College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Nazareth University

NYSmall private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #1343 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth’s overall rank is #1,343 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Nazareth University is a private nonprofit university in Rochester, New York, where Health Professions and Psychology lead the degree mix. Mobility is the strongest , though it sits modestly below average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes most of that gap to a remainder it cannot explain.

The factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — also subtract from expected earnings. Pell students complete at a rate below the entering cohort as a whole, and affordability is the weakest pillar.

The lowest income band pays below the published cost, while the highest band pays above the lowest, so the aid picture is mixed. The admission rate is close to the median for comparable schools.

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, and the four-year earnings figure is measured for those working and not enrolled. A student drawn to the health professions should know that Psychology is the largest program here, while Nursing is the highest-earning one.

Nazareth University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
74.7%
Six-year completion[2]
72.8%
Four-year earnings[3]
$57,472

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$25,663
Median student debt[4]
$26,038
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$42,000

Nazareth University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Nazareth University is a private nonprofit university in Rochester, New York, enrolling 1,873 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the lower portion of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The four pillars are not tightly clustered, with mobility as the strongest and affordability as the weakest. Nazareth University admits 74.7% of applicants, a rate that is close to the 75.7% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

For students who start full time, 84.8% return for a second year, well above the peer median of 74.2%, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size). 72.8% complete a degree within six years, also well above the peer median of 54.9%.

An estimated 16.2% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students, having begun their studies elsewhere. The shape of the pillars shows a clear divide.

Mobility stands apart as the strongest, while affordability is the weakest. Return and access sit close together near the bottom of the distribution.

Azimuth evaluates Nazareth University on four pillars among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. Mobility is the strongest, in the 43rd percentile.

Return and access sit close together, at the 21st and 22nd percentiles. Affordability is the weakest pillar, in the 12th percentile.

The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,070 and 1,320. Submitted ACT scores fell between 23 and 32.

Pell Grants reach 26.3% of undergraduates. Pell recipients complete at 63.5%, which is 9.3 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate for the entering cohort.

Azimuth ranks Nazareth University #1,145 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Nazareth University #833 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $13,236 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

Nazareth University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#1,343

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 43
Access & reach
National percentile: 22
Affordability
National percentile: 12
Return on investment
National percentile: 21

01 / Nazareth University briefing

Nazareth University cost & financial aid[6][7]

At Nazareth University, the published bill remains well above what the average aid recipient pays, yet the aid-adjusted price is higher than at comparable schools. The standard published cost of attendance is $58,254, an average across living arrangements.

On-campus charges are $42,450 in tuition and fees and $16,250 for room and board. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $29,357, with financial aid reducing the published cost by $28,897 on average.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $22,347, placing the university $7,010 above that benchmark. Azimuth ranks Nazareth University #1,239 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The higher peer comparison and affordability rank both point to a comparatively costly aid-adjusted price.

Nazareth University’s published cost of attendance is $58,254 (an average across living arrangements), and prices after aid differ across family-income bands. For aid recipients, average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $22,796 for families in the lowest family-income band; $22,827 in the lower-middle family-income band; $25,663 in the middle family-income band; $31,634 in the upper-middle family-income band; and $34,267 in the highest family-income band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $11,471. Azimuth ranks the university #1,239 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 50% of the published cost, an offset of $28,897. The across aid recipients is $29,357, which is $7,010 above the peer median of $22,347 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Published tuition and fees are $42,450, with room and board at $16,250. Aid offsets much of the sticker price, but the average price after aid remains above the comparable-institution median.

Federal student loan borrowers who complete have median debt of $26,038, and 96.2% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. That median is $1,038 above the peer median federal debt of $25,000 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $296 a month if repaid over ten years. Parent PLUS borrowers have median borrowing of $42,000.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$25,663

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Nazareth University

At Nazareth University, federal borrowing is widespread: 96.2% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and completers who borrowed have median federal student loan debt of $26,038. The median is $1,038 above the $25,000 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $42,000.

Nazareth University presents a mixed investment picture, with earnings near those of comparable institutions but below the model’s expectation for similar students. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $57,472 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that earnings measure in the 41st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. For earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, graduates earn about $13,236 less than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth places in the 12th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings scenarios run from $45,351 in the downside case to $76,347 in the upside case, with $57,472 as the typical scenario.

Median federal debt is $1,038 above the $25,000 peer median, and that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $296 a month if repaid over ten years.

The separate parent-borrower population has median Parent PLUS borrowing of $42,000. For completers with median federal student debt, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $296 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
$26,038
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$42,000

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$296/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$534/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 / Nazareth University briefing

Nazareth University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Return at Nazareth University is held back by earnings that fall short of the model’s expectation. Graduates earn about $13,236 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 12th 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) subtracts $2,624.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $10,612. According to Azimuth, the return pillar sits in the 21st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $57,472 four years after completion, in the 41st percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $55,915; earnings are $1,557 above it. Earnings are above the peer median but below the model’s expectation.

At $57,472 four years after completion, Nazareth University has a broadly typical earnings result, though the model assessment is weaker. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, this measure covers 729 completers.

Azimuth places the earnings measure in the 41st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations mean the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students.

Graduates earn about $13,236 less than the model expects for similar students. Program-mix scenarios include a typical case that matches the observed median, alongside downside and upside cases; these are earnings scenarios rather than observed groups.

An estimated 33.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The earnings percentile and model assessment both point to a restrained earnings picture.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of Nazareth University who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $57,472, in the 41st percentile nationally. That is $1,557 above the $55,915 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #1,161 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $13,236 less than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 12th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) subtracts $2,624.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $10,612. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $386.

The university's program mix points toward health professions and education. Estimated from that mix, the downside earnings scenario is $45,351 and the upside is $76,347.

An estimated 33.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

At Nazareth University, field choice makes the earnings picture more varied than the school-wide median alone suggests. From the program mix rather than observed groups, the downside earnings scenario is $45,351 and the upside scenario is $76,347.

At Nazareth University, both price and borrowing sit above the comparable-school medians, alongside earnings that fall short of the model’s expectation. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $29,357.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $22,347, and Nazareth’s average is above it by $7,010. From the lowest through the highest family-income bands, average net prices are $22,796, $22,827, $25,663, $31,634, and $34,267.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $11,471. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $26,038.

The peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size) is $25,000, with Nazareth above it by $1,038. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $296 a month if repaid over ten years.

Graduates earn about $13,236 less than the model expects for similar students. The price and debt comparisons align with the model’s earnings assessment.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
-$2,624
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$10,612
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$13,236

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 / Nazareth University briefing

Nazareth University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

For applicants, Nazareth University’s 74.7% admission rate indicates that roughly three quarters of the reported entering-class applicant pool received offers. That rate is below the median of 75.7% for comparable institutions (same type and size), a modest difference in the reported outcomes for those applicant pools.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
74.7%
Approximate lower endpoint
1070
Reported average
1216
Approximate upper endpoint
1320

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 / Nazareth University briefing

What are the largest majors at Nazareth University?[12]

Program-level earnings differ substantially at Nazareth University, with nursing at the higher end and other prominent fields at more moderate levels four years after completion. Nursing recorded median earnings of $87,529 and 48 degrees awarded.

Finance followed with $79,225 in median earnings across 9 degrees awarded. Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences had median earnings of $71,968 four years after completion, alongside 37 degrees awarded.

Marketing was more moderate at $70,378, with 11 degrees awarded. These fields show that the earnings picture varies by field, from the higher nursing and finance figures to the more moderate health-professions and marketing figures.

Health Professions is the largest program family at Nazareth University, accounting for 29.6% of bachelor’s degrees awarded. The program data cover 19 bachelor’s fields with published earnings, and the largest fields do not share a single earnings pattern.

Among those larger fields, Psychology awarded 67 degrees and had median earnings of $50,903 four years after completion; Nursing awarded 48 degrees and had median earnings of $87,529; Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences awarded 37 degrees and had median earnings of $71,968; Biology awarded 28 degrees and had median earnings of $58,371; and Communication Disorders Sciences and Services awarded 28 degrees and had median earnings of $60,754. Nursing stands apart from the other largest fields on this earnings measure.

Nazareth University awards bachelor's degrees across 19 programs with published four-year earnings data. Health Professions is the largest program family, accounting for 29.6% of degrees awarded, with Psychology next at 11.8% and Education at 10.8%.

The largest programs with published earnings are Psychology at 67 degrees awarded, Nursing at 48, and Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences at 37. The highest-earning program is Nursing, where graduates earn a median of $87,529 four years after completion.

Its benchmark ratio is 0.98x against the national median for its field. Finance is a much smaller program at 9 degrees awarded, with median earnings of $79,225.

Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences and Marketing round out the top earners, at $71,968 and $70,378 respectively. Psychology, the largest program, reports median earnings of $50,903, a benchmark ratio of 1.00x.

The earnings pattern is concentrated in health and business fields, with the largest program sitting well below the highest earners. Across all fields, 7.7% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Psychology, General 67 degrees awarded
$50,903
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 48 degrees awarded
$87,529
Special Education and Teaching 38 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other 37 degrees awarded
$71,968
Biology, General 28 degrees awarded
$58,371
Social Work 28 degrees awarded
$57,949

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 / Nazareth University briefing

How does Nazareth University serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is the strongest measured pillar at Nazareth University, centered on a 72.8% six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort. Pell recipients in that cohort complete within six years at 63.5%, below the overall rate by 9.3 percentage points.

Azimuth places mobility in the 43rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $13,236 less than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth places earnings beyond expectations in the 12th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The completion record is stronger than the modeled earnings result.

Nazareth University admits 74.7% of applicants, providing a relatively open entry point for a private nonprofit university in Rochester, New York. Its undergraduate enrollment is 1,873 undergraduates; 26.3% receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 16.2% arrive as transfer-in undergraduates.

The access pillar sits in the 22nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The admission, Pell Grant, and transfer figures describe the routes into a relatively small undergraduate population.

06 / Nazareth University briefing

What colleges are similar to Nazareth 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 Nazareth University.

Admissions peerSt. John Fisher University66.4% admitted
Comparison with Nazareth University
MeasureNazareth UniversitySt. John Fisher University
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,472$70,456+$12,984 vs Nazareth University
Average annual net price$29,357$28,945-$412 vs Nazareth University · lower cost
Admission rate74.7%66.4%
Higher-admission alternativeHilbert College97.2% admitted
Comparison with Nazareth University
MeasureNazareth UniversityHilbert College
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,472$53,063-$4,409 vs Nazareth University
Average annual net price$29,357$22,723-$6,634 vs Nazareth University · lower cost
Admission rate74.7%97.2%
Nearby alternativeSUNY BrockportNearby option · NY
Comparison with Nazareth University
MeasureNazareth UniversitySUNY Brockport
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,472$57,799+$327 vs Nazareth University
Average annual net price$29,357$16,353-$13,004 vs Nazareth University · lower cost
Admission rate74.7%70.7%
Explore SUNY Brockport →
Higher-earnings alternativeSt. John Fisher University$70,456 earnings
Comparison with Nazareth University
MeasureNazareth UniversitySt. John Fisher University
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,472$70,456+$12,984 vs Nazareth University
Average annual net price$29,357$28,945-$412 vs Nazareth University · lower cost
Admission rate74.7%66.4%
Lower-cost alternativeSUNY Brockport$16,353 average net price
Comparison with Nazareth University
MeasureNazareth UniversitySUNY Brockport
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,472$57,799+$327 vs Nazareth University
Average annual net price$29,357$16,353-$13,004 vs Nazareth University · lower cost
Admission rate74.7%70.7%
Explore SUNY Brockport →
Similar profileWheaton College (Massachusetts)Matched across several measures
Comparison with Nazareth University
MeasureNazareth UniversityWheaton College (Massachusetts)
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,472$57,982+$510 vs Nazareth University
Average annual net price$29,357$29,822+$465 vs Nazareth University · higher cost
Admission rate74.7%67.7%
Explore Wheaton College (Massachusetts) →

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 is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. 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