College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Murray State University

KYMedium public institution · Overall rank #545 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Murray State University #545 overall among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Murray State University is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, where the degree mix is led by Business and Agriculture & Natural Resources. The strongest is affordability, which is among the highest we track, and most graduates are estimated to go into jobs rather than on to further study.

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

Return is below the levels seen at many peers, and the typical graduate earns below the median at comparable schools. Affordability is among the highest we track, and what the lowest-income families pay sits well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it.

Pell students complete at a rate below the overall cohort, and mobility is above average. The admission rate is near the median for comparable schools, and the largest programs are not the best-paid ones: Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Science and Related Fields awards the most degrees, while Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians graduates report the highest earnings.

Murray State University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
85.7%
Six-year completion[2]
61.3%
Four-year earnings[3]
$50,487

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$8,104
Median student debt[4]
$20,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$18,465

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

Murray State University enrolls 6,688 undergraduates as a public university in Murray, Kentucky. Its overall standing falls near the middle of the field among nonprofit four-year institutions nationally (63rd percentile).

Murray State University accepts 85.7% of those who apply, against a peer median of 85.9% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. For the first-time, full-time cohort, 75.6% continue into the second year, compared with a peer median of 73.7%.

The same group completes at a six-year rate of 61.3%, compared with a peer median of 49.1%. An estimated 25.6% of students arrive as transfers or part-time students, meaning the six-year graduation rate describes only those who began as full-time freshmen.

Affordability is the strongest of the four pillars at Murray State University, while return is the weakest. Mobility and access sit between the two.

The pillars are widely separated across the four dimensions, with a large gap separating the top and bottom of the range.

Affordability is the clearest strength in Murray State University’s Azimuth profile, even as return is its weakest pillar. Azimuth places affordability in the 90th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Mobility stands in the 74th percentile, access in the 63rd percentile, and return in the 17th percentile.

The share of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants is 33.3%. Enrolled students who submitted SATs posted a middle 50% range of 940 to 1,170; for the ACT the middle 50% spans 19 to 26.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth ranks Murray State University #539 for access. Pell recipients finish within six years at a rate of 47.9%, trailing the overall cohort by 13.4 percentage points (61.3%).

Azimuth ranks the university #378 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $9,655 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

Murray State University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#545
Kentucky#8
South#190

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 74
Access & reach
National percentile: 63
Affordability
National percentile: 90
Return on investment
National percentile: 17

01 / Murray State University briefing

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

At Murray State University, the published cost is relatively low after aid, which fits its affordability standing. The standard published cost of attendance is $23,485, with in-state tuition and fees of $9,900.

Room and board are $11,112; out-of-state tuition and fees are $19,836. Among aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $9,096.

Financial aid offsets $14,389 from the published cost on average. The peer median net price, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $14,068, placing the university $4,972 below that benchmark.

Azimuth ranks Murray State University #142 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The low net price and below-peer comparison point in the same direction for aid recipients.

Murray State University posts a published cost of attendance of $23,485. Aid recipients in the lowest family-income band see an average net price—what they pay after grants and scholarships—of $6,242, while those in the highest band average $15,450.

The three middle bands run $6,347, $8,104, and $12,811, making the full spread from lowest to highest $9,208. Azimuth ranks the university #142 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 61% of the published cost, an average offset of $14,389. Across all aid recipients, the is $9,096, a figure that sits $4,972 below the peer median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The university publishes in-state tuition at $9,900 and out-of-state tuition at $19,836. Federal student loan borrowers who complete carry median debt of $20,500, and 83.7% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

The peer median federal debt for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $21,229, placing the university $729 below that benchmark. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $18,465.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$8,104

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Murray State University

Borrowing at Murray State University is widespread, but median federal student loan debt for completers is slightly below its peer benchmark. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $20,500.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt is $21,229, making the university's median $729 below that mark. For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $18,465.

Affordability is the stronger part of the picture at Murray State University, but the earnings measures are less favorable. Median earnings are $50,487 four years after completion, and Azimuth places that figure in the 19th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, are also low. Graduates earn about $9,655 less than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth places that measure in the 20th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings scenarios range from $39,193 in the downside scenario to $74,176 in the upside scenario, with $50,487 as the typical scenario.

Median federal student loan debt at completion is $20,500, $729 below the peer median of $21,229 at comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years.

Lower borrowing sits alongside a limited payment, but both earnings measures point the other way.

The separate parent-borrower population has median Parent PLUS borrowing of $18,465. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 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
$20,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$18,465

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$233/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$235/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 / Murray State University briefing

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

Affordability is Murray State University's strongest pillar, but return results are less favorable. According to Azimuth, return falls in the 17th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $9,655 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, sits in the 20th 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 $4,204. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $13,859.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,896. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $50,487 four years after completion; that median is in the 19th percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $57,301; earnings are $6,814 below it. The model gap and peer comparison point in the same direction.

At Murray State University, graduate earnings sit toward the lower end of nonprofit four-year institutions. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $50,487 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that measure in the 19th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, using an earnings cohort of 1,946 completers. Graduates earn about $9,655 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 therefore unfavorable here. Earnings scenarios based on the program mix put the downside at $39,193, the typical scenario at $50,487, and the upside at $74,176.

An estimated 24.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The lower earnings standing and below-expected result point in the same direction.

The return picture is weak relative to comparable institutions, with median earnings of $50,487 four years after completion, in the 19th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $57,301, leaving Murray State University $6,814 below it.

Graduates earn about $9,655 less than the model expects for similar students. That gap places earnings beyond expectations in the 20th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $4,204. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $13,859.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,896. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix run from $39,193 on the downside to $74,176 on the upside.

Azimuth ranks Murray State University #1,219 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions, consistent with both the below-peer median and the less-than-expected earnings result. The highest-earning listed field is Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians, with 29 degrees awarded and median earnings of $87,573 four years after completion.

Nursing had 91 degrees awarded and median earnings of $72,462. These program figures show that earnings differ across fields even among the higher-earning programs.

The modeled earnings range is wide, so field of study matters at Murray State University. The downside earnings scenario is $39,193 and the upside scenario is $74,176, with $50,487 as the typical scenario.

These are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates. Each of these field medians exceeds the upside scenario.

For aid recipients, Murray State University has an average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, of $9,096. That is below the $14,068 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size), by $4,972.

Aid covers about 61% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $20,500.

This sits below the peer median of $21,229 by $729, and that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, point the other way.

Graduates earn about $9,655 less than the model expects for similar students. Lower net price and debt sit alongside earnings that fall short of the model’s expectation.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$4,204
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$13,859
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$9,655

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 / Murray State University briefing

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

At 85.7%, Murray State University admitted most applicants in the reported entering class, giving a broad view of the admissions outcome for that pool. The rate sits just below the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The figure summarizes a past applicant pool and cannot forecast an individual admission decision.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
85.7%
Approximate lower endpoint
940
Reported average
1133
Approximate upper endpoint
1170

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 / Murray State University briefing

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

Program-level earnings at Murray State University vary substantially, so the field selected matters when reading the university’s overall return picture. At the higher-earning end, Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians had median earnings of $87,573 four years after completion, with 29 degrees awarded.

Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians posted $84,705 across 54 degrees awarded, and Nursing recorded $72,462 with 91 degrees awarded. By comparison, Teacher Education had median earnings of $38,132 and 93 degrees awarded.

The contrast between these higher- and more moderate-earning fields makes the program-level figures more informative than a single campuswide earnings number.

Program earnings vary widely across Murray State University’s fields, making the intended major especially important to the earnings picture. Among the higher-earning programs, Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians awarded 29 degrees and had median earnings of $87,573 four years after completion; Engineering Physics awarded 26 degrees and had median earnings of $86,713.

Nursing awarded 91 degrees and had median earnings of $72,462, showing that program choice can coincide with very different early-career earnings.

The degree mix at Murray State University is spread across several fields, with no single family dominating. Business and Agriculture & Natural Resources lead at 13.7% and 13.5% of bachelor's degrees awarded, respectively, followed closely by Health Professions at 10.4%.

The university has 31 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest programs by degrees awarded are Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Science and Related Fields (102 degrees awarded), Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians (99), and Liberal Arts and General Studies (95).

The highest-earning programs are a different set. Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians graduates earn a median of $87,573, from 29 degrees awarded a year.

Engineering Physics follows at $86,713 with 26 degrees awarded. Nursing, the fifth-largest program at 91 degrees awarded, also appears among the top earners at $72,462.

Across all fields, 21.5% of degrees awarded are in STEM. The pattern is one of broad offerings where the largest programs are not the best-paid, and the strongest earnings come from smaller, technical fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Science and Related Fields, Other 102 degrees awarded
$57,686
Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians 99 degrees awarded
$40,839
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 95 degrees awarded
$41,797
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 93 degrees awarded
$38,132
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 91 degrees awarded
$72,462
Business/Commerce, General 78 degrees awarded
$51,818

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 / Murray State University briefing

How does Murray State University serve students from different backgrounds?

Completion rates are stronger than the modeled earnings picture at Murray State University: the first-time full-time cohort has a 61.3% six-year graduation rate, while Pell recipients complete at 47.9%, below the overall rate by 13.4 percentage points. Azimuth assigns its mobility pillar to the 74th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, points the other way. Graduates earn about $9,655 less than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth places that measure in the 20th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Completion is comparatively stronger, but the earnings measure is weaker.

For Murray State University, an admission rate of 85.7% frames access to an undergraduate enrollment of 6,688. Pell Grant recipients account for 33.3% of undergraduates, and the estimated share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group is 25.6%.

Azimuth puts the access pillar in the 63rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Enrollment, Pell participation, and transfer entry describe several ways undergraduates reach the university.

06 / Murray State University briefing

What colleges are similar to Murray 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 Murray State University.

Admissions peerThe University of Tennessee-Martin88.2% admitted
Comparison with Murray State University
MeasureMurray State UniversityThe University of Tennessee-Martin
Peer earnings · 4 years$50,487$47,898-$2,589 vs Murray State University
Average annual net price$9,096$10,701+$1,605 vs Murray State University · higher cost
Admission rate85.7%88.2%
Higher-admission alternativeAustin Peay State University96.4% admitted
Comparison with Murray State University
MeasureMurray State UniversityAustin Peay State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$50,487$52,456+$1,969 vs Murray State University
Average annual net price$9,096$9,735+$639 vs Murray State University · higher cost
Admission rate85.7%96.4%
Explore Austin Peay State University →
Nearby alternativeFreed-Hardeman UniversityNearby option · TN
Comparison with Murray State University
MeasureMurray State UniversityFreed-Hardeman University
Peer earnings · 4 years$50,487$50,701+$214 vs Murray State University
Average annual net price$9,096$21,574+$12,478 vs Murray State University · higher cost
Admission rate85.7%59.7%
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Illinois Chicago$72,839 earnings
Comparison with Murray State University
MeasureMurray State UniversityUniversity of Illinois Chicago
Peer earnings · 4 years$50,487$72,839+$22,352 vs Murray State University
Average annual net price$9,096$10,974+$1,878 vs Murray State University · higher cost
Admission rate85.7%77.4%
Explore University of Illinois Chicago →
Lower-cost alternativeTrinity International University-Illinois$2,835 average net price
Comparison with Murray State University
MeasureMurray State UniversityTrinity International University-Illinois
Peer earnings · 4 years$50,487$51,985+$1,498 vs Murray State University
Average annual net price$9,096$2,835-$6,261 vs Murray State University · lower cost
Admission rate85.7%100.0%
Similar profileNorth Carolina Central UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Murray State University
MeasureMurray State UniversityNorth Carolina Central University
Peer earnings · 4 years$50,487$50,812+$325 vs Murray State University
Average annual net price$9,096$15,359+$6,263 vs Murray State University · higher cost
Admission rate85.7%87.0%
Explore North Carolina Central 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