College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

CUNY City College

NYLarge public institution · Overall rank #48 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks CUNY City College #48 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

CUNY City College is a public university in New York where the degree mix is led by Psychology, Engineering, and Social Sciences. Affordability is among the highest we track and access is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns above the median at comparable schools. The model attributes more of that gain to what it cannot explain than to the factors it measures.

Students who arrive with Pell Grants finish below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole, and mobility is among the highest we track. The lowest income band averages well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, based on the program mix. A student drawn to Psychology, the largest program, should know that the best-paid fields are in Engineering and Computer Science.

CCNY at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
60.0%
Six-year completion[2]
56.8%
Four-year earnings[3]
$67,740

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$6,811
Median student debt[4]
$11,990
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$17,460

CCNY rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

CUNY City College is a public university in New York, New York, enrolling 12,505 undergraduates. Its composite standing is near the top of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (97th percentile).

CUNY City College admits 60.0% of applicants, a rate that is lower than the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Among full-time first-year students, 79.3% return for a second year, below the peer median of 83.1%.

The six-year graduation rate for that first-time, full-time cohort is 56.8%, compared with a peer median of 65.0%. An estimated 30.7% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the graduation rate describes a specific group: a large part of the student body did not start here.

The four show a clear pattern. Affordability and access are the strongest (99th and 98th percentiles), with mobility close behind (94th). Return is the weakest of the four (71st percentile).

Affordability is the strongest pillar for CUNY City College, landing in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Access and mobility are close behind, in the 98th and 94th percentiles.

The return pillar sits at the 71st percentile, the weakest of the four but still above the median for nonprofit four-year institutions.

60.5% of undergraduates at CUNY City College receive Pell Grants. The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,070 and 1,430.

Azimuth ranks CUNY City College #26 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients complete at 48.6%, which is 8.2 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (56.8%).

Azimuth ranks the university #84 for mobility. Graduates earn about $8,767 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

CCNY rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#48

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 94
Access & reach
National percentile: 98
Affordability
National percentile: 99
Return on investment
National percentile: 71

Top-ranked majors

  1. Communication and Media Studies#26
  2. Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods#30
  3. Fine and Studio Arts#40

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 / CCNY briefing

CCNY cost & financial aid[6][7]

The published cost of attendance at CUNY City College is $14,403. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported in-state tuition of $6,930 and required fees of $410 for the 2026-27 academic year, with on-campus food and housing at $19,552.

Out-of-state students face a published tuition of $18,600. For aid recipients, the average net price—what students pay after grants and scholarships—is $3,776.

That is $11,858 below the $15,634 median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Financial aid reduces the published cost by an average of $10,627.

Azimuth ranks the university #21 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

CUNY City College carries a published cost of attendance of $14,403, a figure that shrinks dramatically once aid is applied. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—is $1,251.

For those in the $48,001–$75,000 band, it is $6,811, and for families earning over $110,000, the is $12,806. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $11,555.

Azimuth ranks CUNY City College #21 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 74% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $10,627 against the sticker price.

The average net price across all aid recipients is $3,776, which sits below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $11,858. Median federal student debt at completion is $11,990.

About 22.6% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. That median debt is below the peer median of $20,076 for comparable institutions by $8,086.

The estimated payment if repaid over ten years is $136 a month. Median Parent PLUS borrowing among parent borrowers is $17,460.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$6,811

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at CCNY

Federal borrowing at CUNY City College is light: only 22.6% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and the median federal student debt among completers is $11,990. That median is below the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $8,086.

For parent borrowers, a separate population, the median Parent PLUS loan is $17,460. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 14% of its 1,147 bachelor's graduates borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative principal of $7,849 per borrower.

Of those graduates, 13% held federal loans, averaging $6,141, and 2% held private loans, averaging $1,708.

The median federal debt among CUNY City College graduates who borrowed is $11,990, a level that sits below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). The estimated monthly payment if repaid over ten years is $136.

Four years after completion, graduates earn a median of $67,740, placing the university in the 72nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure runs above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions by $2,130.

Graduates earn about $8,767 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome that ranks in the 80th percentile nationally. Anchored on the university's program mix, earnings scenarios span from $49,212 on the downside to $97,579 on the upside, with $67,740 representing the typical case.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate federal population of parent borrowers, stands at $17,460. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $136.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$11,990
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$17,460

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$136/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$222/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 / CCNY briefing

CCNY career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $67,740, in the 72nd percentile. That is $2,130 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth places the return pillar at the 71st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $8,767 more than the model expects for similar students.

That puts the gap at the 80th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,267.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $5,500. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $2,739.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of CUNY City College who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $67,740. Azimuth places that figure in the 72nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 2,640 completers.

Graduates earn about $8,767 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a downside of $49,212 and an upside of $97,579.

An estimated 37.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

CUNY City College graduates earn about $8,767 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 80th percentile. The median earnings four years after completion reach $67,740, which places the university in the 72nd percentile nationally.

That figure runs above the median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,130. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,267.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $5,500. The STEM component inside the measured factors adds $2,739.

Azimuth ranks the return pillar #425 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $49,212 and an upside of $97,579.

The largest program, Psychology, awarded 418 degrees and shows a median of $56,223 four years after completion. Computer Science awarded 132 degrees and reaches a median of $116,238, the highest among the five largest fields.

The highest-earning program overall is Computer Engineering, with a median of $117,131 and 54 degrees awarded. Computer Science follows at $116,238 with 132 degrees awarded, and Electrical Engineering at $97,698 with 81 degrees awarded.

The earnings scenarios span a wide range, from $49,212 on the downside to $97,579 on the upside. These are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

At the upper end, Computer Engineering graduates earn $117,131 four years after completion, and Computer Science graduates earn $116,238. The largest program, Psychology, posts a median of $56,223.

At CUNY City College, graduates earn about $8,767 more than the model expects for similar students. These higher-than-expected earnings coincide with a median federal student debt of $11,990, which is below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $8,086.

The estimated monthly payment on that debt is $136 if repaid over ten years. For parent borrowers, the median Parent PLUS borrowing is $17,460.

The university's average net price of $3,776 runs below the peer median of $15,634 by $11,858, and aid covers about 74% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$3,267
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$5,500
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$8,767

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 / CCNY briefing

CCNY acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 34,284 applicants, 19,880 admitted students, and 2,700 who enrolled. CUNY City College admitted 60.0% of applicants, a share that falls under the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
60.0%
Approximate lower endpoint
1070
Reported average
1260
Approximate upper endpoint
1430

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / CCNY briefing

What are the largest majors at CCNY?[12]

The largest programs at CUNY City College span a wide earnings range, with the highest-earning fields awarding fewer degrees than the largest ones. Psychology awards the most degrees at 418 a year, and graduates earn a median of $56,223 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks it #48 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Computer Science is the third-largest program at 132 degrees awarded, and its median earnings of $116,238 are the highest among the large programs.

Mechanical Engineering graduates earn $97,270 from 119 degrees a year, and Azimuth ranks it #43 nationally. At the more moderate end, Fine and Studio Arts awards 116 degrees and posts median earnings of $45,656, with a national rank of #40.

CUNY City College offers 18 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, with earnings data available for 31 fields. The two largest degree families, Psychology and Engineering, each account for about one in six degrees awarded.

The best-paid programs are in engineering. Mechanical Engineering graduates earn a median of $97,270 four years after completion, from 119 degrees awarded a year.

Azimuth ranks it #43 nationally within its field. The highest-ranked program is Communication and Media Studies, at #26 in its field with 86 degrees awarded a year.

Its completers earn $69,948. The largest single program, Psychology, awards 418 degrees a year, ranks #48 nationally, and its completers earn $56,223 four years after completion.

CUNY City College awards degrees across a broad set of fields, with 18 programs holding an Azimuth national rank and 31 with published four-year earnings data. Psychology is the largest program family, accounting for 16.7% of bachelor's degrees awarded, closely followed by Engineering at 16.1%.

Social Sciences is third at 13.2%. The largest single program is Psychology, at 418 degrees awarded a year.

Azimuth ranks it #48 nationally and #11 in New York within its field. Biology is next at 227 degrees awarded, with a national rank of #67 within its field.

The highest-ranked program is Communication and Media Studies, with 86 degrees awarded a year and a state rank of #3 in New York within its field. Graduates earn a median of $69,948 four years after completion, a benchmark ratio of 1.24x against the national median for its field.

Teacher Education graduates earn a median of $55,895 four years after completion and the program ranks #30 nationally within its field with 94 degrees awarded. The highest-earning programs are in engineering and computing.

Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $117,131, from 54 degrees awarded a year. Computer Science, the third-largest program overall, follows at $116,238 with 132 degrees awarded.

Strength is spread across the sciences, engineering, and the arts. The largest programs are not the highest-earning ones, but several of them also rank nationally within their fields. Across all fields, 26.6% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Psychology, General 418 degrees awarded
$56,223
Biology, General 227 degrees awarded
$63,206
Computer Science 132 degrees awarded
$116,238
Mechanical Engineering 119 degrees awarded
$97,270
Fine and Studio Arts 116 degrees awarded
$45,656
Economics 108 degrees awarded
$67,679

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 / CCNY briefing

How does CCNY serve students from different backgrounds?

Graduates earn about $8,767 more than the model expects for similar students. That outcome ranks in the 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, CUNY City College takes the #84 rank for mobility. The mobility pillar sits in the 94th percentile in that set.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 56.8%; Pell recipients finish at 48.6%, a mark 8.2 percentage points below that overall level.

Azimuth places the access pillar for CUNY City College in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, reflecting a 60.5% Pell Grant share and an estimated 30.7% share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group across 12,505 undergraduates. The public university admits 60.0% of applicants, well below the peer median of 78.1%, and the middle 50% of enrolled students who submitted SAT scores range from 1,070 to 1,430.

06 / CCNY briefing

What colleges are similar to CCNY?[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 CCNY.

Admissions peerCUNY Hunter College53.8% admitted
Comparison with CCNY
MeasureCCNYCUNY Hunter College
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,740$73,236+$5,496 vs CCNY
Average annual net price$3,776$2,984-$792 vs CCNY · lower cost
Admission rate60.0%53.8%
Explore CUNY Hunter College →
Higher-admission alternativeCollege of Staten Island CUNY92.3% admitted
Comparison with CCNY
MeasureCCNYCollege of Staten Island CUNY
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,740$65,495-$2,245 vs CCNY
Average annual net price$3,776$5,579+$1,803 vs CCNY · higher cost
Admission rate60.0%92.3%
Explore College of Staten Island CUNY →
Nearby alternativeCollege of Staten Island CUNYNearby option · NY
Comparison with CCNY
MeasureCCNYCollege of Staten Island CUNY
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,740$65,495-$2,245 vs CCNY
Average annual net price$3,776$5,579+$1,803 vs CCNY · higher cost
Admission rate60.0%92.3%
Explore College of Staten Island CUNY →
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Florida$77,321 earnings
Comparison with CCNY
MeasureCCNYUniversity of Florida
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,740$77,321+$9,581 vs CCNY
Average annual net price$3,776$4,815+$1,039 vs CCNY · higher cost
Admission rate60.0%61.3%
Explore University of Florida →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Hunter College$2,984 average net price
Comparison with CCNY
MeasureCCNYCUNY Hunter College
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,740$73,236+$5,496 vs CCNY
Average annual net price$3,776$2,984-$792 vs CCNY · lower cost
Admission rate60.0%53.8%
Explore CUNY Hunter College →
Similar profileCUNY Queens CollegeMatched across several measures
Comparison with CCNY
MeasureCCNYCUNY Queens College
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,740$68,713+$973 vs CCNY
Average annual net price$3,776$4,195+$419 vs CCNY · higher cost
Admission rate60.0%64.4%
Explore CUNY Queens College →

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 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

  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