Public · University
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky · Large city
- 92.9%
- Admit rate
- $18,851
- Avg net price
- 71%
- Graduation rate
- $59,025
- Median earnings
University of Kentucky is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Lexington, Kentucky (large city setting), enrolling 24,763 undergraduates.
Will you get in?
See where your numbers land against University of Kentucky's admitted students.
- Admit rate
- 92.9%
- SAT (mid 50%)
- 1070–1290
- Avg GPA
- 3.58
Enter a test score to see where you land against University of Kentucky's admitted students.
A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and University of Kentucky's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.
About Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a consolidated city coterminous with Fayette County, Kentucky, United States, of which it is also the county seat. Lexington was named in June 1775, in what was then considered Fincastle County, Virginia, 17 years before Kentucky became a state. The Festival of the Bluegrass, Kentucky's oldest bluegrass music festival, is in early June; it includes three stages for music and a "bluegrass music camp" for school children. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Large city
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- Lexington, KY
- To Great Lakes shore
- 249 miles
- Nearest airport
- 6 miles to Blue Grass (LEX)
How University of Kentucky compares
More selective than 18% · #20 most selective of 26 in Kentucky
Higher than 62%
Higher than 80% · #3 of 30 in Kentucky
Higher than 80%
Higher than 65% · #5 of 29 in Kentucky
Cheaper than 55% · #18 cheapest of 29 in Kentucky
Lower than 56%
Lower than 18%
Larger than 96%
Percentiles compare University of Kentucky with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Kentucky.
University of Kentucky campus
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate24,76373%
- Graduate9,17527%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women14,08557%
- Men10,67843%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White76%
- Black6.3%
- Hispanic6.8%
- Asian3.7%
- Other or multiracial7.0%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 24,763
- Graduate enrollment
- 9,175
- Student–faculty ratio
- 18 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 23%
- First-generation students
- 23%
- Students over 25
- 6%
- Median family income
- $61,932
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $107,856
- Endowment
- $2,038,771,493
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Where students come from
Home state of the 6,437 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From Kentucky58%
- Other U.S. states40%
- International1.2%
A regional draw: about 58% of first-years come from Kentucky, the rest from elsewhere.
1% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 92.9%
- Test scores
- Considered but not required
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- 1070–1290
- SAT average
- 1215
- SAT reading
- 540–650
- SAT math
- 530–640
- ACT composite
- 21–28
- Average GPA
- 3.58
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $13,502
- Out-of-state tuition
- $34,140
- Room & board
- $16,016
- Books & supplies
- $1,200
- Total cost of attendance
- $34,391
- Average net price
- $18,851
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated (within 6 years)
- 71%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 55%
- First-year retention
- 87%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $47,266
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $59,025
- Median debt at graduation
- $22,500
- Students with federal loans
- 34%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 58%
About 16% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 8,300
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 34%
- Housing charge (year)
- $10,362
- Meal plan (year)
- $4,880
- Application fee
- $50
- Athletics
- NCAA Division I-FBS
- Football conference
- Southeastern Conference
- Varsity athletes
- 717 (360 men · 357 women)
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
Varsity sports (13)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- D
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 5.4 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 315
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 251
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 11 campuses (34,709 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.
Reported offenses in an average year
The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.
By offense type, per year
Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.
What you'll actually pay, by family income
Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.
College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.
Four-year (or more) true cost
Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.
$16,313/year × about 4.3 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.
Does the school pay you to attend?
Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.
A meaningful share of freshmen — 89% — get grant money from University of Kentucky itself, averaging $10,164, which softens the sticker price.
Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 5,974 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $59,025
- Typical debt at graduation
- $22,500
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 38%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 68%
Typical debt would take roughly 3.8 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.
Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.
The pay gap here
Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.
Men out-earn women by $12,991 (25%) a decade out.
Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 87°F
- Winter low
- 25°F
- Annual rain
- 49.8″
- Annual snow
- 14.5″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Lexington Bluegrass AP, KY US station (5.5 mi from campus).
What University of Kentucky graduates study — and earn
Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.
Colleges similar to University of Kentucky
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare University of Kentucky side by side →
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas · Small city · 37 mi to Kansas City
- Students
- 21,217
- Admission
- 93%
- Net price
- $18k
- SAT
- 1190
- GPA
- 3.4
- Earnings
- $62k
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa · Small city · 30 mi to Des Moines
- Students
- 25,367
- Admission
- 89%
- Net price
- $19k
- SAT
- 1204
- GPA
- 3.8
- Earnings
- $63k
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska · Large city · < 1 mi to Lincoln
- Students
- 19,178
- Admission
- 87%
- Net price
- $18k
- SAT
- 1191
- GPA
- 3.5
- Earnings
- $57k
East Carolina University
Greenville, North Carolina · Small city · 72 mi to Raleigh
- Students
- 19,896
- Admission
- 89%
- Net price
- $16k
- SAT
- 1180
- GPA
- 3.3
- Earnings
- $55k
Appalachian State University
Boone, North Carolina · Distant town · 65 mi to Asheville
- Students
- 19,444
- Admission
- 90%
- Net price
- $17k
- SAT
- 1214
- GPA
- 3.4
- Earnings
- $52k
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, Virginia · Midsize city · 3 mi to Norfolk
- Students
- 17,514
- Admission
- 90%
- Net price
- $15k
- SAT
- 1197
- GPA
- 3.4
- Earnings
- $55k
Colleges near University of Kentucky
Transylvania University
Lexington, KY · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,005 students
Bluegrass Community and Technical College
Lexington, KY · Public · Certificate · 8,244 students
Lexington Healing Arts Academy
Lexington, KY · Private for-profit · Certificate · 78 students
Summit Salon Academy-Lexington
Lexington, KY · Private for-profit · Certificate · 154 students
Employment Solutions-College for Technical Education
Lexington, KY · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 203 students
Paul Mitchell the School-Lexington
Lexington, KY · Private for-profit · Certificate · 189 students
Frontier Nursing University
Versailles, KY · Private nonprofit · Graduate
Georgetown College
Georgetown, KY · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,097 students
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.















