College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

James Madison University

VALarge public institution · Overall rank #213 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places James Madison University in the 86th percentile among nonprofit institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

James Madison University is a public university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where the degree mix is led by Health Professions and Business. Mobility is among the highest we track.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds, while the part it attributes to what it cannot explain subtracts.

Pell recipients complete at a rate slightly above the entering cohort as a whole, and mobility is among the highest we track. Affordability is modestly below average, and the spread between what the lowest and highest income bands pay is wide.

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

James Madison University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
71.5%
Six-year completion[2]
79.7%
Four-year earnings[3]
$70,627

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$16,475
Median student debt[4]
$20,093
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$37,285

James Madison University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

James Madison University is a public university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, enrolling 20,888 undergraduates. Its composite standing in the Azimuth ranking sits in the top fifth of the field among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The university admits 71.5% of applicants, a rate that is somewhat more selective than the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 92.0% return for a second year and 79.7% finish within six years.

Both figures run well above the peer medians of 83.1% and 65.0%. An estimated 13.5% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes the first-time, full-time cohort and not the full student body.

The four are spread across the ranking. Mobility is the strongest, and affordability is the weakest.

Return and access sit between them, giving the university a profile where a strong mobility result coexists with a more mixed picture on cost.

James Madison University stands out most for mobility, though affordability is the clearest limit in its four-pillar profile. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, mobility sits in the 93rd percentile, its strongest pillar.

Return is in the 71st percentile, and access is in the 67th percentile. Affordability is in the 42nd percentile, the weakest pillar, so strong mobility sits alongside a less favorable cost measure.

17.1% of undergraduates at James Madison University receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks the university #483 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 81.9%, 2.2 percentage points above the rate for the entering cohort as a whole (79.7%). Azimuth ranks James Madison University #110 for mobility. Graduates earn about $6,307 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

James Madison University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#213

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 93
Access & reach
National percentile: 67
Affordability
National percentile: 42
Return on investment
National percentile: 71

Top-ranked majors

  1. Systems Science and Theory#2
  2. Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions#2
  3. Science, Technology and Society#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 / James Madison University briefing

James Madison University cost & financial aid[6][7]

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, James Madison University reported in-state tuition of $8,150 and required fees of $6,100 for the 2025-26 academic year. The university listed out-of-state tuition of $25,496 and on-campus food and housing of $13,056 as sticker charges.

The published cost of attendance is $31,735. For aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $23,322, with aid reducing the published cost by $8,413 on average.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $15,634, making this average $7,688 above that benchmark. Azimuth ranks the university #815 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The above-peer net price and affordability rank point in the same direction.

At James Madison University, family income makes a substantial difference in the price left after aid. The published cost of attendance is $31,735, while the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $11,444 for families in the lowest-income band, $12,977 in the lower-middle-income band, $16,475 in the middle-income band, $22,343 in the upper-middle-income band, and $30,147 for families in the highest-income band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $18,703. Azimuth ranks the university #815 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 27% of the published cost, an average offset of $8,413. Across all aid recipients, the is $23,322.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $15,634, and the university’s average net price is $7,688 above that figure. The aid offset reduces the published cost, but the overall average remains above the comparable-institution median.

Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt at completion is $20,093. That is $17 above the peer median debt of $20,076 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

89.9% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans, and that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $228 a month if repaid over ten years. Parent borrowers’ median Parent PLUS borrowing is $37,285.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$16,475

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at James Madison University

Federal borrowing is widespread at James Madison University: 89.9% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and borrowers who complete have median federal student loan debt of $20,093. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $20,076, placing the university's median $17 above it.

For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $37,285. Debt sits slightly below the peer median, though federal borrowing reaches a large share of undergraduates.

James Madison University pairs its strongest Azimuth pillar, mobility, with a mixed financial return picture. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $70,627 four years after completion, placing earnings in the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, stands in the 31st percentile. Graduates earn about $6,307 less than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings scenarios range from $55,254 in the downside scenario to $96,111 in the upside scenario, with $70,627 in the typical scenario. Median federal student loan debt at completion is $20,093, above the $20,076 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $17.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $228 a month if repaid over ten years. The model result and debt just below peers point in different directions.

The estimated payment tied to median federal student debt is $228 a month if repaid over ten years. Parent borrowers have median Parent PLUS borrowing of $37,285, a separate federal borrowing population.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$20,093
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$37,285

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$228/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$474/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 / James Madison University briefing

James Madison University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

For James Madison University, mobility stands apart, and the return evidence splits between peer comparison and the expectation model. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 71st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $6,307 less than the model expects for similar students. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, that earnings-beyond-expectations result is in the 31st percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $11,498. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $17,805.

Median earnings four years after completion are $70,627, in the 77th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions of the same type and size, is $65,610; school earnings are $5,017 above it.

The return picture is mixed: peer earnings are above the median, but graduates earn less than the model expects.

The earnings picture at James Madison University is solid on its reported median but weaker against the model’s expectation. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median $70,627 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that median in the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 4,303 completers. A typical earnings scenario, based on the program mix, is $70,627.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, provides a second lens. Graduates earn about $6,307 less than the model expects for similar students.

An estimated 29.6% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The return picture is mixed: the reported earnings median is high among nonprofit four-year institutions, but earnings fall short of the model’s expectation.

Working, non-enrolled graduates of James Madison University earn a median of $70,627 four years after completion, which places the university in the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That puts the university $5,017 above the $65,610 median reported for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #429 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $6,307 less than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations measure the gap between what graduates actually earn and what the model expects for similar students. This result falls in the 31st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to measured factors — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — adds $11,498. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $17,805.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $789, and the broader curriculum concentrates in health professions, business, communication and social-science fields. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix run from $55,254 on the downside to $96,111 on the upside for completers.

An estimated 29.6% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The earnings range at James Madison University is wide enough that field choice changes the financial picture. Earnings scenarios run from $55,254 in the downside case to $96,111 in the upside case, with $70,627 as the typical scenario; these are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed graduate groups.

Among higher-earning fields, Information Science/Studies has median earnings of $113,345 four years after completion, Finance reaches $104,926, and Computer and Information Sciences reaches $104,806. Those field-level results help explain the distance between the downside and upside scenarios.

Borrowers at James Madison University leave with debt slightly below the comparable-institution midpoint, but the earnings model gives a more mixed assessment. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $20,093.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $20,076, and the university’s figure is above it by $17. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $228 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parent borrowers have median Parent PLUS borrowing of $37,285, a separate parent-borrower measure. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, point the other way.

Graduates earn about $6,307 less than the model expects for similar students. Lower borrowing than comparable institutions and below-expected modeled earnings make the return picture mixed.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$11,498
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$17,805
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$6,307

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 / James Madison University briefing

James Madison University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, James Madison University reported 38,423 first-year applicants and 27,477 admitted applicants, offering a count-based view of a recent admission cycle. The reported admission rate is 71.5%, which describes the share of that year’s applicants who were admitted.

That rate is below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
71.5%
25th percentile
1190
Median
1260
75th percentile
1330

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / James Madison University briefing

What are the largest majors at James Madison University?[12]

The highest-earning programs at James Madison University are concentrated in technical and business fields, and they are not the largest. Information Science/Studies leads at $113,345 from 155 degrees awarded, and Azimuth ranks it #5 nationally within its field.

Finance follows at $104,926 with 140 degrees awarded and an Azimuth national rank of #32. Among the larger programs, earnings are more moderate.

Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions awards 453 degrees and shows median earnings of $67,033; Azimuth ranks it #2 nationally. Psychology is the lowest-earning of the large programs at $56,212 from 272 degrees awarded, with an Azimuth national rank of #84.

These programs show a wide spread in median earnings four years after completion.

At James Madison University, the strongest program placements sit beside a wider range of earnings by field. The university has 38 ranked bachelor’s programs, making individual program pages more useful than a single schoolwide outcome figure for comparing majors.

Azimuth places Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions at #2 nationally in its field among nonprofit four-year institutions. Systems Science and Theory is #2 nationally in its field through Azimuth, with 55 degrees awarded and $91,034 in median earnings four years after completion.

Azimuth lists Science, Technology and Society at #3 nationally in its field; 82 degrees were awarded, and completers had median earnings of $82,455 four years after completion.

James Madison University awards bachelor's degrees across 38 ranked programs, with earnings data available for 42. The program mix is led by Health Professions, which accounts for 18.7% of degrees awarded, followed by Business at 14.8% and Social Sciences at 8.8%.

The largest single program is Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions, with 453 degrees awarded, ahead of Communication and Media Studies at 399 and Nursing at 282. The strongest programs are concentrated in a few fields.

Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions, the largest program on campus, is also the highest-ranked. Azimuth places it #2 nationally within its field and #1 in Virginia, with graduates earning a median of $67,033 four years after completion.

Science, Technology and Society ranks #3 nationally and #1 in Virginia, with 82 degrees awarded and median earnings of $82,455. Information Science/Studies is the highest-earning program, at $113,345, and carries a benchmark ratio of 1.33x against the national median for its field.

The pattern is one of strength in health and applied social sciences, with the largest programs also among the best-ranked. Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions and Communication and Media Studies both hold the top state rank in their fields.

The highest earnings come from a program that is not among the largest by degrees awarded. 14.8% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields, while the largest programs by awards are in health, communication, and nursing.

Four-year earnings for fields where graduate study is common understate later trajectories.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions 453 degrees awarded
$67,033
Communication and Media Studies 399 degrees awarded
$66,436
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 282 degrees awarded
$87,056
Psychology, General 272 degrees awarded
$56,212
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 256 degrees awarded
$63,065
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 243 degrees awarded
$58,026

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 / James Madison University briefing

How does James Madison University serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is the strongest measured pillar at James Madison University, with a 79.7% six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort. Pell recipients in that cohort complete within six years at 81.9%, above the overall rate by 2.2 percentage points.

Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 93rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is weaker: Graduates earn about $6,307 less than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth places that measure in the 31st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Completion and mobility stand out, but modeled earnings fall short of expectations.

For applicants, James Madison University combines a 71.5% admission rate with 20,888 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients make up 17.1% of undergraduates, and transfers account for an estimated 13.5%.

Azimuth assigns its access pillar to the 67th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Those facts describe documented access through new applicants, Pell Grant recipients, and estimated transfer entry across the undergraduate population in Harrisonburg.

06 / James Madison University briefing

What colleges are similar to James Madison University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with James Madison University.

Admissions peerVirginia Military Institute71.3% admitted
Comparison with James Madison University
MeasureJames Madison UniversityVirginia Military Institute
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,627$75,027+$4,400 vs James Madison University
Average annual net price$23,322$17,113-$6,209 vs James Madison University · lower cost
Admission rate71.5%71.3%
Explore Virginia Military Institute →
Higher-admission alternativeMarymount University93.2% admitted
Comparison with James Madison University
MeasureJames Madison UniversityMarymount University
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,627$74,242+$3,615 vs James Madison University
Average annual net price$23,322$29,137+$5,815 vs James Madison University · higher cost
Admission rate71.5%93.2%
Nearby alternativeMarymount UniversityNearby option · VA
Comparison with James Madison University
MeasureJames Madison UniversityMarymount University
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,627$74,242+$3,615 vs James Madison University
Average annual net price$23,322$29,137+$5,815 vs James Madison University · higher cost
Admission rate71.5%93.2%
Higher-earnings alternativeCapitol Technology University$104,028 earnings
Comparison with James Madison University
MeasureJames Madison UniversityCapitol Technology University
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,627$104,028+$33,401 vs James Madison University
Average annual net price$23,322$22,102-$1,220 vs James Madison University · lower cost
Admission rate71.5%74.4%
Explore Capitol Technology University →
Lower-cost alternativeVirginia Military Institute$17,113 average net price
Comparison with James Madison University
MeasureJames Madison UniversityVirginia Military Institute
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,627$75,027+$4,400 vs James Madison University
Average annual net price$23,322$17,113-$6,209 vs James Madison University · lower cost
Admission rate71.5%71.3%
Explore Virginia Military Institute →
Similar profileUniversity of MississippiMatched across several measures
Comparison with James Madison University
MeasureJames Madison UniversityUniversity of Mississippi
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,627$66,243-$4,384 vs James Madison University
Average annual net price$23,322$13,314-$10,008 vs James Madison University · lower cost
Admission rate71.5%96.6%
Explore University of Mississippi →

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