compared to other colleges?

Its $13,138 average net price is below the $20,299 median for the colleges in this snapshot, making it cheaper than 83% of them.

Do University of Michigan-Ann Arbor graduates earn more than average?

Median earnings of $83,648 ten years out are above the $54,768 median, higher than 93% of the colleges here.

How hard is it to get into University of Michigan-Ann Arbor compared to other colleges?

Its 15.6% acceptance rate is below the 75.7% median, making it more selective than 95% of the colleges in the snapshot.

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