College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Central State University

OHMedium public institution · Overall rank #1098 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Central State University #1,098 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Central State University is a public university in Wilberforce, Ohio, where Business and Security & Protective Services lead the degree mix. Access is the strongest , and it is well above average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them, and the model attributes more of that gap to what it cannot explain than to the factors it measures. Return is below the levels seen at many peers.

Pell recipients complete at a rate slightly above the cohort as a whole, and the admission rate is above the median at comparable schools. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study.

The admission rate sits above the median for comparable institutions, and the degree mix leans heavily toward professional fields like business and criminal justice rather than STEM.

Central State University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
98.6%
Six-year completion[2]
22.8%
Four-year earnings[3]
$42,843

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$8,773
Median student debt[4]
$30,739
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$17,178

Central State University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Central State University is a public university in Wilberforce, Ohio, enrolling 2,620 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the bottom quarter of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The four pillars are spread out, with access as the strongest and return as the weakest. The university admits 98.6% of applicants, a rate above the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 55.9% return for a second year, against a median of 73.7% for comparable institutions. The six-year graduation rate is 22.8%, compared to a median of 49.1% for comparable institutions.

An estimated 25.9% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students. The shape is a public university where access is the strongest pillar and return is the weakest.

Affordability and mobility sit between them. The pillars are far apart, with a wide gap between the top and bottom of the profile.

Access is the clearest strength in the profile, though return is the part that most limits the overall picture. Azimuth places Central State University in the 75th percentile for access, its strongest pillar, among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Affordability is in the 58th percentile, mobility in the 28th percentile, and return, the weakest pillar, in the 6th percentile. Stronger access and midrange affordability sit alongside a much weaker return measure.

52.7% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, a measure of financial access at Central State University. Azimuth ranks Central State University #364 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The access pillar is the strongest of the four for this university. Pell Grant recipients complete at a rate of 24.9%, which is 2.1 percentage points above the overall six-year graduation rate (22.8%).

Azimuth ranks the university #1,061 for mobility. Completers earn about $9,286 less than the model expects for similar students. The return pillar is the weakest of the four.

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

Central State University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#1,098

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 28
Access & reach
National percentile: 75
Affordability
National percentile: 58
Return on investment
National percentile: 6

01 / Central State University briefing

Central State University cost & financial aid[6][7]

For aid recipients, Central State University has an average net price of $13,096, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships. That average reflects $8,833 in aid savings against the published cost, although an individual family’s price can differ.

The university’s published cost of attendance is $21,929. Resident tuition and fees are $8,058, with $12,026 for room and board; nonresident tuition and fees are $10,058.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $14,068, placing Central State University $972 below that benchmark. Azimuth ranks the university #600 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The aid reduction and below-peer point in the same direction for aid recipients.

The published cost of attendance at Central State University is $21,929. Azimuth ranks the university #600 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $19,581, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $8,773, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $10,187. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,394.

The average aid recipient sees a savings of $8,833 against the published cost, bringing the average net price across all bands to $13,096. That figure is $972 below the median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

In-state tuition and fees are $8,058, and out-of-state tuition and fees are $10,058. Borrowers who complete a degree leave with a median of $30,739 in federal student loans.

That is $9,510 above the peer median of $21,229 for comparable institutions. 95.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $17,178 in Parent PLUS loans. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $349 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$8,773

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Central State University

Federal borrowing is widespread at Central State University, where 95.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans and completers who borrowed have median federal student loan debt of $30,739. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $21,229; the university's median is $9,510 above it.

For separate parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $17,178. The high borrowing share and above-peer median point to a debt picture requiring careful consideration.

Access is Central State University's strongest Azimuth pillar, but its investment picture is limited by low earnings and higher borrowing. Median earnings four years after completion are $42,843, which Azimuth places in the 7th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $9,286 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, stands in the 21st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings scenarios put earnings at $41,684 in a downside case, $42,843 in a typical case, and $57,813 in an upside case. Median federal student loan debt at completion is $30,739, above the $21,229 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size), a difference of $9,510.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $349 a month if repaid over ten years. Lower earnings and debt above the peer median point in the same direction.

Parent borrowers using Parent PLUS have median borrowing of $17,178, a separate population from student federal-loan borrowers. For student borrowers at the median federal debt, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $349 a month if repaid over ten years.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$30,739
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$17,178

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$349/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$218/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 / Central State University briefing

Central State University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Access is the stronger pillar at Central State University, but its return figures point the other way. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $42,843 four years after completion, in the 7th percentile.

Azimuth puts the return pillar in the 6th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $9,286 less than the model expects for similar students, an earnings-beyond-expectations result—the gap between graduate earnings and model expectations for similar students—in the 21st percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) subtracts $1,159. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,127.

The school's median is $14,458 below the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), of $57,301.

Central State University posts median earnings of $42,843 four years after completion among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places that earnings measure in the 7th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, using an earnings cohort of 218 completers.

Graduates earn about $9,286 less than the model expects for similar students. Modeled from the program mix, the typical scenario matches the observed median rather than representing an observed group.

An estimated 24.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The low earnings percentile and below-expected earnings point in the same direction.

Central State University’s return figures sit below its comparison points. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $42,843 four years after completion, in the 7th percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $57,301, leaving the university $14,458 below that figure. Graduates earn about $9,286 less than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, falls in the 21st percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) subtracts $1,159.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,127. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $939.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 6th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix run from $41,684 on the downside to $57,813 on the upside, alongside the lower peer comparison.

Business/Commerce is the largest listed field, with 143 degrees awarded and median earnings of $44,662 four years after completion. That figure equals 0.65x of the national median for its field.

Criminal Justice awarded 112 degrees and has median earnings of $46,914 four years after completion, equal to 0.85x of its field’s national median. Psychology had 26 degrees awarded and median earnings of $39,628 four years after completion.

Published program medians show a spread within Central State University offerings four years after completion: Social Work at $47,853, Criminal Justice at $46,914, and Journalism at $36,311. The program-mix model sets a downside earnings scenario at $41,684 and an upside scenario at $57,813.

These are scenarios rather than observed groups of graduates; the program medians and modeled range describe variation across available fields rather than one uniform outcome.

Graduates of Central State University earn about $9,286 less than the model expects for similar students, and the debt picture adds weight to the cost side of the equation. The published cost of attendance is $21,929, and aid covers about 40% of that for the average aid recipient.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $13,096, which is $972 below the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). The net price pattern is uneven across income bands.

Families earning under $30,000 average $19,581, while those in the $30,001 to $48,000 band average $7,161. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,394.

Borrowers who complete leave with a median of $30,739 in federal student loans, $9,510 above the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $349 a month if repaid over ten years.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
-$1,159
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$8,127
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$9,286

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

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Central State University briefing

Central State University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Central State University admitted 98.6% of applicants, so nearly all applicants in the reported pool received an offer. That rate is above the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Applicants should compare their academic record with the university’s published materials and include other schools with differing admission patterns on their list.

Admissions
Admission rate
98.6%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / Central State University briefing

What are the largest majors at Central State University?[12]

At Central State University, the higher end of published program earnings sits in Social Work and Criminal Justice, though neither has the largest degree count. Four years after completion, Social Work had median earnings of $47,853 across 14 degrees awarded.

Criminal Justice posted $46,914 with 112 degrees awarded. Business/Commerce accounted for 143 degrees awarded and had median earnings of $44,662 four years after completion.

At a more moderate earnings level, Psychology recorded $39,628 across 26 degrees awarded. The figures show that the largest program is not the highest-earning one, and earnings differ across these fields.

Business accounts for 33.4% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, making it the largest program family. Published earnings data cover 5 fields.

Four years after completion, Business/Commerce had 143 degrees awarded and median earnings of $44,662; Criminal Justice, 112 degrees awarded and $46,914; Psychology, 26 degrees awarded and $39,628; Journalism, 21 degrees awarded and $36,311; and Social Work, 14 degrees awarded and $47,853. The earnings picture differs across these fields, including among the largest degree producers.

The bachelor's degrees at Central State University are concentrated in two professional fields: Business accounts for 33.4% of degrees awarded, and Security & Protective Services for 26.2%. Education is a distant third at 9.6%.

The university has 5 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest program with published earnings is Business/Commerce, at 143 degrees awarded, followed by Criminal Justice with 112 degrees awarded and Psychology with 26 degrees awarded.

The highest-earning program is Social Work, where graduates earn a median of $47,853 four years after completion, a benchmark ratio of 0.92x against the national median for its field. It is also the smallest of the five programs with earnings data, at 14 degrees awarded.

Criminal Justice, the second-largest program, is the second-highest-earning at $46,914, with a benchmark ratio of 0.85x. The largest program, Business/Commerce, reports median earnings of $44,662, which is 0.65x the national median for its field.

The pattern is one of narrow professional focus: the two largest families award nearly three-fifths of all degrees. The highest earnings belong to the smallest program, while the largest programs sit in the middle of the earnings range.

Across all fields, 4.3% of degrees are in STEM, so the earnings picture is shaped almost entirely by business and protective services rather than technical fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business/Commerce, General 143 degrees awarded
$44,662
Criminal Justice and Corrections 112 degrees awarded
$46,914
Education, General 26 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Psychology, General 26 degrees awarded
$39,628
Journalism 21 degrees awarded
$36,311
Biology, General 17 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report

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 / Central State University briefing

How does Central State University serve students from different backgrounds?

Access is the strongest measured pillar at Central State University, but the mobility figures show limited completion and modeled earnings. For the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate is 22.8%, and Pell recipients complete within six years at 24.9%, above the overall rate by 2.1 percentage points.

Azimuth assigns the mobility pillar a 28th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, are also low: Graduates earn about $9,286 less than the model expects for similar students.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, that measure falls in the 21st percentile.

Pell Grant recipients account for 52.7% of undergraduates at Central State University, a public university in Wilberforce, Ohio with a broad entry point for applicants. Its 98.6% admission rate and undergraduate enrollment of 2,620 show the scale of that access.

An estimated 25.9% of undergraduates enter as transfers or part-time students. Azimuth places the access pillar in the 75th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell participation, transfer entry, and admission patterns all describe several ways into the university.

06 / Central State University briefing

What colleges are similar to Central State 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 Central State University.

Admissions peerSul Ross State University98.7% admitted
Comparison with Central State University
MeasureCentral State UniversitySul Ross State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$42,843$49,811+$6,968 vs Central State University
Average annual net price$13,096$13,286+$190 vs Central State University · higher cost
Admission rate98.6%98.7%
Nearby alternativeWilberforce UniversityNearby option · OH
Comparison with Central State University
MeasureCentral State UniversityWilberforce University
Peer earnings · 4 years$42,843$45,958+$3,115 vs Central State University
Average annual net price$13,096$5,567-$7,529 vs Central State University · lower cost
Admission rate98.6%40.5%
Higher-earnings alternativeMichigan Technological University$84,560 earnings
Comparison with Central State University
MeasureCentral State UniversityMichigan Technological University
Peer earnings · 4 years$42,843$84,560+$41,717 vs Central State University
Average annual net price$13,096$14,182+$1,086 vs Central State University · higher cost
Admission rate98.6%92.4%
Explore Michigan Technological University →
Lower-cost alternativeWilberforce University$5,567 average net price
Comparison with Central State University
MeasureCentral State UniversityWilberforce University
Peer earnings · 4 years$42,843$45,958+$3,115 vs Central State University
Average annual net price$13,096$5,567-$7,529 vs Central State University · lower cost
Admission rate98.6%40.5%
Similar profileBlack Hills State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Central State University
MeasureCentral State UniversityBlack Hills State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$42,843$48,243+$5,400 vs Central State University
Average annual net price$13,096$15,911+$2,815 vs Central State University · higher cost
Admission rate98.6%96.3%

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 Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

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.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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 is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. 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

  8. 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

  9. 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

  10. 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

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. 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

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. 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

  15. 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