UCLA Tuition 2021-2022
UC systemwide tuition for California residents was $12,570 for the 2021-2022 academic year. Non-residents paid $42,324 including Nonresident Supplemental Tuition. Campus-based fees averaged $1,528 across UC.
Resident Tuition
$12,570
Non-Resident Tuition
$42,324
Campus Fees (UC average)
$1,528
What changed in 2021-2022
Regents adopt cohort tuition for future classes
Rates did not move for anyone enrolled: resident tuition stayed $12,570 and Nonresident Supplemental Tuition stayed $29,754, the fourth straight year at each level. The consequential decision was about the students who had not arrived yet. On July 22, 2021 the Regents approved the Tuition Stability Plan, which from fall 2022 sets tuition once for each entering class and then holds that cohort's rate flat for up to six years.
Student representatives fought it. UCSA said it was "deeply disappointed," and the graduate and professional council president called it "inherently inconceivable... to imagine a situation where students might be paying tuition across six different tiers for the same course." The Regents attached amendments directing 45 percent of new base tuition revenue to undergraduate financial aid and capping annual increases at 5 percent.
The year ended with the pandemic argument reopening. UCLA began winter quarter 2022 remotely, and a "Refund Bruins" campaign gathered more than 2,300 signatures arguing that "online school is not comparable to the value of an in-person education."
2021-2022 tuition in 2025 dollars
Comparing tuition across decades only works once inflation is stripped out. Adjusted with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, the $12,570 a California resident paid in 2021-2022 is equivalent to $14,935 in 2025 dollars. Non-resident tuition of $42,324 works out to $50,286 in 2025 dollars.
Resident tuition in 2025 dollars
$14,935
Non-resident tuition in 2025 dollars
$50,286
Inflation adjustment uses CPI-U annual average, U.S. city average, all items (1982-84=100). The 2025 annual average is computed from eleven months because the October 2025 index was never collected during the federal funding lapse.
What does that mean? UCLA tuition worked out to roughly $47/day of instruction, or $838/class (assuming 15 classes per year).
At California's $14.00/hr minimum wage back then, covering tuition alone would take 898 hours of work (~22 full-time weeks) — before housing and food.
Quick Facts
Resident Tuition
vs. 5 years earlier (2016-2017)
+$276
Resident tuition rose 2.24% from $12,294 to $12,570
vs. 10 years earlier (2011-2012)
+$378
Resident tuition rose 3.1% from $12,192 to $12,570
Non-Resident Tuition
vs. 5 years earlier (2016-2017)
+$3,348
Non-resident tuition rose 8.59% from $38,976 to $42,324
vs. 10 years earlier (2011-2012)
+$7,254
Non-resident tuition rose 20.68% from $35,070 to $42,324
Looking for Current UCLA Costs?
UCLA tuition for 2026-2027 is now $16,430 for California residents. Use our interactive Cost Calculator to estimate your total cost of attendance — including housing, meal plans, books, and more.
Sources
Figures and historical context for 2021-2022 are drawn from the following sources.
- Daily Bruin: UC Board of Regents approves new systemwide multiyear tuition plan (July 22, 2021)(opens in a new tab)
- UC: Tuition Stability Plan(opens in a new tab)
- Daily Bruin: Bruins petition for refunds after remote start to winter quarter (Jan. 31, 2022)(opens in a new tab)
- UCOP Historical Fee Levels, Tables 1-3(opens in a new tab)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages (CUUR0000SA0)(opens in a new tab)
- California Department of Industrial Relations, History of California Minimum Wage(opens in a new tab)