Research brief & institution hub

DePaul University

ILLarge private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #276 nationally

Data snapshot September 27, 2026Updated October 1, 2026

Azimuth ranks DePaul University #276 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

DePaul University is a private nonprofit university in Chicago whose degree mix is led by Business, and return is well above average. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than on to further study.

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

Pell recipients complete at the same rate as the entering cohort as a whole, and mobility is well above average. What families in the lowest income band typically pay after grants and scholarships sits well below the published cost, though affordability overall is below the levels seen at many peers.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable institutions, and the largest programs span business and the arts. A student drawn to the best-paid fields should know that the highest-earning programs are not the largest ones.

DePaul at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate^[1]: 75.9%
Six-year completion^[2]: 67.8%
Four-year earnings^[3]: $73,466

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income^[6]: $28,687
Median student debt^[4]: $23,168
Median Parent PLUS debt^[7]: $41,563

DePaul rankings: how Azimuth assesses value^[5]

DePaul University is a private nonprofit university in Chicago, Illinois, enrolling 14,090 undergraduates. Its composite standing is in the top fifth of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (81st percentile).

Return and mobility both sit near the 86th percentile and affordability lags far behind. The university admits 75.9% of applicants, a rate close to the 47.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 85.5% return for a second year and 67.8% finish within six years. Those figures sit against peer medians of 90.1% and 80.0%.

An estimated 29.3% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students. The four sit far apart.

Return and mobility are the strongest, while affordability is the weakest of the four, at the 14th percentile. Access sits between them, at the 82nd percentile.

The shape is a private university where graduates earn well above expectations, but the net price leaves a wide gap between the lowest and highest income bands.

DePaul University's strongest pillar is return on investment, in the 86th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The mobility pillar is nearly as strong, in the 86th percentile, and access lands in the 82nd percentile.

Affordability is the weakest pillar, in the 14th percentile. The composite rank is #276 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

31.8% of undergraduates at DePaul University receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks DePaul University #270 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 67.8%, which is 0.0 percentage points from the overall six-year graduation rate (67.8%). Azimuth ranks the university #212 for mobility. Graduates earn about $10,436 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

DePaul rankings in context
Geography	Rank
National	#276
Illinois	#13
Midwest	#43

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility: National percentile: 86

Access & reach: National percentile: 82

Affordability: National percentile: 14

Return on investment: National percentile: 86

Top-ranked majors

Computer Programming#3
Computer Software and Media Applications#4
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management#6

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 / DePaul briefing

DePaul cost & financial aid^[6]^[7]

DePaul University publishes a cost of attendance of $63,052, an average across living arrangements. Tuition and fees are $45,999 and room and board are $19,095.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $30,902, a savings of $32,150 against the sticker price. That sits below the peer median of $36,211 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $5,309, close to peers.

Azimuth ranks DePaul University #1,218 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the affordability pillar in the 14th percentile.

While affordability is the university's weakest pillar, its return and mobility pillars rank considerably higher.

DePaul University publishes a cost of attendance of $63,052, an average across living arrangements. Its tuition and fees are $45,999 and room and board is $19,095.

The average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—varies by family income. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $27,359; for the middle band ($48,001–$75,000), it is $28,687; and for families earning over $110,000, it is $37,092.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,733. Azimuth ranks DePaul #1,218 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 51% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $32,150 against the sticker price. The average net price across all aid recipients is $30,902, which sits below the peer median of $36,211 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $5,309.

While the sticker price is high, the typical aid package brings the cost close to the peer norm. Median federal student debt at completion is $23,168.

About 90.7% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and that debt is level with the peer median of $23,168. The estimated monthly payment if repaid over ten years is $263.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing among parent borrowers is $41,563.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$28,687

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at DePaul

Borrowers completing at DePaul University have median federal student loan debt of $23,168, and 90.7% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $23,168, so DePaul’s median is level with that figure.

For the separate population of Parent PLUS borrowers, median borrowing is $41,563. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported that 58% of graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $28,977 per borrower.

Of graduates, 57% held federal loans, averaging $21,393. Of graduates, 10% held private loans, averaging $48,826.

Graduates of DePaul University earn about $10,436 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completion, the median earnings for working graduates sit at $73,466, which is in the 81st percentile nationally.

That median is below the $83,615 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $10,149. Earnings scenarios based on the university's program mix show a typical earnings level that matches the observed median, with a downside scenario of $49,806 and an upside scenario of $96,363.

Borrowers finish with a median federal debt of $23,168, which is level with the peer median of $23,168. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $263 a month if repaid over ten years.

The return picture is mixed: graduates beat the model's expectations by a wide margin, yet the median earnings figure trails the peer median.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $41,563. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $263.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt: $23,168
Institution Parent PLUS debt: $41,563

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

Estimated student payment · monthly: $263/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly: $528/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 / DePaul briefing

DePaul career outcomes & earnings^[3]^[8]^[9]

DePaul University's return on investment sits in the 86th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completion, graduates earn a median of $73,466, which is below the peer median of $83,615 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $10,149.

Graduates earn about $10,436 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 84th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,018.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $418. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $746.

The median earnings figure lands in the 81st percentile nationally. So the return story is one of strong program-driven outcomes that outpace the model, even though the peer comparison runs the other way.

Four years after completing a bachelor's degree at DePaul University, the median earnings among the 5,004 completers in the cohort reach $73,466. That figure sits below the peer median of $83,615, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), by $10,149.

The university's return strength shows in earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students. Graduates earn about $10,436 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that places the university in the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix range from a downside of $49,806 to an upside of $96,363. An estimated 25.1% continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

Graduates of DePaul University earn a median of $73,466 four years after completion, a figure in the 81st percentile nationally. That sits below the peer median of $83,615 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $10,149.

Graduates earn about $10,436 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 84th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,018.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $418. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $746.

Azimuth ranks the university #211 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from a downside of $49,806 to an upside of $96,363.

Finance, the largest program with 247 degrees awarded, records a median of $93,719 four years after completion and holds the #43 Azimuth national rank in its field. Computer Programming, with 138 degrees awarded, earns $101,315 and holds the #3 Azimuth national rank in its field, the best-ranked program at the university.

Azimuth's high-return program is Computer Software and Media Applications. Its median of $96,616 is 1.64x the national median for its field.

These business and computing programs coexist with a large creative-arts presence—Visual & Performing Arts accounts for 12.9% of degrees awarded. The return picture is mixed: the program mix adds to expected earnings, yet the institution-wide median sits below the peer median.

The earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, run from $49,806 on the downside to $96,363 on the upside. These are scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.

At the upper end, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management graduates earn a median of $113,645 four years after completion, from 45 degrees awarded a year. Computer Programming follows at $101,315, with 138 degrees awarded.

The range between the downside scenario and these higher-earning programs is wide.

Graduates of DePaul University earn about $10,436 more than the model expects for similar students. The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $23,168, which runs level with the median of $23,168 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $263 a month if repaid over ten years. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $41,563.

The average net price for aid recipients is $30,902, which is below the peer median of $36,211 by $5,309. The spread between the lowest and highest income bands is $9,733.

Average net prices range from $25,950 for families earning $30,001 to $48,000 to $37,092 for families earning over $110,000. Earnings that beat the model alongside a debt load that sits below the peer median point the same way, though the net price lands near the peer average.

What explains value-added earnings?

Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.: +$10,018
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.: +$418
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.: +$10,436

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

Read the full outcomes brief

Read the full admissions brief

04 / DePaul briefing

What are the largest majors at DePaul?^[12]

DePaul University's largest programs sit in business, communication, and the arts, and their earnings four years after completion show a wide spread. Finance and Accounting, which together awarded 247 and 172 degrees, reach medians of $93,719 and $93,592, with Azimuth national ranks of #43 and #42 in their fields.

Marketing follows at $78,164 (ranked #45) on 177 degrees awarded. Film/Video and Photographic Arts awarded 176 degrees and shows a median of $46,969.

It ranks #22 nationally and #1 in Illinois, a reminder that a strong field rank can coexist with a moderate earnings figure. The highest-earning program with an Azimuth rank is Computer Programming, at $101,315 with 138 degrees and a national rank of #3.

DePaul University's largest program family, Business, accounts for 32.0% of degrees awarded, and the university has 32 nationally ranked bachelor's programs among 41 fields with earnings data. Computer Programming ranks #3 nationally and #1 in Illinois, with 138 degrees awarded.

Its completers earn a median of $101,315 four years after completion. Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management ranks #6 nationally with 45 degrees awarded and a median of $113,645 four years after completion.

Finance, the largest program by degrees awarded, ranks #43 nationally with 247 degrees awarded and a median of $93,719. Film/Video and Photographic Arts awarded 176 degrees and ranks #22 nationally and #1 in Illinois. Its completers earn a median of $46,969 four years after completion.

DePaul University awards degrees across 32 ranked programs, with earnings data published for 41. The program mix is anchored by Business, which accounts for 32.0% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Visual & Performing Arts at 12.9% and Communication & Journalism at 10.7%.

The largest single program is Finance, at 247 degrees awarded, with Marketing next at 177 and Film/Video and Photographic Arts at 176. The highest-ranked program is Computer Programming, with 138 degrees awarded and median earnings of $101,315 four years after completion.

Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks #6 nationally within its field and #2 in Illinois, with 67 degrees awarded and earnings of $86,444. The highest-earning program is Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management, at $113,645, though it awards only 45 degrees a year.

Computer Software and Media Applications carries a benchmark ratio of 1.64x against the national median for its field, with earnings of $96,616. The pattern is a business core surrounded by strong creative and communication programs, with the highest earnings concentrated in computing fields where relatively few degrees are awarded.

Film/Video and Photographic Arts is the third-largest program and ranks #22 nationally within its field, but its median earnings of $46,969 sit well below the university's top earners. A student choosing among the largest departments is choosing between scale and salary: the biggest programs are not the best-paid ones. Across all fields, 14.5% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields

Finance and Financial Management Services 247 degrees awarded: $93,719
Marketing 177 degrees awarded: $78,164
Film/Video and Photographic Arts 176 degrees awarded: $46,969
Accounting and Related Services 172 degrees awarded: $93,592
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication 168 degrees awarded: $71,045
Psychology, General 166 degrees awarded: $55,664

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 / DePaul briefing

How does DePaul serve students from different backgrounds?

DePaul University shows strong mobility outcomes: Pell recipients complete at the same rate as the overall first-time full-time cohort, and graduates earn well above what the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 86th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 67.8%, and Pell recipients complete at 67.8% — a gap of 0.0 percentage points. Graduates earn about $10,436 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 84th percentile nationally.

A Pell completion rate that matches the overall rate and earnings that clear the model's bar point the same way.

DePaul University enrolls 14,090 undergraduates in Chicago, and its admission rate of 75.9% sits just below the peer median of 47.1%, the middle value for comparable institutions. Pell Grant recipients account for 31.8% of the student body, and an estimated 29.3% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 82nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / DePaul briefing

What colleges are similar to DePaul?^[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 DePaul.

Admissions peerUniversity of Illinois Chicago77.4% admitted

Comparison with DePaul
Measure	DePaul	University of Illinois Chicago
Peer earnings · 4 years	$73,466	$72,839-$627 vs DePaul
Average annual net price	$30,902	$10,974-$19,928 vs DePaul · lower cost
Admission rate	75.9%	77.4%

Explore University of Illinois Chicago →

Higher-admission alternativeBenedictine University95.2% admitted

Comparison with DePaul
Measure	DePaul	Benedictine University
Peer earnings · 4 years	$73,466	$72,460-$1,006 vs DePaul
Average annual net price	$30,902	$22,313-$8,589 vs DePaul · lower cost
Admission rate	75.9%	95.2%

Explore Benedictine University →

Nearby alternativeLoyola University ChicagoNearby option · IL

Comparison with DePaul
Measure	DePaul	Loyola University Chicago
Peer earnings · 4 years	$73,466	$73,865+$399 vs DePaul
Average annual net price	$30,902	$36,079+$5,177 vs DePaul · higher cost
Admission rate	75.9%	81.6%

Explore Loyola University Chicago →

Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of St Thomas$82,136 earnings

Comparison with DePaul
Measure	DePaul	University of St Thomas
Peer earnings · 4 years	$73,466	$82,136+$8,670 vs DePaul
Average annual net price	$30,902	$29,155-$1,747 vs DePaul · lower cost
Admission rate	75.9%	85.4%

Explore University of St Thomas →

Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Illinois Chicago$10,974 average net price

Comparison with DePaul
Measure	DePaul	University of Illinois Chicago
Peer earnings · 4 years	$73,466	$72,839-$627 vs DePaul
Average annual net price	$30,902	$10,974-$19,928 vs DePaul · lower cost
Admission rate	75.9%	77.4%

Explore University of Illinois Chicago →

Similar profileLoyola University ChicagoMatched across several measures

Comparison with DePaul
Measure	DePaul	Loyola University Chicago
Peer earnings · 4 years	$73,466	$73,865+$399 vs DePaul
Average annual net price	$30,902	$36,079+$5,177 vs DePaul · higher cost
Admission rate	75.9%	81.6%

Explore Loyola University Chicago →

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

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Data notes & source fields

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

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

How to interpret program rankings