Puerto Rico · College costs

What College Actually Costs in Puerto Rico

Sticker price is close to meaningless. The number that matters is net price: what a typical first-year family pays after grants and scholarships come off. Across the 12 four-year colleges we track in Puerto Rico, the median net price is $9,224. That is $10,634 below the $19,857 median across every college we track.

The headline numbers

MeasureValue
Median net price (what families pay)$9,224
Median published in-state tuition$5,780
Median published out-of-state tuition$5,780
Median federal loan debt at graduation$5,500
Median earnings 10 years after entry$29,728
Four-year colleges covered12

Lowest net price in Puerto Rico

Ranked by what families actually pay, not by published tuition. Graduation rate and earnings are shown beside it, because a cheap college you do not finish is not a saving.

CollegeAvg. net priceGrad rateMedian earnings
University of Puerto Rico$8,48437.1%$34,409
Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla$8,74242.9%$24,776
Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Ponce$9,02641.4%$26,721
Inter American University of Puerto Rico-San German$9,14843.2%$25,416
University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras$9,17550.3%$35,723
Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo$9,21738.9%$24,539
Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Fajardo$9,23037.7%$23,132
Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon$9,28434.9%$29,936
University of Puerto Rico at Cayey$10,17649.8%$30,958
University of Puerto Rico at Ponce$10,99046.2%$31,394

Strongest earnings ten years on

Median earnings of former students a decade after they first enrolled. It reflects the subjects a college teaches and who it admits as much as the teaching itself, so read it alongside cost rather than on its own.

CollegeAvg. net priceGrad rateMedian earnings
University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras$9,17550.3%$35,723
University of Puerto Rico$8,48437.1%$34,409
University of Puerto Rico at Ponce$10,99046.2%$31,394
University of Puerto Rico at Cayey$10,17649.8%$30,958
University of Puerto Rico-Carolina$12,94537.3%$30,626
Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon$9,28434.9%$29,936
University of Puerto Rico-Humacao$12,67547.1%$29,521
Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Ponce$9,02641.4%$26,721

Questions worth asking before you pay

Ask every college on the list for its net price calculator and run it with your real numbers — the published average hides enormous variation by income. Ask what share of need it meets, whether aid is renewable for four years, and what the graduation rate is for students receiving Pell grants specifically. That last figure is on each of our college profiles and is the one most likely to be missing from a glossy brochure.

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Frequently asked questions

How much does college cost in Puerto Rico?

Across the 12 four-year colleges we track in Puerto Rico, the median net price — what a typical first-year family actually pays after grant aid — is $9,224. Published tuition is $5,780 in-state and $5,780 out-of-state, but very few families pay the sticker price.

What is the cheapest college in Puerto Rico?

By average net price, University of Puerto Rico at $8,484 per year, according to the most recent federal data.

How much debt do students leave Puerto Rico colleges with?

The median federal loan debt at graduation is $5,500. That covers federal loans only, so private and parent borrowing sits on top of it.

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Net price is the average for first-year students receiving federal aid and varies sharply by family income. Figures can lag the current admissions cycle.

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