College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Indiana University-Bloomington

INLarge public institution · Overall rank #96 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

A public university where mobility and return run high.

Who it’s a good fit for

Indiana University-Bloomington is a public university in Bloomington, Indiana, where the degree mix is led by Business. Most graduates are estimated to go into jobs rather than on to further study, and mobility 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 part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds to expected earnings, while the remainder it cannot explain subtracts from them.

Students who arrive with Pell Grants finish below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole, and access is above average. Mobility is among the highest we track; the university moves a large share of students upward even with a completion gap.

The admission rate is near the median for comparable schools. A student drawn to Business should know it is the largest family, while the highest-earning program, Computer Science, awards far fewer degrees.

IU Bloomington at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
78.2%
Six-year completion[2]
80.2%
Four-year earnings[3]
$74,511

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$12,154
Median student debt[4]
$19,509
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$32,850

IU Bloomington rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Indiana University-Bloomington is a public university in Bloomington, Indiana, enrolling 37,806 undergraduates. Its composite standing is near the top of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The university admits 78.2% of applicants, a rate that is nearly identical to the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 91.1% return for a second year and 80.2% finish within six years.

Both figures run well above the peer medians of 83.1% and 65.0%. An estimated 6.3% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students.

The four are spread out, with a wide gap between the strongest and the weakest. Mobility leads the group, while access trails. Return and affordability sit between them.

Azimuth ranks Indiana University-Bloomington #96 among nonprofit four-year institutions. The strongest pillar is mobility, at the 94th percentile, and the weakest is access, at the 67th percentile.

The return pillar sits at the 91st percentile, and affordability reaches the 69th percentile.

16.8% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Among enrolled students who submitted standardized tests, the middle 50% of SAT scores fell between 1,170 and 1,400.

The comparable ACT range ran from 27 to 33. These measures together describe the financial-access reach and test-score profile of the entering class.

Azimuth ranks Indiana University-Bloomington #478 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients complete within six years at 59.6%, a level that sits 20.6 percentage points below the overall first-time full-time rate.

The access pillar records that spread between the two completion rates. Azimuth ranks the university #90 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $5,061 more than the model expects for similar students, the earnings dimension of the mobility pillar.

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

IU Bloomington rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#96

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 94
Access & reach
National percentile: 67
Affordability
National percentile: 69
Return on investment
National percentile: 91

Top-ranked majors

  1. Apparel and Textiles#2
  2. Public Administration#2
  3. Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other#3

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 / IU Bloomington briefing

IU Bloomington cost & financial aid[6][7]

The average net price for aid recipients at Indiana University-Bloomington is $16,264, which is above the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $630. The published cost of attendance is $28,801, with in-state tuition and fees at $12,144 and out-of-state at $41,891.

Room and board adds $13,984 to the sticker total. Financial aid reduces the sticker price by an average of $12,537 for aid recipients.

Azimuth ranks the university #441 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Indiana University-Bloomington publishes a cost of attendance of $28,801, with in-state tuition and fees of $12,144 and room and board of $13,984. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $6,324, while families in the $48,001–$75,000 band see an of $12,154 and those earning over $110,000 face an average of $25,128.

Azimuth ranks the university #441 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Financial aid reduces the sticker price by an average of $12,537, bringing the average net price across all aid recipients to $16,264.

That figure sits above the median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $630. Out-of-state students pay published tuition and fees of $41,891.

The median federal student loan debt at completion is $19,509. That median runs below the peer median of $20,076 for comparable institutions, a difference of $567.

Across undergraduates, 84.7% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. Median Parent PLUS borrowing stands at $32,850.

The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $222 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$12,154

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at IU Bloomington

The median federal debt within that group is $19,509. That median is below the $20,076 level recorded for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $567.

Roughly 84.7% of federal aid recipients take out federal student loans. Parent borrowers represent a distinct population; their median Parent PLUS loan is $32,850.

Median earnings for Indiana University-Bloomington graduates four years after completion stand at $74,511, a level in the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $5,061 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome that ranks in the 71st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Program-mix scenarios point to a typical earnings level of $74,511, alongside a downside scenario of $51,804 and an upside scenario of $106,245. The median federal debt for borrowers who complete is $19,509, a balance that sits below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). The estimated monthly payment if repaid over ten years is $222.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $32,850. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $222.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$19,509
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$32,850

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$222/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$417/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 / IU Bloomington briefing

IU Bloomington 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 $74,511, at the 83rd percentile nationally. That is $8,901 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $5,061 more than the model expects for similar students, placing that gap at the 71st 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 $10,137.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $5,076. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $305.

Azimuth places the university at the 91st percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

At Indiana University-Bloomington, median earnings four years after completion are $74,511 among 6,406 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. That level is above the median at comparable institutions (same type and size) of $65,610 by $8,901, and Azimuth places it in the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $5,061 more than the model expects for similar students, which Azimuth places in the 71st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix run from $51,804 on the downside to $106,245 on the upside, with a typical scenario of $74,511.

The model estimates graduate-school continuation at 28.4% of programs' graduates, a figure derived from program mix rather than observed enrollment.

Four years after completion, the median earnings of Indiana University-Bloomington graduates stand at $74,511, placing the university in the 83rd percentile nationally. That figure runs above the median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $8,901.

Graduates earn about $5,061 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 71st percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,137.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $5,076. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $305.

Azimuth ranks the university #129 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $51,804 and an upside of $106,245.

The largest program, Business/Commerce, awarded 2,132 bachelor's degrees and shows median earnings of $105,583 four years after completion, ranking #4 nationally in its field. It also qualifies as the high-return program, with a benchmark of 1.54x against the national median for its field.

Public Administration follows with 448 degrees awarded and earnings of $77,422, good for a national rank of #2.

The spread between the downside and upside scenarios is substantial, reflecting the range of programs at Indiana University-Bloomington. The highest-earning programs illustrate the upper end of that range: Computer Science completers earn a median of $114,199 four years after finishing, while Business/Commerce graduates reach $105,583.

Economics adds a third strong outcome at $99,653. These program-level figures coexist with the university's overall earnings beyond expectations: graduates earn about $5,061 more than the model expects for similar students.

Graduates of Indiana University-Bloomington earn about $5,061 more than the model expects for similar students. The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $19,509, which is below the median of $20,076 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The published cost of attendance is $28,801. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $16,264, which is above the median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Aid covers about 44% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, though this is an average rather than a personal quote. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $222 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parents who borrow through the separate Parent PLUS program hold a median of $32,850.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$10,137
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$5,076
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$5,061

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 / IU Bloomington briefing

IU Bloomington acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Indiana University-Bloomington admits 78.2% of applicants, a figure that sits right at the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
78.2%
Approximate lower endpoint
1170
Reported average
1313
Approximate upper endpoint
1400

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 / IU Bloomington briefing

What are the largest majors at IU Bloomington?[12]

Business/Commerce is the largest program at Indiana University-Bloomington, with 2,132 degrees awarded and a median of $105,583 four years after completion. Azimuth ranks it #4 nationally in its field.

Computer and Information Sciences awards 416 degrees and shows a median of $98,539, with an Azimuth national rank of #49. The highest median belongs to Computer Science, at $114,199, though the program awarded only 144 degrees.

Among the larger programs, Public Administration reports a median of $77,422 and an Azimuth national rank of #2 on 448 degrees awarded, while Communication and Media Studies reaches $63,855 and ranks #43 nationally on 436 degrees awarded.

The university has 38 ranked bachelor's programs, and the largest by degrees awarded is Business/Commerce, with 2,132 degrees awarded and a national rank of #4. Graduates of that program earn a median of $105,583 four years after completion.

Public Administration ranks #2 nationally, awarded 448 degrees, and its graduates earn a median of $77,422. Communication and Media Studies rounds out the largest programs, awarding 436 degrees, ranking #43, and its graduates earn a median of $63,855.

Indiana University-Bloomington awards bachelor's degrees across a wide set of fields, with 38 programs earning an Azimuth national rank and 41 carrying published four-year earnings data. The degree mix is led by the Business family, which accounts for 28.9% of degrees awarded, followed by Biological Sciences at 8.6% and Computer & Information Sciences at 7.5%.

The largest single program is Business/Commerce, at 2,132 degrees awarded, with Public Administration next at 448 degrees awarded and Communication and Media Studies close behind at 436 degrees awarded. The strongest programs by national rank are concentrated in professional and technical fields.

Public Administration ranks #2 nationally within its field and #1 in Indiana, with median earnings of $77,422 four years after completion. Apparel and Textiles also ranks #2 nationally and #1 in Indiana, from a smaller base of 74 degrees awarded.

Its graduates earn a median of $77,520 four years after completion. Biological and Biomedical Sciences rounds out the top three at #3 nationally and #1 in Indiana, with 155 degrees awarded.

The highest-earning program is Computer Science, a smaller program at 144 degrees awarded, where graduates earn a median of $114,199. Business/Commerce, the largest program, also carries a benchmark ratio of 1.54x against the national median for its field, with median earnings of $105,583.

The pattern is one of breadth with a few concentrated strengths. The largest program is highly ranked and high-earning, while several highly ranked programs—Apparel and Textiles and Biological and Biomedical Sciences—sit outside the top three by size. STEM fields account for 8.2% of degrees awarded.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business/Commerce, General 2,132 degrees awarded
$105,583
Public Administration 448 degrees awarded
$77,422
Communication and Media Studies 436 degrees awarded
$63,855
Computer and Information Sciences, General 416 degrees awarded
$98,539
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 391 degrees awarded
$68,675
Research and Experimental Psychology 333 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / IU Bloomington briefing

How does IU Bloomington serve students from different backgrounds?

For mobility, Azimuth places Indiana University-Bloomington at #90 among nonprofit four-year institutions nationally. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the mobility pillar sits in the 94th percentile.

Pell recipients in the first-time full-time cohort complete at 59.6%, a figure below the overall six-year graduation rate of 80.2% by 20.6 percentage points. Graduates earn about $5,061 more than the model expects for similar students, a level that falls in the 71st percentile.

Azimuth places the access pillar of Indiana University-Bloomington in the 67th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The public university admits 78.2% of applicants, a figure that sits near the peer median of 78.1%.

Pell Grant recipients make up 16.8% of the 37,806 undergraduates, and an estimated 6.3% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / IU Bloomington briefing

What colleges are similar to IU Bloomington?[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 IU Bloomington.

Admissions peerMiami University-Oxford75.4% admitted
Comparison with IU Bloomington
MeasureIU BloomingtonMiami University-Oxford
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,511$70,785-$3,726 vs IU Bloomington
Average annual net price$16,264$28,384+$12,120 vs IU Bloomington · higher cost
Admission rate78.2%75.4%
Explore Miami University-Oxford →
Higher-admission alternativeMarian University95.5% admitted
Comparison with IU Bloomington
MeasureIU BloomingtonMarian University
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,511$72,150-$2,361 vs IU Bloomington
Average annual net price$16,264$24,018+$7,754 vs IU Bloomington · higher cost
Admission rate78.2%95.5%
Nearby alternativeButler UniversityNearby option · IN
Comparison with IU Bloomington
MeasureIU BloomingtonButler University
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,511$73,732-$779 vs IU Bloomington
Average annual net price$16,264$36,041+$19,777 vs IU Bloomington · higher cost
Admission rate78.2%85.1%
Higher-earnings alternativeMissouri University of Science and Technology$93,514 earnings
Comparison with IU Bloomington
MeasureIU BloomingtonMissouri University of Science and Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,511$93,514+$19,003 vs IU Bloomington
Average annual net price$16,264$16,298+$34 vs IU Bloomington · higher cost
Admission rate78.2%72.6%
Explore Missouri University of Science and Technology →
Lower-cost alternativeIndiana University-Indianapolis$11,668 average net price
Comparison with IU Bloomington
MeasureIU BloomingtonIndiana University-Indianapolis
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,511$64,616-$9,895 vs IU Bloomington
Average annual net price$16,264$11,668-$4,596 vs IU Bloomington · lower cost
Admission rate78.2%76.4%
Explore Indiana University-Indianapolis →
Similar profileMichigan State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with IU Bloomington
MeasureIU BloomingtonMichigan State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,511$74,093-$418 vs IU Bloomington
Average annual net price$16,264$19,680+$3,416 vs IU Bloomington · higher cost
Admission rate78.2%84.8%
Explore Michigan State University →

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