COLLEGES · 30-YEAR ROI · AUSTIN, TX

Is The University of Texas at Austin worth the money?

Yes — at resident pricing. A The University of Texas at Austin degree clears +$2.51M in 30-year projected net value over skipping college and investing the difference.

A public four-year school in Austin, Texas, priced as a Texas resident — earnings rolled up from 64 FREOPP-reported programs.

IPEDS 2023 cost · FREOPP 2021 earnings · BEA 2023 cost-of-living · same model as /worth-it · this school clears positive net value.

The University of Texas at Austin · Austin, TX

30-year net value · resident pricing
+$2.51M
30-year net value · non-resident
+$1.45M
Median earnings · 10 yrs after entry
$68,869
Breaks even by age
33
Annual tuition · Texas resident
$11,678
Annual tuition · out-of-state
$42,778
Total cost of attendance (4 years, sticker)
$103,256
Total cost of attendance · out-of-state
$227,656
FREOPP program coverage
64 programs

The out-of-state tax in Texas, ranked

How this is computed (and what it isn’t)

The University of Texas at Austin runs through the /worth-it model at its resident tuition rate, with the standard loan assumptions, a 30-year horizon, and Texas’s own cost-of-living on the skip-college path. The “30-year net value” is the projected accumulated value of going vs. skipping and investing the difference, in real dollars.

What it isn’t: a verdict on every major. The school-level number averages across 64 FREOPP-reported programs — the field you pick swings it by over a million dollars on its own. We only publish school pages that clear positive net value at resident pricing; earnings roll up from at least three FREOPP programs (ADR-0032), so a single high-earning major can’t fake the number.

Questions

Is The University of Texas at Austin worth the money?
At resident pricing, yes: The University of Texas at Austin clears +$2.51M in 30-year projected net value versus skipping college and investing the difference. That is computed from a total cost of attendance of $103,256 and median earnings of $68,869 ten years after entry (IPEDS 2023 cost, FREOPP 2021 earnings, BEA 2023 cost-of-living — the same model as the LE TEEN calculator).
How much is tuition at The University of Texas at Austin?
The University of Texas at Austin's annual sticker tuition is $11,678 for Texas residents and $42,778 for out-of-state students, before financial aid. Total cost of attendance over 4 years — tuition plus fees, housing, and living costs — is $103,256 (IPEDS 2023).
What is the total cost of The University of Texas at Austin?
Over 4 years, The University of Texas at Austin's sticker cost of attendance is $103,256 at resident pricing, or $227,656 out-of-state — tuition, fees, housing, and living costs at Texas prices, before financial aid. Median earnings ten years after entry are $68,869.
What is out-of-state tuition at The University of Texas at Austin?
Non-resident annual sticker tuition at The University of Texas at Austin is $42,778, versus $11,678 for Texas residents — a premium of $31,100 a year. Even at the non-resident rate, The University of Texas at Austin clears positive 30-year net value.
How long until a The University of Texas at Austin degree pays for itself?
The degree path overtakes the skip-college path around age 33 under our defaults — from there the gap only widens, ending +$2.51M ahead at the 30-year horizon.
What could change the number for The University of Texas at Austin?
Two levers dominate. Residency: this page prices The University of Texas at Austin as a Texas resident; at non-resident tuition it still clears +$1.45M, but the gap is real money (see the out-of-state tax in Texas). And the major: the field you pick swings lifetime ROI by over a million dollars on its own (see the majors pages).

Keep going

Cite this:

LE TEEN (2026). “Is The University of Texas at Austin worth the money? 30-year ROI.” Data: IPEDS 2023 · FREOPP 2021 · BEA 2023. https://le-teen.com/colleges/the-university-of-texas-at-austin