College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

CUNY Lehman College

NYLarge public institution · Overall rank #42 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Affordability in the 99th percentile nationally.

Who it’s a good fit for

CUNY Lehman College is a public university in Bronx, New York, where Health Professions, Business, and Social Sciences dominate the degree mix. Affordability is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes more of that to the factors it measures—field of study, enrollment and the local labor market—than to what it cannot explain.

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than on to further study, so the four-year earnings picture captures most completers. Families at both ends of the income scale pay below the published cost.

Pell students complete at a rate above the cohort as a whole, and access is among the highest we track. The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that Nursing, the highest-earning field, is not the largest department.

Lehman College at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
56.6%
Six-year completion[2]
51.3%
Four-year earnings[3]
$63,353

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$6,834
Median student debt[4]
$10,950
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$11,955

Lehman College rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

CUNY Lehman College is a public university in the Bronx, New York, enrolling 10,696 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits near the top of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (97th percentile).

CUNY Lehman College admits 56.6% of applicants, against a median of 78.1% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. The retention rate for full-time first-year students is 73.1%, against a peer median of 83.1%.

The six-year graduation rate is 51.3%, compared with a peer median of 65.0%. An estimated 51.0% of the student body arrives as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes a minority of the people who study here.

The four are spread wide. Affordability is the strongest, at the 99th percentile, and access and mobility are close behind.

Return is the weakest of the four, at the 63rd percentile, leaving a gap between the financial pillars and the earnings outcome.

Azimuth ranks CUNY Lehman College #42 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the university in the 97th percentile nationally.

Azimuth places the affordability pillar in the 99th percentile, access in the 98th percentile, and mobility in the 96th percentile. Affordability is the strongest pillar and return on investment is the weakest among the four pillars. Return on investment is in the 63rd percentile.

59.9% of undergraduates at CUNY Lehman College receive Pell Grants. The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 850 and 1,150.

Azimuth ranks CUNY Lehman College #23 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients complete at 56.6%, which is 5.3 percentage points above the overall six-year graduation rate (51.3%).

Azimuth ranks the university #62 for mobility. Graduates earn about $7,541 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

Lehman College rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#42

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 96
Access & reach
National percentile: 98
Affordability
National percentile: 99
Return on investment
National percentile: 63

Top-ranked majors

  1. Social Work#7
  2. Anthropology#7
  3. Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions#15

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 / Lehman College briefing

Lehman College cost & financial aid[6][7]

Azimuth places CUNY Lehman College at #6 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That standing places the affordability pillar in the 99th percentile nationally.

The university lists a cost of attendance of $14,121, reflecting $7,410 in-state tuition and fees and $15,360 out-of-state tuition and fees. Once aid is applied, the average net price for recipients is $3,148, a reduction of $10,973 from the sticker price.

Aid covers about 78% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. Against comparable institutions (same type and size), the median net price is $15,634; the university's average sits below that benchmark by $12,486.

CUNY Lehman College delivers one of the strongest affordability profiles in the country. Azimuth ranks the university #6 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The published cost of attendance is $14,121, with in-state tuition and fees of $7,410. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price — what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships — is $1,589; in the $30,001–$48,000 band the average is $2,374; at $48,001–$75,000 it is $6,834; at $75,001–$110,000 it is $9,696; and for families earning over $110,000 it is $13,600.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $12,011. Aid covers about 78% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $10,973 against the sticker price.

The across all aid recipients is $3,148, which sits below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $12,486. Out-of-state students face tuition and fees of $15,360, though the net price figures here reflect the in-state basis.

Graduates who borrow leave with a median federal student debt of $10,950, well below the peer median of $20,076 by $9,126. About 29.8% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $124 a month if repaid over ten years. For parents who borrow through Parent PLUS, the median amount is $11,955.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$6,834

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Lehman College

At CUNY Lehman College, the median federal student debt held by degree completers who borrowed is $10,950. Measured against comparable institutions (same type and size), the university's median is below the $20,076 peer figure by $9,126.

Across the undergraduate population, 29.8% of federal aid recipients rely on federal student loans to help cover costs. For parent borrowers alone, the median Parent PLUS debt is $11,955, a population tracked separately from student borrowers.

Those who finish a degree at CUNY Lehman College earn about $7,541 more than the model expects for similar students. That outcome ranks in the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Median earnings four years after completion are $63,353 for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, a level in the 61st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Scenarios modeled from the university's program mix place typical earnings at $63,353, with a downside scenario of $51,643 and an upside scenario of $81,806.

Completers who borrowed hold a median federal debt of $10,950. That amounts to a gap of $9,126 relative to comparable institutions (same type and size), where the university sits below the $20,076 peer median. If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $124.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $11,955. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $124.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$10,950
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$11,955

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$124/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$152/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 / Lehman College briefing

Lehman College career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

CUNY Lehman College falls in the 63rd percentile on the return pillar among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $7,541 more than the model expects for similar students, a performance in the 78th percentile.

The model attributes $6,524 to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market); this component adds to expected earnings. The model also attributes $1,017 to a remainder it does not explain, which adds.

The STEM component of the measured factors adds $502. Completers record median earnings of $63,353 four years after completion, a level in the 61st percentile.

The peer median among comparable institutions (same type and size) is $65,610, leaving the college below the peer median by $2,257.

Federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $63,353 four years after completion at CUNY Lehman College. That median lands $2,257 below the $65,610 midpoint for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, it sits in the 61st percentile. The underlying earnings cohort includes 3,708 federally aided completers.

Graduates earn about $7,541 more than the model expects for similar students. That result sits at the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix span from $51,643 on the downside to $81,806 on the upside. The typical earnings scenario is $63,353.

An estimated 31.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Four years after completion, graduates of CUNY Lehman College earn a median of $63,353, which places the public university in the 61st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $65,610, leaving CUNY Lehman College below by $2,257.

Graduates earn about $7,541 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 78th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,524.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $1,017. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $502.

Azimuth ranks the return pillar #547 nationally. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $51,643 and an upside of $81,806.

The largest program, Psychology, awarded 319 degrees and shows median earnings of $54,063 four years after completion. Business Administration and Management follows with 297 degrees awarded and a median of $62,496.

The highest-earning program is Nursing, with 167 degrees awarded and median earnings of $119,115, or 1.34x the national median for the field.

Earnings scenarios show a spread of about $30,000 between the downside and upside outcomes four years after completion, with the downside scenario at $51,643 and the upside at $81,806. The highest-earning program, Nursing, shows median earnings of $119,115 with 167 degrees awarded.

Computer Science follows at $85,351, and Information Science/Studies at $73,936.

Affordability is the strongest pillar for CUNY Lehman College. Azimuth ranks the university #6 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That places the pillar in the 99th percentile. The average net price for aid recipients is $3,148, and for the lowest income band the average is $1,589.

Across all income bands, the average net price comes in below the median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $12,486. Those who borrow and finish owe a median of $10,950 in federal student debt.

That figure is $9,126 below the peer median of $20,076 among comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $124.

Parent borrowers hold a median Parent PLUS debt of $11,955. Graduates earn about $7,541 more than the model expects for similar students. Only 29.8% of federal aid recipients take out federal loans.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$6,524
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$1,017
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$7,541

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 / Lehman College briefing

Lehman College acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

CUNY Lehman College admits 56.6% of applicants, a rate that sits below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The college is more selective than its peer group, yet the rate still reflects broad access for a public university in the Bronx.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
56.6%
Approximate lower endpoint
850
Reported average
970
Approximate upper endpoint
1150

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 / Lehman College briefing

What are the largest majors at Lehman College?[12]

The earnings spread across the largest programs at CUNY Lehman College is wide, and the highest-earning field is not the one awarding the most degrees. Psychology awards the most degrees, with 319 degrees awarded and median earnings of $54,063 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks it #79 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Nursing is both the highest-earning program and the fifth largest, at $119,115 from 167 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #22 nationally. Business Administration and Management sits in the middle, with 297 degrees awarded and median earnings of $62,496; Azimuth ranks it #159 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Azimuth ranks 24 of the university's bachelor's programs nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions. The strongest of these is Social Work, which ranks #7 in its field, awarded 133 degrees, and has median earnings of $62,955 four years after completion.

The largest program is Psychology, which ranks #79 nationally, awarded 319 degrees, and has median earnings of $54,063 four years after completion. The highest earnings come from Nursing, at $119,115 from 167 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #22 nationally. Computer Science ranks #129 nationally and earns $85,351, though its 103 degrees are fewer than the largest programs.

CUNY Lehman College awards bachelor's degrees across 24 ranked programs, with earnings data available for 28. The program mix leans heavily toward the health professions and Social Sciences.

Health Professions accounts for 25.0% of degrees awarded, followed by Business at 16.2% and Social Sciences at 12.2%. The largest program is Psychology, with 319 degrees awarded a year.

Business Administration and Management is close behind at 297 degrees, and Health and Medical Administrative Services awards 217. The strongest programs by national rank are Social Work, Anthropology, and Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions.

Social Work ranks #7 nationally within its field and #3 in New York, with 133 degrees awarded and a median earnings of $62,955 four years after completion. Anthropology also ranks #7 nationally and #2 in New York, awarding 85 degrees a year, with completers earning a median of $60,488 four years after completion.

The highest-earning program is Nursing, where graduates earn a median of $119,115 four years after completion. That program is also the fifth-largest on campus, with 167 degrees awarded, and carries a benchmark ratio of 1.34x against the national median for its field.

Computer Science graduates earn $85,351 four years after completion, from a smaller cohort of 103 degrees a year. The pattern is one of concentrated strength in a few applied fields, with the largest programs not always the best-paid.

13.1% of degrees are in STEM fields. Four-year earnings for fields where graduate study is common, such as some in the social sciences, may understate later trajectories.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Psychology, General 319 degrees awarded
$54,063
Business Administration, Management and Operations 297 degrees awarded
$62,496
Health and Medical Administrative Services 217 degrees awarded
$57,722
Sociology 190 degrees awarded
$54,906
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 167 degrees awarded
$119,115
Accounting and Related Services 160 degrees awarded
$66,240

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 / Lehman College briefing

How does Lehman College serve students from different backgrounds?

Azimuth places CUNY Lehman College's mobility pillar in the 96th percentile nationally. Pell recipients at the university complete at 56.6%, outpacing the overall six-year graduation rate of 51.3% by 5.3 percentage points.

Four years after completion, graduates earn about $7,541 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that lands in the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Azimuth places the access pillar of CUNY Lehman College in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The public university admits 56.6% of applicants, a rate well below the peer median of 78.1%, and enrolls 10,696 undergraduates.

Pell Grant recipients account for 59.9% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 51.0% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / Lehman College briefing

What colleges are similar to Lehman College?[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 Lehman College.

Admissions peerMadonna University63.4% admitted
Comparison with Lehman College
MeasureLehman CollegeMadonna University
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,353$61,516-$1,837 vs Lehman College
Average annual net price$3,148$17,755+$14,607 vs Lehman College · higher cost
Admission rate56.6%63.4%
Higher-admission alternativeMercy University85.8% admitted
Comparison with Lehman College
MeasureLehman CollegeMercy University
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,353$62,616-$737 vs Lehman College
Average annual net price$3,148$14,072+$10,924 vs Lehman College · higher cost
Admission rate56.6%85.8%
Explore Mercy University →
Nearby alternativeCUNY York CollegeNearby option · NY
Comparison with Lehman College
MeasureLehman CollegeCUNY York College
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,353$61,389-$1,964 vs Lehman College
Average annual net price$3,148$4,456+$1,308 vs Lehman College · higher cost
Admission rate56.6%64.1%
Explore CUNY York College →
Higher-earnings alternativeCUNY Bernard M Baruch College$82,748 earnings
Comparison with Lehman College
MeasureLehman CollegeCUNY Bernard M Baruch College
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,353$82,748+$19,395 vs Lehman College
Average annual net price$3,148$3,033-$115 vs Lehman College · lower cost
Admission rate56.6%47.5%
Explore CUNY Bernard M Baruch College →
Similar profileCUNY Brooklyn CollegeMatched across several measures
Comparison with Lehman College
MeasureLehman CollegeCUNY Brooklyn College
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,353$62,833-$520 vs Lehman College
Average annual net price$3,148$3,103-$45 vs Lehman College · lower cost
Admission rate56.6%58.4%
Explore CUNY Brooklyn 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