Embodiments are directed towards embodiments are directed toward systems and methods for user plane function (UPF) and network slice load balancing within a 5G network. Example embodiments include systems and methods for load balancing based on current UPF load and thresholds that depend on UPF capacity; UPF load balancing using predicted throughput of new UE on the network based on network data analytics; UPF load balancing based on special considerations for low latency traffic; UPF load balancing supporting multiple slices, maintaining several load-thresholds for each UPF and each slice depending on the UPF and network slice capacity; and UPF load balancing using predicted central processing unit (CPU) utilization and/or predicted memory utilization of new UE on the network based on network data analytics.