Average Pell Grant and 2026 Maximum Amount

Federal Pell Grant awards help millions of students pay part of their college expenses. However, fewer students are receiving this financial aid each year.

This report analyzes how many people have received Pell Grants in recent years, using the most current data from Federal Student Aid, the office of the U.S. Department of Education responsible for administering grants, loans, and other federal financial aid opportunities.

According to Federal Student Aid, the maximum Pell Grant amount for the 2025-2026 award year is $7,395 —the same as the 2024-2025 award year. Note that the 2025-2026 award year lasts from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, which means the maximum might change after that date.

Over the years, the federal government has generally increased the maximum Pell Grant amount each award year. However, as we’ll see throughout this report, the number and percentage of students receiving Pell Grants has decreased.

Also, the average Pell Grant has not kept pace with rising tuition costs. In other words, Pell Grants now cover less of the overall cost of attending college compared to previous years.

The amount of students receiving Pell Grants has declined in recent years. According to the most recent data available from Federal Student Aid, 6,033,000 students received Pell Grants in 2022-2023 —the lowest number since 2007-2008.

Additionally, roughly half of undergraduates attending college received Pell Grant assistance to help pay for tuition from 2010-2014. By 2022, that rate dropped to 39%.

The average Pell Grant amount has increased throughout the years. However, it has not kept up with the pace of college tuition inflation.

In 1980, Pell Grants covered just over half of college tuition, with an average award of $882 against tuition of $1,679 according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). By 2022, Pell Grants covered closer to 30%, as tuition climbed to $14,688 while the average award reached $4,511.

Since Pell Grants are awarded based on financial need, a larger share goes to students living on their own with little income or who come from low-income households — rather than students from higher-income families.

However, some students may still qualify for partial Pell Grant funding even if they come from middle-income families, which is why it’s important to file the FAFSA each year. Eligibility and award amounts depend on several factors, including income, dependency status, and state of residence.

Learn more about Pell Grant eligibility to calculate your potential award amount.

Generally, there are more Pell Grant recipients in states with larger populations. However, the states with the largest average Pell Grant award amount are:

Vermont, New Hampshire, and Alaska have the lowest average Pell Grant award amounts.

Pell Grants are awarded to students attending to both public and private colleges, wether they are four-year or two-year institutions.

However, a higher number of Pell Grants are awarded to students attending four-year public colleges. Roughly 44% of Pell Grants go to students attending these schools. Additionally, about a quarter of Pell Grant recipients (24.6%) attend public two-year colleges.

About half of Pell Grant recipients (48%) are independent students versus dependent students. Independent students are older than 24 or meet another qualification making them independent, such as:

Nearly 1.7 million Pell Grant recipients —27% of all Pell Grant recipients —are independents who have dependents relying on them. Another 1.3 million (21%) are independents without dependents (e.g., without children).

3.1 million Pell Grant recipients (52%) are dependents.