Research brief & institution hub

Bradley University

ILMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #587 nationally

Data snapshot September 27, 2026Updated October 1, 2026

Azimuth ranks Bradley University #587 nationally.

Who it’s a good fit for

Bradley University is a private nonprofit in Peoria, Illinois, where Business, Engineering, and Health Professions lead the degree mix. Return is well above average, the strongest .

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds, while the part it cannot explain subtracts.

The typical graduate also earns above the median at comparable schools, so the raw and adjusted pictures point the same way. Affordability is modestly below average, the weakest pillar.

Pell students complete at a rate below the cohort as a whole, and mobility sits around the average, so the access picture is mixed. The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study.

A student drawn to the largest program, Nursing, should know that the best-paid programs are in engineering and computer science.

Bradley University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate^[1]: 76.8%
Six-year completion^[2]: 76.2%
Four-year earnings^[3]: $74,150

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income^[6]: $18,609
Median student debt^[4]: $27,000
Median Parent PLUS debt^[7]: $41,405

Bradley University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value^[5]

Bradley University is a private nonprofit university in Peoria, Illinois, enrolling 3,574 undergraduates. The university sits in the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (60th percentile).

The four pillars are spread out: return is the strongest, while affordability is the weakest. Access and mobility sit between them, near the midpoint of the field.

The university admits 76.8% of applicants, a rate above the median for comparable institutions of the same type and size, which is 71.2%. Of students who start full time, 82.7% return for a second year, against a peer median of 83.4%.

The six-year graduation rate is 76.2%, which is above the peer median of 68.8%. An estimated 13.3% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes the first-time, full-time cohort rather than the full student body.

The shape is a private university where return on investment is the standout pillar, while affordability trails the field. Access and mobility are near the middle of the pack, so the page is one where the earnings picture and the price picture pull in different directions.

Return is the strongest pillar for Bradley University, in the 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completion, completers earn about $7,296 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that places the university in the 77th percentile nationally.

The access pillar sits at the 56th percentile and mobility at the 50th percentile. Affordability is the weakest pillar, in the 26th percentile.

31.6% of undergraduates at Bradley University receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks Bradley University #653 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 68.6%, which is 7.6 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (76.2%). For mobility, Azimuth ranks the university #729. Graduates earn about $7,296 more than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Bradley University rankings in context
Geography	Rank
National	#587
Illinois	#25
Midwest	#120

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility: National percentile: 50

Access & reach: National percentile: 56

Affordability: National percentile: 26

Return on investment: National percentile: 80

01 / Bradley University briefing

Bradley University cost & financial aid^[6]^[7]

Bradley University publishes a cost of attendance of $54,730, an average across living arrangements. Tuition and fees are $42,160, and room and board are $13,500.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $22,719, a savings of $32,011 against the sticker price. That sits below the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $4,652.

For families in the lowest income band, the average net price drops to $17,269, and aid covers about 58% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. Azimuth ranks the university #1,050 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

A lower net price than peers and a substantial aid offset point the same way, though the affordability rank remains the university's weakest pillar.

Bradley University publishes a cost of attendance of $54,730, an average across living arrangements. Tuition and fees are $42,160, and room and board are $13,500.

The average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—varies by family income. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $17,269; for the middle band ($48,001–$75,000), it is $18,609; and for families earning over $110,000, it is $30,008.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $12,739. Azimuth ranks the university #1,050 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 58% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $32,011 against the sticker price. The average net price across all aid recipients is $22,719, which sits below the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $4,652.

That gap means the typical aid package at Bradley leaves a lower out-of-pocket cost than the middle value at similar private universities. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, the median federal student debt is $27,000, with 95.9% of federal aid recipients borrowing.

That debt is above the peer median of $24,199 by $2,801. If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $307.

Parents who borrow through the federal Parent PLUS program carry a separate median of $41,405.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$18,609

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Bradley University

At Bradley University, completing federal-loan borrowers have median federal student loan debt of $27,000, which is $2,801 above the $24,199 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size). For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $41,405.

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported that 69% of graduates borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative amount of $35,728 per borrower. That borrowing included federal loans for 68% of graduates, averaging $24,541. It also included private loans for 17% of graduates, averaging $45,084.

Graduates of Bradley University earn about $7,296 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 77th percentile nationally. The median earnings four years after completion reach $74,150, which lands in the 82nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That figure is above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $5,900. Earnings scenarios, anchored on the university's program mix, show a typical earnings level of $74,150, with a downside scenario of $50,450 and an upside scenario of $95,215.

The median federal student debt at completion is $27,000, which is above the $24,199 peer median. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $41,405. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $307.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt: $27,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt: $41,405

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly: $307/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly: $526/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS

Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Bradley University briefing

Bradley University career outcomes & earnings^[3]^[8]^[9]

Bradley University graduates earn a median of $74,150 four years after completion, a level in the 82nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure is above the peer median of $68,250 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $5,900.

Graduates earn about $7,296 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 77th percentile. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 80th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,902. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $606.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,028. The combination of earnings above the peer median and higher-than-expected outcomes points to a return that is stronger than the university's overall composite rank of #587 would suggest.

Four years after completion, federally aided graduates of Bradley University who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $74,150. That median falls at the 82nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, drawn from a cohort of 1,235 completers.

Estimated from the program mix, the earnings scenarios range from $50,450 on the downside to $95,215 on the upside, with $74,150 as the typical outcome. Based on the program mix, an estimated 26.3% of graduates continue to graduate study.

Graduates earn about $7,296 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations measure the gap between actual pay and the model's prediction for comparable students. That gap sits at the 77th percentile.

Bradley University graduates earn a median of $74,150 four years after completion, placing the university in the 82nd percentile nationally. That figure is $5,900 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #289 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $7,296 more than the model expects for similar students.

The gap sits at the 77th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,902.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $606. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,028.

The program mix leans toward engineering and health professions, and the earnings scenarios reflect that range. Estimated from that mix, the downside earnings scenario is $50,450 and the upside is $95,215.

An estimated 26.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The earnings scenarios show a wide spread: from $50,450 on the downside to $95,215 on the upside. These are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

At the higher end, Computer Science graduates earn $107,379 four years after completion, from 48 degrees awarded a year. Electrical Engineering follows at $100,391, and Mechanical Engineering at $95,896.

The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree at Bradley University is $27,000. That runs above the median of $24,199 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month. Graduates earn about $7,296 more than the model expects for similar students, and the average net price for aid recipients is $22,719, which is below the peer median of $27,371.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $41,405. The earnings strength and a net price below the peer median point in the same direction, though the debt figure sits above the peer median.

The picture is one of solid earnings alongside borrowing that warrants a close look at the net price for your family's income band.

What explains value-added earnings?

Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.: +$7,902
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.: -$606
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.: +$7,296

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Bradley University briefing

What are the largest majors at Bradley University?^[12]

Bradley University's program-level earnings show a clear split between engineering and computing fields and the university's larger professional majors. Computer Science leads with a median of $107,379 four years after completion, alongside 48 degrees awarded.

Electrical Engineering follows at $100,391 with 25 degrees awarded, and Mechanical Engineering—the largest engineering program by degrees—reaches $95,896 on 56 degrees awarded. Among the largest programs, the pattern shifts.

Nursing, the university's biggest major, awards 79 degrees and earns a median of $86,941. Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication reports $58,515 on 65 degrees awarded.

The contrast between the engineering cluster and the larger professional programs is the main story in Bradley's earnings data.

Bradley University publishes earnings data for 22 bachelor's programs, and the five largest by degrees awarded show a wide spread in outcomes. Nursing leads with 79 degrees awarded and a median of $86,941 four years after completion.

Mechanical Engineering, another large program, awarded 56 degrees and its completers reach $95,896. The highest-earning programs are concentrated in engineering and computing.

Computer Science tops the list at $107,379 with 48 degrees awarded. Electrical Engineering follows at $100,391, and Industrial Engineering and Manufacturing Engineering round out the top five, with medians of $89,362 and $88,690, respectively.

The program mix at Bradley University is anchored by Business, which accounts for 20.2% of bachelor's degrees awarded. Engineering is next at 13.2%, followed by Health Professions at 12.6%.

The university has 22 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Nursing, at 79 degrees awarded a year, with median earnings of $86,941 four years after completion.

Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication is next at 65 degrees awarded, and its graduates earn a median of $58,515. The highest-earning program is Computer Science, where graduates earn a median of $107,379 four years out, from 48 degrees awarded a year.

Electrical Engineering follows at $100,391, with 25 degrees awarded. Mechanical Engineering, the fourth-largest program, also appears among the top earners at $95,896.

The pattern is one of strength concentrated in technical fields. Engineering programs dominate the highest-earning list, and 34.4% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

A student drawn to the largest programs in health and communication should know that the best-paid outcomes sit in a different part of the catalog.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields

Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 79 degrees awarded: $86,941
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication 65 degrees awarded: $58,515
Psychology, General 64 degrees awarded: $64,378
Mechanical Engineering 56 degrees awarded: $95,896
Business Administration, Management and Operations 53 degrees awarded: $73,110
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 51 degrees awarded: $46,460

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Bradley University briefing

How does Bradley University serve students from different backgrounds?

Ranks its mobility pillar in the 50th percentile nationally. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 76.2%, while Pell recipients complete at a rate of 68.6%, which sits below the overall rate by 7.6 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $7,296 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that places the earnings beyond expectations measure in the 77th percentile.

Bradley University accepts 76.8% of those who apply, compared with a peer median of 71.2%, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size). The private nonprofit university enrolls 3,574 undergraduates on its Peoria, Illinois campus.

31.6% of those undergraduates receive Pell Grants, while an estimated 13.3% come in as transfers or part-time students. The access pillar falls in the 56th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / Bradley University briefing

What colleges are similar to Bradley University?^[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Bradley University.

Admissions peerKnox College70.8% admitted

Comparison with Bradley University
Measure	Bradley University	Knox College
Peer earnings · 4 years	$74,150	$49,217-$24,933 vs Bradley University
Average annual net price	$22,719	$24,595+$1,876 vs Bradley University · higher cost
Admission rate	76.8%	70.8%

Higher-admission alternativeBenedictine University95.2% admitted

Comparison with Bradley University
Measure	Bradley University	Benedictine University
Peer earnings · 4 years	$74,150	$72,460-$1,690 vs Bradley University
Average annual net price	$22,719	$22,313-$406 vs Bradley University · lower cost
Admission rate	76.8%	95.2%

Explore Benedictine University →

Nearby alternativeIllinois Wesleyan UniversityNearby option · IL

Comparison with Bradley University
Measure	Bradley University	Illinois Wesleyan University
Peer earnings · 4 years	$74,150	$69,265-$4,885 vs Bradley University
Average annual net price	$22,719	$28,199+$5,480 vs Bradley University · higher cost
Admission rate	76.8%	39.3%

Higher-earnings alternativeSUNY Maritime College$104,752 earnings

Comparison with Bradley University
Measure	Bradley University	SUNY Maritime College
Peer earnings · 4 years	$74,150	$104,752+$30,602 vs Bradley University
Average annual net price	$22,719	$22,367-$352 vs Bradley University · lower cost
Admission rate	76.8%	72.4%

Explore SUNY Maritime College →

Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Illinois Springfield$9,833 average net price

Comparison with Bradley University
Measure	Bradley University	University of Illinois Springfield
Peer earnings · 4 years	$74,150	$63,235-$10,915 vs Bradley University
Average annual net price	$22,719	$9,833-$12,886 vs Bradley University · lower cost
Admission rate	76.8%	85.9%

Explore University of Illinois Springfield →

Similar profileButler UniversityMatched across several measures

Comparison with Bradley University
Measure	Bradley University	Butler University
Peer earnings · 4 years	$74,150	$73,732-$418 vs Bradley University
Average annual net price	$22,719	$36,041+$13,322 vs Bradley University · higher cost
Admission rate	76.8%	85.1%

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated September 27, 2026Governed hub narrative September 27, 2026Governed spoke corpus September 27, 2026

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.
Source fields: ADM_RATE
Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.
Source fields: C150_4
Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.
Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR
Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.
Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN
National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.
Source fields: Azimuth rankings
College Azimuth · Ranking methodology
Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.
Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV
Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.
Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations
College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology
Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.
Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios
College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology
Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.
Source fields: Azimuth statistical model
College Azimuth · Value-added methodology
SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.
Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG
First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.
Source fields: RET_FT4
Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.
Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE
College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation
Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.
Source fields: PCTPELL
Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.
Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF
Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.
Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR
College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings