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

University of Notre Dame: Cost, Graduate Salary, Acceptance Rate and Return on Investment

University of Notre Dame is a private nonprofit college in Notre Dame, IN. Students pay about $26,780 a year in net price, and the median graduate earns $99,980 ten years after enrolling. By our Degree-ROI measure the degree pays back in about 2.4 years and adds $406,680 over a decade, ranking it #17 of 918 (top 3%) by value added.

Avg net price / yr
$26,780
Median salary (10 yrs)
$99,980
10-yr value added
$406,680
Acceptance rate
11.3%

What is University of Notre Dame's acceptance rate?

University of Notre Dame has an acceptance rate of 11.3%, which makes it highly selective. It is a private nonprofit institution in Notre Dame, IN enrolling about 8,818 students, with a 96.0% graduation rate.

How much does University of Notre Dame cost?

University of Notre Dame costs about $26,780 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 $126,120. Published sticker cost of attendance is $83,271 per year.

How much do University of Notre Dame graduates earn?

Ten years after enrolling, the median University of Notre Dame student earns $99,980 per year. That is $53,280 more than the $46,700 that the typical worker with only a high-school diploma earns.

Is University of Notre Dame worth it? Degree ROI and payback period

University of Notre Dame pays back its roughly $126,120 cost in about 2.4 years, then keeps returning the earnings premium. Over the first decade the degree adds about $406,680 net of cost, a 4.22x return on the money invested. That ranks it #17 of 918 (top 3%) by value added. Its top-tier value is driven mainly by strong graduate earnings and a high graduation rate.

Top 10% value

University of Notre Dame graduation rate and student debt

96.0% of University of Notre Dame students complete their degree, and the median graduate leaves with $19,000 in federal student debt. That debt is about 19% of one year of median graduate earnings.

University of Notre Dame by the numbers (vs the typical college)

How University of Notre Dame 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$26,780$20,299cheaper than 26%
Median earnings (10 yrs)$99,980$54,76898th
Graduation rate96.0%57.0%99th
Acceptance rate11.3%75.7%more selective than 97%
10-yr value added$406,680-$28,19298th
ROI multiple (per $1)4.22x0.73x95th
Payback period2.4 yrs8.8 yrsfaster than 94%
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 Notre Dame worth the cost compared to other colleges?

By value added net of cost, University of Notre Dame ranks #17 of 918 (top 3%) of the 918 four-year colleges we rank, and returns about 4.22x the money invested over a decade.

Is University of Notre Dame expensive compared to other colleges?

Its $26,780 average net price is above the $20,299 median for the colleges in this snapshot, making it cheaper than 26% of them.

Do University of Notre Dame graduates earn more than average?

Median earnings of $99,980 ten years out are above the $54,768 median, higher than 98% of the colleges here.

How hard is it to get into University of Notre Dame compared to other colleges?

Its 11.3% acceptance rate is below the 75.7% median, making it more selective than 97% of the colleges in the snapshot.

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