Houston, TX · Public · Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.
How to pay for University of Houston-Clear Lake
What a year costs here, what brings it down, and what a SmartTuition plan could save a family like yours.
Paying for four years here
Four years here, after grants
$61,393
A SmartTuition plan could save a family like this about $4,900.
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester, using your own numbers.
Build your SmartTuition plan for University of Houston-Clear Lake, $99 →Best once your award letter arrives. No letter yet? Get the monthly email.
A family of four with good credit and $500 a month for college. How we worked these out ↓
A year at University of Houston-Clear Lake
| Full price, in state | $23,340 |
| Full price, out of state | $40,366 |
| After grants, at your income | $14,277 |
At this income, 8 of Texas's other 58 colleges cost less after grants, and 50 cost more. See them all →
What can bring it down
Merit scholarships. In state: The New Hawk Scholarship runs from $1,000 up to a full ride (tuition, fees, books and housing). It is competitive and needs an application with an essay by the February 1 priority deadline.
University of Houston-Clear Lake's promise. Hawk Promise: tuition and mandatory fees could be covered for Texas students with family income up to $100,000. The conditions ↓
Pay less for college
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester.
At University of Houston-Clear Lake, our scenarios for Texas households with good parent credit show a SmartTuition plan saving a median of about $4,600 over four years. How we worked this out ↓
Considering more than one college?
Put the schools you are considering on one list and we price each of them for your family. It is free. It asks what you earn and what you have saved, never your name.
Put your schools side by side →Merit scholarships
What University of Houston-Clear Lake says it awards for grades and test scores.
In state: the New Hawk Scholarship runs from $1,000 up to a full ride (tuition, fees, books and housing). It is competitive and needs an application with an essay by the February 1 priority deadline.
Programs worth asking about
University of Houston-Clear Lake describes this in words that stop short of a promise, so we show it in its own words. Ask the aid office whether you qualify.
Hawk Promise: tuition and mandatory fees could be covered for Texas students with family income up to $100,000
Household income up to $100,000. Covers tuition, fees.
- The university says eligible students could have tuition and fees covered, so it is not worded as a guarantee. For fall 2027 freshmen and transfer students who are Pell-eligible, dependent, full time, and file the FAFSA by January 15.
- Renewal needs a 2.5 GPA and 12 hours each fall and spring term.
“Eligible Texas freshmen and transfer students from families with incomes up to $100,000 could have tuition and mandatory fees covered through Hawk Promise. Whether you're starting college for the first time or transferring to complete your bachelor's degree, UHCL is committed to helping more Texas students move forward without financial barriers standing in the way. No separate Hawk Promise application is required.”
How we worked these out
The family
A family of four with good parent credit and $500 a month to put toward college, and the savings you pick. In state, the grants are what University of Houston-Clear Lake reports families at that income got, on average. Your own will differ, and a family with no aid pays close to the full price. Out of state, there are no grants: the price is before any scholarship from the college.
What a SmartTuition plan saves
The difference, over four years, between a SmartTuition plan and the standard approach: savings first, then loans for the rest. It counts loan interest and the federal tax credit.
The $4,600 in the “Pay less for college” box near the top of this page is the median saving in University of Houston-Clear Lake's own scenarios. Each scenario is a household that lives in Texas, with an income from $45,000 to $200,000 and savings of none, $40,000 or $100,000 in a 529. We price University of Houston-Clear Lake at the aid it reports for that income.
Every scenario has parents with good credit and $500 a month toward college. The card above uses the same two. A scenario where the parents would borrow more than $65,000 is left out.
The prices by income
- They describe students who got aid.
- “Over $110,000” has no upper limit, so it averages families just over $110,000 with far wealthier ones. A family at $115,000 should expect to pay less than it shows.
- Each range is reported on its own, so the prices do not always rise with income.
Where the prices come from
Where the prices come from: University of Houston-Clear Lake's own 2026-27 tuition, fees, housing, food and books, from its website, carried forward to 2027 at 3.0% a year. The grants are the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (2025-26 figures), carried forward the same way. Each price after grants is the cost less those grants. The out-of-state figure uses the published out-of-state tuition instead. The average price after grants counts the students who get federal aid. Your own figure will be different.
University of Houston-Clear Lake's own budget for 2026-27 is $27,903. It also counts costs the university doesn't bill for, such as travel and personal spending. We leave those out.
SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by University of Houston-Clear Lake. Aid policies change; check current terms with the college's aid office.
Nearby at your income
- University of North Texas$13,952 a year
- Texas A&M San Antonio$14,051 a year
- University of Houston-Clear Lake$14,277 a year
- Texas A&M International$14,372 a year
- East Texas A&M University$14,572 a year
What each college charges, less the average grant for your income. Every Texas college →