Home / Schools / California
The real 4-year cost of University of California-Berkeley in California
Over the 18 years from 2008 to 2026, published tuition and required fees at University of California-Berkeley went from $7,656 to $18,214, an average of 2.8% a year. The 2026–27 figure is the school's own announced rate.
2026–27 rate announced: $18,2142026-27 entering cohort, per-semester rate doubled: tuition+Student Services Fee ($7,794/semester, systemwide) plus Berkeley campus fee, transit fee, and instructional resilience fee ($1,313/semester); non-resident adds Nonresident Supplemental Tuition ($19,635/semester); excludes health insurance.source
Read with care: this school's history shows a tuition freeze or guarantee, so a smooth projection may not hold.
2008–2030: history and projection
| Year | Published | Projected estimate | Estimate range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | $7,656 | – | – |
| 2009 | $8,998 | – | – |
| 2010 | $10,940 | – | – |
| 2011 | $12,834 | – | – |
| 2012 | $12,874 | – | – |
| 2013 | $12,864 | – | – |
| 2014 | $12,972 | – | – |
| 2015 | $13,431 | – | – |
| 2016 | $13,509 | – | – |
| 2017 | $14,170 | – | – |
| 2018 | $14,184 | – | – |
| 2019 | $14,253 | – | – |
| 2020 | $14,312 | – | – |
| 2021 | $14,226 | – | – |
| 2022 | $14,395 | – | – |
| 2023 | $14,850 | – | – |
| 2026 | $18,214 | $18,214 | – |
| 2027 | – | $18,725 | $17,446–$20,004 |
| 2028 | – | $19,251 | $16,711–$21,971 |
| 2029 | – | $19,792 | $16,007–$24,131 |
| 2030 | – | $20,348 | $15,332–$26,503 |
If you pay full sticker
Projected tuition + fees, entering fall 2026.
| Year 1 | $18,214 |
| Year 2 | $18,725 |
| Year 3 | $19,251 |
| Year 4 | $19,792 |
| 4-year total | $75,983 |
Two aid scenarios
4-year out-of-pocket total.
- $10,000/yr flat scholarship
- $35,983
- Flat aid doesn't grow, so it covers less each year.
- 50%-of-tuition scholarship
- $45,707
- Percentage aid keeps pace with tuition.
On-campus housing & meals
Room & board (housing plus the standard meal plan), on top of tuition.
- Latest (2023)
- $22,692/ yr
- rising 4.1% / yr
- Projected 4-year add-on
- $108,782
Books & supplies typically add ~$1,200 a year (national median, not included).
Housing here has kept rising even while tuition was frozen; the creep moved to room & board.
Run your own numbers
Enter your actual scholarship offer to see your real 4-year total.
See my 4-year cost at University of California-Berkeley4-year schools with similar prices in California
Closest to University of California-Berkeley by published tuition and fees. Similar sticker prices can still compound very differently.
- University of California-Davis$18,078
- Alliant International University-San Diego$17,949
- Sofia University$18,575
- Minerva University$18,700
- Southern California Seminary$18,720
- University of California-Santa Barbara$17,673
- University of California-San Diego$17,633
- Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science$18,933
Use this data
Published figures for University of California-Berkeley from federal IPEDS data through 2023, free to download or embed with attribution. The embed stays current as the data updates.