Active Report Report ID: EDU-128328-2026

United States Air Force Academy

USAF Academy, CO 80840-5002

Acceptance rate14.09%Highly competitive
Graduation rate87.51%150% time
Enrollment4,114Total students

About United States Air Force Academy

United States Air Force Academy is a public four-year university in USAF Academy, Colorado, serving roughly 4,114 students. Admission is selective for first-time degree-seeking undergraduates reporting admissions data to the Education Department. The acceptance rate is about 14.09% in the latest College Scorecard admissions data. Student demographics in federal data include White (63.0%) and Hispanic or Latino (11.4%) among the largest enrollment groups.

School guide

United States Air Force Academy: research record

Canonical EDsmart Data findings for United States Air Force Academy—costs, outcomes, admissions, and programs—with evidence and methodology notes.

Research findings

Interpretation

High completion indicates students finish programs at scale; it does not alone measure instructional quality or labor-market fit.

Student outcomes

First-year retention96.5%

Share of first-year students returning the following fall.

Graduation rate and 10-year earnings are in the hero strip above; see Graduates for more.

Admissions landscape

  • Highly selective — fewer than 3 in 10 applicants are admitted.
  • Yield: 79% of admitted students enrolled.
  • Average SAT: 1350
  • Midpoint ACT: 32

See Admissions for the full funnel.

Is United States Air Force Academy a good school?

Data-framed fit—not a prestige rating.

United States Air Force Academy is a good school for those looking for high program completion rates.

EDsmart Data does not assign an opinion score; this framing summarizes the strongest Scorecard signals for this campus.

Strong completionHighly selective
Campus snapshot

More from the data

Location, control, enrollment, and aid context for United States Air Force Academy.

Campus

Location

USAF Academy, CO

City / state

ZIP
80840-5002

Control

Institution type

Public

Control

Region
US Service Schools
Carnegie
Special Focus Four-Year: Faith-Related Institutions

Size

Enrollment

4,114

Total enrollment

Undergraduate
4,162
Full-time share
100%
Cost detail

Total Cost, Aid & Default

Total Cost of Attendance

Costs include tuition and fees. Room & board, books, and other expenses are additional where not shown.

Tuition vs average net price after aid for United States Air Force Academy.

Financial Aid by Income Level

0.00% Undergraduates receiving aid through grants
0.00% Undergraduates receiving aid through loans

Financial aid distribution by income level.

Student Loan Default Rate

Not reported 3-year cohort default rate (College Scorecard)

The published 3-year cohort default rate for borrowers at United States Air Force Academy was not reported in the College Scorecard extract for this institution.

Cohort default rates account for borrowers who default in the first three years.

Multi-year tracker

Tuition tracker

Published tuition and average net price by reporting year come from the College Scorecard institution file. Values are not adjusted for inflation; missing cells mean the field was not reported or was suppressed for United States Air Force Academy in that year.

Multi-year history is not in this profile yet. It is added when the institution cost history CSV has been collected and merged into school JSON.

Sticker tuition and net price over time

Where the institution reported separate in-state and out-of-state tuition, both appear. Gaps mean the value was not reported for that year.

College Scorecard reporting-year fields (not inflation-adjusted).

Net price by family income

Brackets follow Scorecard definitions for the series shown (public vs private institution).

Latest income-band net prices available in the processed extract.

Access

How difficult is it to get in?

Acceptance Rate

14.09%Acceptance rate
9,543Total applicants
1,329Students admitted
1,054First-time students enrolled
79.31%Yield (enrolled ÷ admitted)

This institution is highly selective, accepting fewer than 3 in 10 applicants.

Applicants → admits → first-time enrollment from College Scorecard / IPEDS. Bar widths are scaled for readability at highly selective schools.

Test Scores

1350SAT average
32ACT midpoint

Scores for enrollees who submitted tests (College Scorecard).

Academic Requirements

3.65Estimated median GPA
3.5–3.7Estimated GPA range

Estimated from admission selectivity and test scores. Scorecard does not publish admitted-student GPA for most institutions.

Estimated GPA band from selectivity and test scores — not an official requirement.

Student body

Enrollment & Student Demographics

United States Air Force Academy reported total enrollment of about 4,114 students in the latest College Scorecard extract. The student body is about 70% male and 30% female. Enrollment by race and ethnicity includes White (63.0%), Hispanic or Latino (11.4%), and Two or More Races (9.0%).

Full-Time vs Part-Time Enrollment

100.0% Full-Time Enrollment

The total enrollment at United States Air Force Academy in 2024 is 4,114 students.

Undergraduate enrollment is about 4,162 students.

Full-time vs part-time enrollment comparison.

Retention Rate over Time

96.5%
2024 Retention Rate

Retention rate measures the number of first-time students who began their studies the previous fall and returned to school the following fall.

Retention rate over time compared to similar institutions.

Enrollment by Race & Ethnicity

63.0%White or Caucasian
9Reported race/ethnicity groups

Largest share of total enrollment in our College Scorecard extract.

  • White or Caucasian63.0%
  • Hispanic or Latino11.4%
  • Two or More Races9.0%
  • Asian8.4%
  • Black or African American5.2%
  • Non-Resident Alien1.4%
  • Race/ethnicity unknown0.7%
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander0.5%
  • American Indian or Alaska Native0.4%

College Scorecard student demographics (total enrollment shares).

Outcomes

Do students complete their programs?

Time to Complete

83.52% 100% Completion Time

87.51% 150% Completion Time

In 2024, 83.52% of students graduating from United States Air Force Academy completed their program within 100% "normal time".

Completion rates over time compared to similar institutions.

Completions by Sex (Top Programs)

  • Business Administration and Management, General: 87% male / 13% female
  • Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, General: 85% male / 15% female
  • Biology/Biological Sciences, General: 43% male / 57% female

IPEDS completions by sex for the five largest programs (aggregate CIPs excluded).

Completions by Race & Ethnicity

642White or Caucasian
7Reported groups

Largest group by summed IPEDS award counts across reported programs.

  • White or Caucasian642
  • Hispanic or Latino130
  • Asian86
  • Two or More Races64
  • Black or African American48
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander8
  • American Indian or Alaska Native0

Summed across program completion records in our extract.

Outcomes & academic profile

What do United States Air Force Academy graduates earn—and in which programs?

Financial value and program completions for United States Air Force Academy from College Scorecard and IPEDS extracts.

Return on Investment

ROI data is not available for this institution.

Debt and 4-year net cost vs. cumulative 10-year median earnings for United States Air Force Academy.

Top Programs by Completions

Largest 10 programs by IPEDS completions (31 reported codes; aggregate/unknown CIP buckets excluded).

  1. Systems Engineering 67
  2. Military Applied Sciences, Other 64
  3. Behavioral Sciences 54
  4. Economics, General 38

IPEDS award counts for the largest programs at United States Air Force Academy.

Employment Outcomes

Employment outcome data is not available for this institution.

Median earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after entry for United States Air Force Academy graduates.

How financially powerful is this institution?

Finding: federal finance and Scorecard instructional fields for United States Air Force Academy—endowment assets (fiscal year 2023), instructional staffing and expenditure. Compared with state, regional, and U.S. medians from EDsmart Data institutional financials.

Institutional endowment

$129.2M

End-of-year assets · Fiscal year 2023

Start of year: $127.8M

Year change: $1.3M

  • Colorado median 8.2× the median ($15.8M)
  • Regional median 1.5× the median ($83.7M)
  • U.S. median 4.9× the median ($26.4M)

Per FTE: $26,851

  • Colorado median 4.6× the median ($5,882)
  • Regional median near the median ($27,877)
  • U.S. median 2.2× the median ($12,100)

Instructional Resources

  • Full-time faculty share: 100.0%
    • Colorado median 32.1 pp above median (67.9%)
    • Regional median 3.5 pp above median (96.5%)
    • U.S. median 42.0 pp above median (58.0%)
  • Average faculty salary (monthly): $11,610
    • Colorado median 1.6× the median ($7,318)
    • Regional median near the median ($11,988)
    • U.S. median 1.5× the median ($7,615)
  • Instructional expenditure per FTE: $35,824
    • Colorado median 5.3× the median ($6,731)
    • Regional median near the median ($35,824)
    • U.S. median 4.9× the median ($7,288)

Instructional metrics from College Scorecard. Peer medians are campus-level; see the institutional financials deep dive. Detailed non-instructional staff counts are not included here.

United States Air Force Academy at a glance

Institution snapshot

United States Air Force Academy

USAF Academy, CO 80840-5002 · Public · US Service Schools

United States Air Force Academy is a public institution in USAF Academy, CO, classified as Special Focus Four-Year: Faith-Related Institutions.

Enrollment4,114
Acceptance rate14.09%
Completion (150%)87.51%
Average SAT1350
Largest programs (IPEDS awards)
Business Administration and Management, GeneralAerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, GeneralBiology/Biological Sciences, General
Largest enrollment groups
White or Caucasian63.0%
Hispanic or Latino11.4%
Two or More Races9.0%
Nearby

Schools near United States Air Force Academy

Other campuses in USAF Academy, CO when available, plus nearby institutions in Colorado.

Peers

Similar schools

Peers matched by the same EDsmart outcomes grade (Grade A) within Colorado, then by similar ownership and admissions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is United States Air Force Academy located?

United States Air Force Academy is located in USAF Academy, CO.

What is United States Air Force Academy's acceptance rate?

The acceptance rate at United States Air Force Academy is 14.1% among first-time degree-seeking students reporting admissions data. IPEDS reports 9,543 applicants and 1,329 admits in the latest admissions cycle in our extract.

How much does United States Air Force Academy cost?

Reported tuition is N/A and average net price is N/A in the latest College Scorecard data.

Why is United States Air Force Academy's acceptance rate so low?

The acceptance rate at United States Air Force Academy is 14.1% among first-time degree-seeking applicants reporting admissions data. Very low rates usually reflect extraordinary applicant volume relative to class size—not a single test-score cutoff. When IPEDS reports applicants and admits, those counts show how selective the funnel is. Acceptance rate describes competition for seats; it does not measure outcomes for enrolled students. Yield (share of admits who enroll) further clarifies demand among those offered admission when available.

What is the student body demographics at United States Air Force Academy?

United States Air Force Academy reports undergraduate enrollment of about 4,162 students, White (63.0%), Hispanic or Latino (11.4%) in federal College Scorecard data.

What test scores do students need for United States Air Force Academy?

Among enrolled students who submitted scores, United States Air Force Academy reports midpoint SAT about 1350 and midpoint ACT about 32.

What is the graduation rate at United States Air Force Academy?

The 150%-time completion rate is 87.5% for the cohort reported to the College Scorecard.

Is United States Air Force Academy public or private?

United States Air Force Academy is a public institution located in USAF Academy, CO.

Is United States Air Force Academy an HBCU?

No. United States Air Force Academy is not flagged as an HBCU in the IPEDS institutional directory.

Is United States Air Force Academy a tribal college?

No. United States Air Force Academy is not flagged as a tribal college in IPEDS.

Is United States Air Force Academy a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI)?

Using a 25% Hispanic enrollment threshold on College Scorecard demographics, United States Air Force Academy does not meet that proxy (reported share 11.4%).

Is United States Air Force Academy religiously affiliated?

No religious affiliation is reported for United States Air Force Academy in IPEDS institutional characteristics.

Data Sources

This page uses data from the following sources:

Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.

Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.

Methodology & Data Scope

This profile uses institution-level fields from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, merged with IPEDS directory attributes where needed for locale, ownership, and program completions.

Benchmark rows compare this campus to NCES locale-type medians (for example Suburban) from our processed location extract. Implied U.S. medians are derived from locale-vs-national percentage fields in that extract—not a separate national Scorecard table.