Riverside, CA · public · 22,593 undergraduates
University of California, Riverside acceptance rate, SAT range and net price
UC Riverside offered admission to 88.5% of its fall 2026 first-year applicants on preliminary counts, and 86.1% for fall 2025.
Net price per year at UC Riverside
$16,571
Likely · admit rate 88.5%
| Admit rate, Fall 2026 first-year (preliminary) | 88.5% (1 in 1) |
| Test scores | Not considered (test-free) |
| This site’s label | Likely |
| Sticker price 2026-27, in-state | $46,539 |
| Paid by families with $75,001-$110,000 (2023-24) | $16,571 |
| Share of the sticker price | 36% |
Net price: average paid after grants by students on federal aid in that income band (2023-24), not a quote. The label is a fixed rule of this site (admit rate under 15% is a reach for everyone), not a prediction. Your exact price: UC Riverside net price calculator. How this is calculated.
Admissions: UCOP Fall 2026 preliminary applications Table 1a (as of January 21, 2026) and admissions Table 1a (offers as of June 17, 2026) · net price: College Scorecard, 2023-24 · figures checked · Built by Radif Partners · Method and data
- Admit rate, newest cycle
- 88.5%
- SAT middle 50%
- test-free
- Sticker price 2026-27
- $46,539
- Net price, income $48k to $75k
- $13,111
UC Riverside admits most of the students who apply: the University of California's preliminary fall 2026 tables show 63,958 first-year offers for 72,295 applications, a rate of 88.5%, and the campus Common Data Set 2025-2026 counts 52,676 admitted out of 61,184 for fall 2025 (86.1%), with 6,686 enrolled. Tests play no part, since every UC campus is test-free, and the enrolled class averaged a 3.75 high school GPA, every student having submitted one. A new Californian living in university housing has a 2026-27 budget of $46,539; a non-resident's is $85,809. The federal figures for 2023-24 show what aided families actually paid: $8,852 on average under $30,000 of income and $9,840 between $30,001 and $48,000. Those averages are for students on federal aid, not a quote for any single family.
A campus built on California students
Riverside's entering class is almost entirely Californian: of the 6,686 first-years who enrolled in fall 2025, 6,431 were California residents. The admission funnel explains it. The campus admitted 44,686 of 51,828 Californians, 2,810 of 3,137 out-of-state applicants and 5,180 of 6,219 international applicants, yet only 111 out-of-state students enrolled. For fall 2026 the preliminary count is 55,914 offers to 63,043 Californians. The waiting list exists but did not open for fall 2025: 2,019 students accepted a place and 0 were admitted from it.
For an applicant, the practical reading is that Riverside is a likely admit for a California student who meets the UC subject and GPA requirements, and a realistic option for someone whose grades fall short of the more crowded coastal campuses. It is not automatic. For fall 2025, 13.8% of California applicants were turned down, and the review still weighs the course list, the trend in grades and the four personal insight answers. A student who treats the application as a formality risks being in that group.
UC Riverside: net price for your family income
Average net price, 2023-24
$13,111
| Income band | $48,001-$75,000 |
| Share of the 2023-24 cost | 34% |
In-state students; federal figure for students on federal aid.
Low sticker, real grants
Housing and food in university housing are set at $21,075 for 2026-27, below the on-campus figures at Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. For a new student the budget lists $15,588 of UC tuition and fees, $1,202 of campus and technology fees and $2,824 for UC student health insurance, which the table below folds into the total rather than into a separate line. First-term students also pay a one-time orientation and document fee, listed apart from the yearly budget. Under Blue and Gold, most California families earning up to $100,000 receive enough grants to cover UC tuition.
UC Riverside: the out-of-state premium
Extra tuition for a non-CA student
$136,800
| In-state tuition and fees 2024-25 | $15,606 |
| Out-of-state tuition and fees 2024-25 | $49,806 |
| Gap per year | $34,200 |
Published tuition and fees, before any nonresident scholarship; future increases not included.
What a non-resident pays at Riverside
The out-of-state and international budget for a 2026-27 first-year is $85,809, driven by $39,270 of Non-resident Supplemental Tuition. That total includes the first-term fees, which the resident budget lists separately. Riverside sits on the same UC application as UC Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz, filed between October 1 and November 30, with no early round. A non-resident who is weighing Riverside against a home-state flagship should run both through the net price calculator: Blue and Gold is reserved for California residents, so the tuition grant that shrinks a Californian's bill does not apply.
From University of California, Riverside’s own documents
- UC Riverside admitted 52,676 of 61,184 first-year applicants for fall 2025, and 6,431 of the 6,686 enrolled first-years were California residents. source
- The fall 2025 waiting list offered 3,783 places, 2,019 accepted, and no one was admitted from it. source
- Preliminary fall 2026 figures from UCOP: 72,295 first-year applicants and 63,958 admits, including 55,914 of 63,043 California applicants. source
- UC Tuition Stability Plan: tuition is set for each incoming class and stays flat for up to six years, so a 2026-27 entrant pays 15,588 in UC tuition and fees against 14,934 for a 2025-26 entrant. source
- A non-resident first-year in university housing has a 2026-27 budget of 85,809 against 46,539 for a Californian; the Non-resident Supplemental Tuition is 39,270. source
- All UC campuses are test-free: SAT and ACT scores are not used for admission or for scholarships, so the odds depend on the A-G GPA, course rigor and the personal insight questions. source
Net price at University of California, Riverside by family income
| Family income | Average net price 2023-24 | Share of the 2023-24 cost |
|---|---|---|
| $0-$30,000 | $8,852 | 23% |
| $30,001-$48,000 | $9,840 | 25% |
| $48,001-$75,000 | $13,111 | 34% |
| $75,001-$110,000 | $16,571 | 43% |
| $110,001 and up | $30,393 | 78% |
| All aided students | $14,304 | 37% |
Cost of attendance at University of California, Riverside, 2026-27
| Item | In-state | Out-of-state |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | $15,588 | $54,858 |
| Fees | $1,202 | $1,202 |
| Housing and food | $21,075 | $21,075 |
| Books and supplies | $1,700 | $1,700 |
| Personal | $2,875 | $2,525 |
| Travel | $1,275 | $1,100 |
| Total | $46,539 | $85,809 |
University of California, Riverside admissions by cycle
| Entering class | Applicants | Admitted | Enrolled | Admit rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 first-year (preliminary) | 72,295 | 63,958 | n/a | 88.5% |
| Fall 2025 entering class | 61,184 | 52,676 | 6,686 | 86.1% |
| Fall 2024 (federal IPEDS figure) | n/a | n/a | n/a | 76.4% |
Outcomes at University of California, Riverside
| Measure | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Graduated within 6 years | 76% | fall 2018 entering cohort |
| Returned for a second year | 88% | fall 2023 entering cohort |
| Median earnings 10 years after entry | $67,699 | measured 2020-2021, 10 years after entry, 2022 dollars |
| Median federal debt of graduates | $17,500 | students who finished in 2019-20 and 2020-21 |
| Undergraduates | 22,593 | fall 2024 |
| Students with a Pell Grant | 47% | 2023-24 |