College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Northern Michigan University

MIMedium public institution · Overall rank #674 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Northern Michigan University #674 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Northern Michigan University is a public university in Marquette, Michigan, where Health Professions and Business lead the degree mix. Affordability is well above average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds to expected earnings, while the part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts.

Return is below the levels seen at many peers, and the typical graduate earns below the median at comparable schools. Pell Grant recipients complete at a rate below the entering cohort as a whole, and mobility is above average.

After grants and scholarships, the lowest income band pays well under the published cost, and the highest band pays much closer to it. The admission rate is within a few points of the median for comparable schools, 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.

Northern Michigan University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
84.0%
Six-year completion[2]
52.1%
Four-year earnings[3]
$52,624

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$11,051
Median student debt[4]
$21,474
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$17,287

Northern Michigan University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Northern Michigan University is a public university in Marquette, Michigan, enrolling 6,556 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits near the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The university admits 84.0% of applicants, against a median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). Of students who start full time, 78.0% return for a second year, compared with a peer median of 73.7%.

The six-year graduation rate is 52.1%, against a median of 49.1% for similar schools. An estimated 21.2% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so a majority of the student body began here as first-time students.

The six-year rate counts first-time, full-time students only, and at a school with a sizable transfer intake it describes a majority of the people who study here. The four sit far apart.

Affordability is the strongest, and return is the weakest. Mobility sits above the middle of the field, with access near the center.

Northern Michigan University's strongest pillar is affordability, which sits in the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The mobility pillar follows at the 71st percentile.

Access lands in the 55th percentile, while the return pillar is the weakest at the 19th percentile. The affordability and mobility pillars both run well above the national median, and access is just above it.

The return pillar sits near the bottom fifth of nonprofit four-year institutions, and the composite rank is #674 among 1,467 institutions. A low net price and a return pillar that trails the field point in opposite directions for students weighing cost against earnings outcomes.

28.0% of undergraduates at Northern Michigan University receive Pell Grants, a measure of financial access at this public university in Marquette, Michigan. Azimuth ranks Northern Michigan University #657 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The Pell completion rate is 45.7%, which sits 6.4 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate for the entering cohort. The gap is a measurable difference in outcomes, stated without attributing a cause.

Azimuth ranks the university #426 for mobility. Graduates earn about $9,071 less than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits alongside the mobility pillar's position.

The access and mobility pillars together describe a public university where the Pell completion gap is present but the mobility rank is the stronger of the two.

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

Northern Michigan University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#674

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 71
Access & reach
National percentile: 55
Affordability
National percentile: 78
Return on investment
National percentile: 19

01 / Northern Michigan University briefing

Northern Michigan University cost & financial aid[6][7]

Northern Michigan University publishes a cost of attendance of $27,841. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported in-state tuition of $13,704 and required fees of $1,308 for the 2026-27 academic year.

On-campus food and housing added $13,680. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $14,085, a reduction of $13,756 from the published cost.

That net price is $17 above the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the university #312 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Northern Michigan University publishes a cost of attendance of $27,841, but the average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—tells a more practical story. For families earning under $30,000, the is $7,697; for those in the $48,001–$75,000 band, it is $11,051; and for families earning over $110,000, it is $22,268.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $14,571, a difference of averages that reflects the university's progressive aid structure. Azimuth ranks the university #312 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 49% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average savings of $13,756 against the sticker price. Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $14,085, which sits above the peer median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $17.

For a public university, the tuition and fees figure is part of that published cost, and the net price bands show that lower-income families see the largest reductions. Graduates who borrow federal loans leave with a median federal student debt of $21,474, and about 89.7% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

That debt is above the peer median of $21,229 for comparable institutions by $245, and it corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years. Parents who borrow through Parent PLUS carry a separate median of $17,287.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$11,051

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Northern Michigan University

Most undergraduates at Northern Michigan University borrow: 89.7% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. For those who complete a degree, the median federal student debt is $21,474.

That median sits above the $21,229 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $245, a narrow gap. Parent borrowers, a separate population, carry a median Parent PLUS loan of $17,287.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 68% of graduates in a cohort of 851 borrowed from any source. The average cumulative debt per borrower was $32,941.

Federal loans were held by 66% of graduates, averaging $20,404. Private loans, carried by 22% of graduates, averaged $39,412.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years. The federal median is close to the peer figure, but the CDS data show that graduates who take on private loans face a higher average amount.

The investment picture at Northern Michigan University is mixed: borrowing is close to the norm for comparable institutions, but earnings land below it. Four years after completion, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $52,624, which is the 25th percentile nationally.

Graduates earn about $9,071 less than the model expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 22nd percentile.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $40,782 in a downside case to $77,236 in an upside case, with $52,624 as the typical outcome. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $21,474 in federal loans, $245 above the median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $17,287. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $244.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$21,474
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$17,287

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$244/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$220/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 / Northern Michigan University briefing

Northern Michigan University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Earnings at Northern Michigan University run below what the model expects, and the return pillar lands in the 19th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $9,071 less than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 22nd percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $4,535. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $13,606.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $683. Four years after completion, completers earn a median of $52,624, in the 25th percentile nationally.

That is below the peer median of $57,301 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $4,677. The return picture is mixed: earnings fall short of the model's expectation and sit below the peer median, though the program mix alone adds to expected earnings.

Four years after completion, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $52,624 at Northern Michigan University. That figure is below the median of $57,301 for comparable institutions (same type and size), and it places the university in the 25th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The four-year earnings cohort includes 1,926 completers. Graduates earn about $9,071 less than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 22nd percentile nationally.

Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix show a downside scenario of $40,782 and an upside scenario reaching $77,236. An estimated 30.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The earnings picture is subdued: the median sits below the peer benchmark. Graduates fall short of the model's expectation.

The earnings scenarios show a wide spread between the downside and upside outcomes.

Northern Michigan University graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $52,624 four years after completing a degree. That is $4,677 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #1,191 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $9,071 less than the model expects for similar students.

The gap sits at the 22nd percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $4,535.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $13,606. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $683.

The program mix yields a wide range of earnings scenarios: a downside estimate of $40,782 and an upside of $77,236. An estimated 30.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The spread between the downside and upside earnings scenarios at Northern Michigan University is wide: from $40,782 to $77,236 four years after completion. That range shows the variation in earnings across the university's 27 programs with published data.

The highest-earning programs show what the upper end of that spread looks like. Construction Management completers earn a median of $91,682, Computer and Information Sciences graduates reach $90,337, and Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians completers earn $82,326.

Northern Michigan University's strongest pillar is affordability. Its average net price of $14,085 for first-time full-time aid recipients sits above the peer median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, masks a wide spread. Aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 see an average of $7,697, while those from families earning over $110,000 average $22,268.

That is a gap of $14,571 between the lowest and highest bands. The return picture is mixed.

Completers earn about $9,071 less than the model expects for similar students. The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $21,474, which runs above the peer median of $21,229.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $17,287.

A low net price and a debt figure that tracks close to the peer median point in different directions. The published cost of attendance is $27,841, and completers earn less than the model expects for similar students.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$4,535
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$13,606
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$9,071

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 / Northern Michigan University briefing

Northern Michigan University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Northern Michigan University admits 84.0% of applicants, a rate that sits near the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 11,399 applicants, 9,695 admitted students, and 1,533 enrolled first-year students.

Admissions
Admission rate
84.0%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / Northern Michigan University briefing

What are the largest majors at Northern Michigan University?[12]

Northern Michigan University's highest-earning bachelor's programs diverge widely from its largest fields, which land in a more moderate earnings range. Construction Management records the highest median at $91,682 four years after completion, with 32 degrees awarded that year.

Computer and Information Sciences is next at $90,337 on 23 degrees awarded. Nursing, the largest program, awards 103 degrees and shows a median of $77,670.

Biology awards 99 degrees with a median of $43,698. The gap between these technical high earners and the larger, moderate-earning fields reflects the range embedded in the university's program mix.

Earnings vary widely by program at Northern Michigan University. The largest program, Nursing, awarded 103 degrees and its completers earn a median of $77,670 four years after completion.

Biology follows with 99 degrees awarded and a median of $43,698, while Psychology awarded 67 degrees and reports $43,349. The highest-earning programs are led by Construction Management, where completers earn a median of $91,682 four years after graduating, with 32 degrees awarded.

Computer and Information Sciences follows at $90,337 with 23 degrees awarded. Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians rounds out the top three at $82,326, from 16 degrees awarded.

These three programs all show medians above the university-wide figure of $52,624 four years after completion.

The bachelor's degrees at Northern Michigan University are spread across several fields, with no single family dominating. Health Professions accounts for 18.1% of degrees awarded, followed closely by Business at 15.1% and Biological Sciences at 10.5%.

The university has published four-year earnings data for 27 programs. The largest single program is Nursing, which awards 103 degrees a year, while Biology and Psychology follow with 99 and 67 degrees awarded, respectively.

The highest-earning program is a smaller one: Construction Management graduates earn a median of $91,682 four years after completion, from 32 degrees awarded. Computer and Information Sciences is next, with median earnings of $90,337 and 23 degrees awarded.

Nursing, the largest program, also appears among the top earners, with a median of $77,670 and a benchmark ratio of 0.87x against the national median for its field. Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians rounds out the top earners at $82,326, from 16 degrees awarded.

The pattern is one of breadth rather than concentration. The largest programs are in health, biology, and psychology, while the highest earnings come from applied technical and management fields.

14.1% of degrees awarded are in STEM, a modest share that aligns with the university's strength in health professions and business. A student's earnings outlook here depends heavily on the specific program chosen, with a wide gap between the highest- and lowest-earning fields among the largest programs.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 103 degrees awarded
$77,670
Biology, General 99 degrees awarded
$43,698
Psychology, General 67 degrees awarded
$43,349
Business Administration, Management and Operations 61 degrees awarded
$49,202
Natural Resources Conservation and Research 58 degrees awarded
$50,300
Fine and Studio Arts 57 degrees awarded
$36,228

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 / Northern Michigan University briefing

How does Northern Michigan University serve students from different backgrounds?

Northern Michigan University places the mobility pillar at the 71st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort reaches 52.1%; for Pell recipients, the rate is 45.7%, which falls below the overall figure by 6.4 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $9,071 less than the model expects for similar students. That figure is at the 22nd percentile for earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students.

Northern Michigan University, a public university in Marquette, Michigan, enrolls 6,556 undergraduates. The university admits 84.0% of those who apply, while an estimated 21.2% of the student body are transfer students.

Pell Grants reach 28.0% of undergraduates, a financial-access measure. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the access pillar for the university is at the 55th percentile.

06 / Northern Michigan University briefing

What colleges are similar to Northern Michigan 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 Northern Michigan University.

Admissions peerAlverno College85.7% admitted
Comparison with Northern Michigan University
MeasureNorthern Michigan UniversityAlverno College
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,624$67,760+$15,136 vs Northern Michigan University
Average annual net price$14,085$22,540+$8,455 vs Northern Michigan University · higher cost
Admission rate84.0%85.7%
Higher-admission alternativeBethel University97.7% admitted
Comparison with Northern Michigan University
MeasureNorthern Michigan UniversityBethel University
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,624$53,289+$665 vs Northern Michigan University
Average annual net price$14,085$18,610+$4,525 vs Northern Michigan University · higher cost
Admission rate84.0%97.7%
Explore Bethel University →
Nearby alternativeBaker CollegeNearby option · MI
Comparison with Northern Michigan University
MeasureNorthern Michigan UniversityBaker College
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,624$53,754+$1,130 vs Northern Michigan University
Average annual net price$14,085$13,157-$928 vs Northern Michigan University · lower cost
Admission rate84.0%81.9%
Explore Baker College →
Higher-earnings alternativeMichigan Technological University$84,560 earnings
Comparison with Northern Michigan University
MeasureNorthern Michigan UniversityMichigan Technological University
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,624$84,560+$31,936 vs Northern Michigan University
Average annual net price$14,085$14,182+$97 vs Northern Michigan University · higher cost
Admission rate84.0%92.4%
Explore Michigan Technological University →
Lower-cost alternativeIndiana University-Kokomo$3,968 average net price
Comparison with Northern Michigan University
MeasureNorthern Michigan UniversityIndiana University-Kokomo
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,624$54,618+$1,994 vs Northern Michigan University
Average annual net price$14,085$3,968-$10,117 vs Northern Michigan University · lower cost
Admission rate84.0%86.5%
Explore Indiana University-Kokomo →
Similar profileSoutheast Missouri State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Northern Michigan University
MeasureNorthern Michigan UniversitySoutheast Missouri State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,624$51,502-$1,122 vs Northern Michigan University
Average annual net price$14,085$15,882+$1,797 vs Northern Michigan University · higher cost
Admission rate84.0%73.5%
Explore Southeast Missouri State University →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings