College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Cleveland State University

OHMedium public institution · Overall rank #211 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Cleveland State University #211 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Cleveland State University is a public university in Cleveland, Ohio, where Health Professions and Business lead the degree mix. Mobility is well above average.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes more of that to the factors it measures than to what it cannot explain.

Students who arrive with Pell Grants finish within a few points of the rate for the entering cohort as a whole. Access is well above average and affordability is well above average.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable institutions, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than on to further study. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are much smaller.

Cleveland State University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
91.3%
Six-year completion[2]
50.6%
Four-year earnings[3]
$61,322

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$14,727
Median student debt[4]
$21,797
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$16,998

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

Cleveland State University is a public university in Cleveland, Ohio, enrolling 8,969 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the upper reaches of nonprofit four-year institutions (86th percentile).

The university admits 91.3% of applicants, a figure set against the 85.9% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. For the first-time full-time cohort, the first-year retention rate is 70.3%, while the peer median stands at 73.7%.

The six-year graduation rate is 50.6%, with a comparable median of 49.1%. Transfers make up an estimated 41.7% of new students, which means a substantial portion of undergraduates have prior college experience.

Among the four , mobility sits highest and return sits lowest. Access and affordability cluster together between those two.

The gap between the top and bottom pillars is wide, but the middle pair are nearly level, which gives the profile an uneven shape.

Cleveland State University lands above the median on all four Azimuth pillars, with mobility as the clear standout. Its composite rank is #211 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

The mobility pillar sits at the 90th percentile, the strongest of the four. Access follows at the 76th percentile, and affordability sits at the 76th percentile.

The return pillar is the weakest, at the 61st percentile, though all four remain above the median for nonprofit four-year institutions.

40.5% of undergraduates at Cleveland State University receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks Cleveland State University #351 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 45.8%, 4.8 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate. Azimuth ranks the university #154 for mobility. Graduates earn about $6,645 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

Cleveland State University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#211

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 90
Access & reach
National percentile: 76
Affordability
National percentile: 76
Return on investment
National percentile: 61

Top-ranked majors

  1. Educational Administration and Supervision#4
  2. Health/Medical Preparatory Programs#4
  3. Urban Studies/Affairs#14

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Cleveland State University briefing

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

Cleveland State University publishes a cost of attendance of $27,159 (an average across living arrangements). In-state tuition and fees are $12,988, and room and board runs $15,104.

Out-of-state students pay $18,510 in tuition and fees. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $14,764.

That is $696 above the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). On average, financial aid offsets $12,395 of the sticker price.

Azimuth ranks the university #345 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Cleveland State University publishes a cost of attendance of $27,159, an average across living arrangements. In-state tuition and fees are $12,988, and room and board are $15,104.

For aid recipients, the average net price—what families pay after grants and scholarships—is $11,958 for those earning under $30,000, $14,727 in the $48,001–$75,000 band, and $20,378 for families earning over $110,000. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $8,420.

Azimuth ranks the university #345 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 46% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of roughly $12,395 against the sticker price.

The across all aid recipients is $14,764, which sits above the peer median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $696. Out-of-state students face a higher published tuition of $18,510, though aid packages can narrow that gap.

Graduates who borrow federal loans leave with a median federal student debt of $21,797. That figure is above the peer median of $21,229 by $568, and about 87.5% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

For parents, the median Parent PLUS borrowing is $16,998. The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $248 a month if repaid over ten years.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$14,727

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Cleveland State University

Most undergraduates at Cleveland State University borrow: 87.5% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and the median federal student debt at completion is $21,797. That median is above the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $568, a narrow gap.

Parent borrowers, a separate population, carry a median Parent PLUS loan of $16,998.

Graduates of Cleveland State University earn about $6,645 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 76th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median earnings four years after completion are $61,322, which lands in the 55th percentile.

That figure runs above the $57,301 peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), by $4,021. Earnings scenarios derived from the university's program mix show a typical earnings level of $61,322, with a downside scenario of $43,829 and an upside scenario of $83,377.

Borrowers finish with a median federal debt of $21,797, which is above the $21,229 peer median. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $248 a month if repaid over ten years.

Earnings that beat the model alongside a debt level close to the peer median point to a return that leans positive but stays measured.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $16,998. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $248.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$21,797
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$16,998

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$248/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$216/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 / Cleveland State University briefing

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

Cleveland State University graduates earn about $6,645 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 76th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,330.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $315. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,757.

Four years after completion, completers earn a median of $61,322, which sits in the 55th percentile nationally. That figure is above the peer median of $57,301 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $4,021. Azimuth places the return pillar for the university in the 61st percentile.

Four years after completion, Cleveland State University graduates earn a median of $61,322, which runs above the median of $57,301 for comparable institutions (same type and size). The earnings cohort includes 3,622 completers.

Graduates earn about $6,645 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that places the university in the 76th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix show a typical outcome of $61,322, with a downside scenario of $43,829 and an upside scenario reaching $83,377.

An estimated 29.8% continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The median earnings sit above the peer benchmark, and the figure for how much graduates earn beyond what the model expects points in the same direction.

The earnings scenarios show a wide spread between the downside and upside, which reflects the mix of programs available at the university.

Cleveland State University graduates earn a median of $61,322 four years after completion. That is $4,021 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #579 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $6,645 more than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 76th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,330.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $315. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,757.

The measured factors are the larger piece, and the fields involved include health professions, business, and engineering. Estimated from the program mix, the downside earnings scenario is $43,829 and the upside is $83,377.

An estimated 29.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The earnings scenarios at Cleveland State University span from a downside of $43,829 to an upside of $83,377, with the typical scenario at $61,322. That range shows the variation in earnings across the university's 46 programs with published data four years after completion.

The highest-earning programs illustrate the upper end of the spread. Computer Science completers earn a median of $100,385, Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians graduates reach $88,732, and Computer Engineering completers earn $88,595.

The published cost of attendance at Cleveland State University is $27,159 (an average across living arrangements), and aid covers about 46% of that for the average aid recipient. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $14,764.

Borrowers who complete a degree leave with a median of $21,797 in federal student loans. That is $568 above the median of $21,229 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $248 a month. Parents who borrow through the separate Parent PLUS program hold a median of $16,998.

The university's strongest pillar is mobility. Graduates earn about $6,645 more than the model expects for similar students, so the debt sits alongside earnings that run ahead of the model's expectation.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$6,330
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$315
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$6,645

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 / Cleveland State University briefing

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

Cleveland State University admits 91.3% of applicants, a rate that signals broad access for students in Cleveland, Ohio. The median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size) places the university slightly above the peer midpoint.

Admissions
Admission rate
91.3%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / Cleveland State University briefing

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

The university's highest-earning bachelor's program is Computer Science, where completers earn a median of $100,385 four years after completion, with 48 degrees awarded. Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians follows at $88,732 (10 degrees awarded), and Mechanical Engineering at $85,184 (86 degrees awarded).

Nursing, the second-largest with 231 degrees awarded, shows a median of $82,201 and an Azimuth national rank of #223. Psychology, the largest at 235 degrees awarded, reaches $46,090 and ranks #244 nationally.

Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions reports $55,038 and ranks #56 nationally on 153 degrees awarded. Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication reaches $55,174 and ranks #60 nationally.

Cleveland State University publishes earnings data for 46 bachelor's programs, and 34 hold an Azimuth national rank. The largest, Psychology, awarded 235 degrees and shows a median of $46,090 four years after completion.

Nursing awarded 231 degrees with a median of $82,201 and ranks #223 nationally. Among the best-ranked programs, Health/Medical Preparatory Programs holds a national rank of #4 with 40 degrees awarded and a median of $67,214.

Educational Administration and Supervision ranks #4 nationally, awarded 27 degrees, and reports a median of $41,308. Urban Studies/Affairs ranks #14 nationally and #1 in Ohio, with 39 degrees awarded. Its graduates report a median of $53,582 four years after completion.

The program mix at Cleveland State University is anchored in health and business, with Health Professions accounting for 20.1% of bachelor's degrees awarded and Business next at 18.0%. Psychology is a distant third at 9.6%.

Across all fields, 20.6% of degrees are in STEM. The university has 34 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 46 with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Psychology, at 235 degrees awarded, followed closely by Nursing at 231 and Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions at 153. The highest-ranked program is Health/Medical Preparatory Programs, with 40 degrees awarded and median earnings of $67,214 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks it #1 in Ohio within its field. Educational Administration and Supervision ranks #4 nationally and #2 in Ohio within its field.

The highest-earning program is a smaller one: Computer Science graduates earn $100,385 four years out, from 48 degrees awarded. Mechanical Engineering, with 86 degrees awarded, reports $85,184.

The pattern is one of strength concentrated in a few applied fields rather than spread evenly across the curriculum. The top-ranked programs include Health/Medical Preparatory Programs, Educational Administration and Supervision, and Urban Studies/Affairs.

The highest earnings flow to engineering and computing. The largest program, Psychology, earns $46,090, and the spread between that figure and the median in Computer Science is wide.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Psychology, General 235 degrees awarded
$46,090
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 231 degrees awarded
$82,201
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions 153 degrees awarded
$55,038
Biology, General 109 degrees awarded
$53,898
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication 102 degrees awarded
$55,174
Accounting and Related Services 99 degrees awarded
$73,476

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 / Cleveland State University briefing

How does Cleveland State University serve students from different backgrounds?

Cleveland State University's strongest pillar is mobility, where Azimuth places it in the 90th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 50.6%, while Pell recipients complete at 45.8% — below the overall rate by 4.8 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $6,645 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 76th percentile nationally. The graduation rate exceeds the peer median of 49.1%, and the earnings figure beats the model's expectation: both measures run ahead of their respective benchmarks.

Cleveland State University, a public university in Cleveland, serves 8,969 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients account for 40.5% of the student body, and an estimated 41.7% of undergraduates enter as transfers or part-time students.

The university admits 91.3% of applicants, above the peer median of 85.9% for comparable institutions. Azimuth ranks the access pillar #351 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That places it in the 76th percentile. A high Pell share, a large transfer-in population, and an open admission rate point to an institution built for broad entry.

06 / Cleveland State University briefing

What colleges are similar to Cleveland 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 Cleveland State University.

Admissions peerWestminster College92.6% admitted
Comparison with Cleveland State University
MeasureCleveland State UniversityWestminster College
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,322$54,065-$7,257 vs Cleveland State University
Average annual net price$14,764$19,859+$5,095 vs Cleveland State University · higher cost
Admission rate91.3%92.6%
Nearby alternativeAshland UniversityNearby option · OH
Comparison with Cleveland State University
MeasureCleveland State UniversityAshland University
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,322$59,855-$1,467 vs Cleveland State University
Average annual net price$14,764$21,988+$7,224 vs Cleveland State University · higher cost
Admission rate91.3%76.4%
Explore Ashland University →
Higher-earnings alternativeOregon Institute of Technology$87,138 earnings
Comparison with Cleveland State University
MeasureCleveland State UniversityOregon Institute of Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,322$87,138+$25,816 vs Cleveland State University
Average annual net price$14,764$15,706+$942 vs Cleveland State University · higher cost
Admission rate91.3%95.0%
Explore Oregon Institute of Technology →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Lehman College$3,148 average net price
Comparison with Cleveland State University
MeasureCleveland State UniversityCUNY Lehman College
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,322$63,353+$2,031 vs Cleveland State University
Average annual net price$14,764$3,148-$11,616 vs Cleveland State University · lower cost
Admission rate91.3%56.6%
Explore CUNY Lehman College →
Similar profileSouthern Illinois University-CarbondaleMatched across several measures
Comparison with Cleveland State University
MeasureCleveland State UniversitySouthern Illinois University-Carbondale
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,322$61,484+$162 vs Cleveland State University
Average annual net price$14,764$13,297-$1,467 vs Cleveland State University · lower cost
Admission rate91.3%86.9%
Explore Southern Illinois University-Carbondale →

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