College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Morehead State University

KYMedium public institution · Overall rank #661 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places Morehead State University in the 55th percentile overall.

Who it’s a good fit for

Morehead State University is a public university in Morehead, Kentucky, whose degree mix is led by Liberal Arts & General Studies, Business, and Education. Affordability is its strongest , well above average, while return is below the levels seen at many peers.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes part of that gap to a remainder it does not explain, which subtracts from earnings, while the factors it measures add to them.

The lowest income band pays well below the published cost after aid, while the highest band pays closer to it. Pell Grant recipients complete at a rate below the overall cohort, and mobility is around the average.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools. The largest program is not the highest-earning one, and the mix includes education and nursing among its biggest fields.

Morehead State University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
77.2%
Six-year completion[2]
52.2%
Four-year earnings[3]
$50,224

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$8,874
Median student debt[4]
$22,250
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$10,050

Morehead State University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

4,578 undergraduates enroll at Morehead State University, a public university in Morehead, Kentucky. Among the 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions Azimuth covers, the university sits in the middle of the field (at the 55th percentile).

Morehead State University admits 77.2% of applicants, against a median of 85.9% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Among those who enroll full time, 65.0% return for a second year, while the peer median sits at 73.7%.

52.2% complete within six years, against a peer median of 49.1%. An estimated 19.7% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students; because the six-year rate tracks only first-time full-time students, it does not capture their path.

The four pillars sit far apart. Affordability is the strongest, return is the weakest, and access and mobility sit between the two without matching either extreme.

That wide spacing means Morehead State University looks different depending on which dimension a reader weighs most.

Affordability gives Morehead State University its clearest standing, even as return remains a constraint in the overall profile. Azimuth places affordability in the 89th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, making it the strongest pillar.

Access is in the 56th percentile, and mobility is in the 51st percentile. Return is the weakest pillar, at the 20th percentile of nonprofit four-year institutions.

Strong affordability sits alongside a substantially weaker return measure, so the profile points to cost as a relative strength rather than earnings performance.

29.5% of undergraduates at Morehead State University receive Pell Grants, the federal aid program that serves as the main measure of financial access on this public campus. Azimuth ranks Morehead State University #639 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The access pillar rests on the share of undergraduates receiving federal Pell Grants and on how those students progress toward a degree. Pell recipients complete at 43.2%, a rate that sits 9.0 percentage points below the figure for the entering cohort as a whole (52.2%).

Azimuth ranks the university #715 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $6,524 less than the model expects for similar students, a result that coincides with the completion gap and sits alongside the university's mobility rank.

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

Morehead State University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#661
Kentucky#11
South#224

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 51
Access & reach
National percentile: 56
Affordability
National percentile: 89
Return on investment
National percentile: 20

01 / Morehead State University briefing

Morehead State University cost & financial aid[6][7]

Affordability is the clearest part of the cost picture at Morehead State University. The published cost of attendance is $21,961, with in-state tuition and fees of $10,024 and room and board of $10,994.

Out-of-state tuition and fees are $14,980. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $9,793, and aid saves them $12,168 against the published cost on average.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $14,068, placing the university $4,275 below that benchmark. Azimuth ranks Morehead State University #158 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Its lower-than-peer net price and affordability standing point in the same direction.

For aid recipients, Morehead State University presents a relatively low published cost before grants are considered. The published cost of attendance is $21,961.

Average net price is $7,150 for the lowest family-income band, $7,057 for the lower-middle family-income band, $8,874 for the middle family-income band, $13,341 for the upper-middle family-income band, and $15,164 for the highest family-income band. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $8,014.

Azimuth ranks the university #158 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 55% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

Across aid recipients, the , what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $9,793, with $12,168 in average aid savings against the sticker price. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $14,068; Morehead State's average net price is $4,275 below that figure.

Published in-state tuition is $10,024, and out-of-state tuition is $14,980. For borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $22,250, and 83.3% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt is $21,229, placing the university's median $1,021 above it. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing for parent borrowers is $10,050.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$8,874

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Morehead State University

At Morehead State University, federal loans reach 83.3% of federal aid recipients, making borrowing a common part of the cost picture. Among completers who borrowed, median federal student loan debt at completion is $22,250.

That median is $1,021 above the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), of $21,229. For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $10,050.

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 72% of graduates borrowed from any source, with average cumulative principal of $22,284 per borrower. The reported figures include 71% of graduates with federal loans, averaging $19,202 per federal borrower.

They also include 11% of graduates with private loans, averaging $20,780 per private borrower.

Affordability is the pillar that stands out at Morehead State University. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $50,224, a figure in the 18th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That is $7,077 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $6,524 less than the model expects for similar students.

The gap sits at the 30th percentile. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, stretch from $38,408 in a downside case to $74,014 in an upside case.

The typical earnings scenario is $50,224. On the borrowing side, the median federal student debt at completion is $22,250, which is $1,021 above the peer median of $21,229.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month if repaid over ten years.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $10,050. For student borrowers with median federal debt, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month if repaid over ten years.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$22,250
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$10,050

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$253/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$128/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 / Morehead State University briefing

Morehead State University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completion, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled show median earnings of $50,224. That figure falls in the 18th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

It sits $7,077 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). For return, Azimuth places the university in the 20th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $6,524 less than the model expects for similar students. That outcome sits at the 30th 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 $3,130. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,654. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,004.

Graduate earnings are low relative to nonprofit four-year institutions, with modeled outcomes varying by program mix. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, Morehead State University has median earnings of $50,224 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that measure in the 18th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 1,850 completers. Graduates earn about $6,524 less than the model expects for similar students.

The typical earnings scenario matches the median, with a downside scenario of $38,408 and an upside scenario of $74,014. An estimated 28.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The low earnings standing and below-expected result point the same way.

At Morehead State University, median earnings are $50,224 four years after completion, placing the school in the 18th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $57,301, putting the university $7,077 below that mark.

Graduates earn about $6,524 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 30th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,130. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,654.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,004. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix run from a downside of $38,408 to an upside of $74,014.

Azimuth ranks the university #1,173 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Below-peer earnings and below-expected earnings point in the same direction.

Program earnings vary across fields. Nursing, the highest-earning listed program, awarded 62 degrees and had median earnings of $85,740 four years after completion.

Biology awarded 55 degrees; its median earnings were $65,624 and its 1.15x benchmark ratio was against the national median for its field. The field benchmarks differ alongside the spread in program earnings.

Program selection accounts for much of the variation behind the overall figure. The downside earnings scenario is $38,408 four years after completion, and the upside scenario is $74,014; neither is an observed group.

Program medians four years after completion are Nursing at $85,740, Allied Health Professions at $76,850, and Physics at $62,865. Those results make the modeled range concrete: earnings differ sharply across the fields named here.

At Morehead State University, lower average costs sit alongside debt above peers and earnings below model expectations. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $9,793, below the $14,068 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $4,275.

Aid covers about 55% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $22,250.

The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $21,229, and Morehead State University is above it by $1,021. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month if repaid over ten years.

For earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, graduates earn about $6,524 less than the model expects for similar students. Lower price and aid coverage point toward affordability, but the debt and earnings comparisons point the other way.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$3,130
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$9,654
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$6,524

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 / Morehead State University briefing

Morehead State University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Morehead State University admitted 77.2% of applicants, a rate below the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 8,393 first-year applicants and 6,575 admitted applicants.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
77.2%
25th percentile
1003
Median
1110
75th percentile
1233

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

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Morehead State University briefing

What are the largest majors at Morehead State University?[12]

Program earnings vary sharply at Morehead State University, so the field chosen matters to the return picture. Nursing had median earnings of $85,740 four years after completion and 62 degrees awarded.

Allied Health Professions recorded $76,850 with 33 degrees awarded, while Engineering Technologies/Technicians posted $76,568 across 49 degrees awarded. At a more moderate earnings level, Teacher Education had median earnings of $37,275 four years after completion and 57 degrees awarded.

The contrast between the higher-earning fields and teaching shows that four-year earnings are not a single schoolwide outcome.

Program choice matters at Morehead State University because published earnings span markedly different levels across 27 fields. Among the largest fields, Liberal Arts and General Studies awarded 131 degrees and had median earnings of $43,422 four years after completion.

The larger fields therefore show different earnings pictures, rather than a single outcome for the university.

The degree mix at Morehead State University is spread across several fields, with no single family dominating. Liberal Arts & General Studies accounts for 11.6% of bachelor's degrees awarded, while Business and Education are nearly tied at 11.2% and 11.2% respectively.

The university has 27 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Liberal Arts and General Studies, at 131 degrees awarded, followed by Kinesiology and Physical Education with 66 and Nursing with 62.

The strongest earnings are concentrated in health and technical fields. Nursing, the third-largest program, is also the highest-earning, with graduates reporting a median of $85,740 four years after completion.

Allied Health Professions follows at $76,850 from 33 degrees awarded, and Engineering Technologies/Technicians graduates earn $76,568 from 49 degrees a year. Biology, with 55 degrees awarded, reports median earnings of $65,624, a benchmark ratio of 1.15x against the national median for its field.

The pattern is one where the largest programs are not the best-paid ones. Liberal Arts and General Studies, the biggest by degrees, earns $43,422, while Teacher Education reports $37,275.

The programs with the highest earnings—Nursing, Allied Health Professions, and Engineering Technologies/Technicians—are all in health or applied technical fields, and together they account for a substantial share of graduates. Across all fields, 16.1% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 131 degrees awarded
$43,422
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 66 degrees awarded
$45,877
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 62 degrees awarded
$85,740
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 57 degrees awarded
$37,275
Biology, General 55 degrees awarded
$65,624
Social Work 55 degrees awarded
$45,201

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 / Morehead State University briefing

How does Morehead State University serve students from different backgrounds?

Affordability is Morehead State University's strongest pillar, though its mobility figures offer a mixed picture. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 52.2%, while Pell recipients complete within six years at 43.2%, below the overall rate by 9.0 percentage points.

Azimuth puts the mobility pillar in the 51st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is also below the middle of nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $6,524 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places that measure in the 30th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Morehead State University admits 77.2% of applicants, offering a relatively open entry point at a public university with 4,578 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients make up 29.5% of undergraduates, and an estimated 19.7% enter from other colleges.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth assigns the access pillar to the 56th percentile. Entry, financial-access participation, and transfer enrollment describe several routes into the university.

06 / Morehead State University briefing

What colleges are similar to Morehead State 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 Morehead State University.

Admissions peerCampbellsville University79.7% admitted
Comparison with Morehead State University
MeasureMorehead State UniversityCampbellsville University
Peer earnings · 4 years$50,224$47,650-$2,574 vs Morehead State University
Average annual net price$9,793$19,341+$9,548 vs Morehead State University · higher cost
Admission rate77.2%79.7%
Higher-admission alternativeKentucky State University96.1% admitted
Comparison with Morehead State University
MeasureMorehead State UniversityKentucky State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$50,224$46,766-$3,458 vs Morehead State University
Average annual net price$9,793$8,040-$1,753 vs Morehead State University · lower cost
Admission rate77.2%96.1%
Nearby alternativeUniversity of Virginia's College at WiseNearby option · VA
Comparison with Morehead State University
MeasureMorehead State UniversityUniversity of Virginia's College at Wise
Peer earnings · 4 years$50,224$47,686-$2,538 vs Morehead State University
Average annual net price$9,793$9,210-$583 vs Morehead State University · lower cost
Admission rate77.2%28.5%
Higher-earnings alternativeNorthern Kentucky University$58,429 earnings
Comparison with Morehead State University
MeasureMorehead State UniversityNorthern Kentucky University
Peer earnings · 4 years$50,224$58,429+$8,205 vs Morehead State University
Average annual net price$9,793$8,191-$1,602 vs Morehead State University · lower cost
Admission rate77.2%67.7%
Explore Northern Kentucky University →
Lower-cost alternativeBerea College$6,106 average net price
Comparison with Morehead State University
MeasureMorehead State UniversityBerea College
Peer earnings · 4 years$50,224$42,924-$7,300 vs Morehead State University
Average annual net price$9,793$6,106-$3,687 vs Morehead State University · lower cost
Admission rate77.2%19.3%
Explore Berea College →
Similar profileJackson State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Morehead State University
MeasureMorehead State UniversityJackson State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$50,224$47,606-$2,618 vs Morehead State University
Average annual net price$9,793$23,836+$14,043 vs Morehead State University · higher cost
Admission rate77.2%93.2%

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