College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Pace University

NYMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #441 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Pace University #441 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Pace University is a private nonprofit university in New York whose degree mix is led by Business and Health Professions, and return is among the highest we track. The fit is clearest for a student who wants a career-oriented program in a large city and expects to work after the degree.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns above the median at comparable schools. The model attributes more of that gain to a remainder it does not explain than to the factors it measures.

Low-income families pay far less than the published cost, while high-income families pay more, and affordability is below the levels seen at many peers. Pell students complete at a rate below the cohort as a whole, and access is above average.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools. A student drawn to the performing arts or media programs should know that the best-ranked departments are not the best-paid ones.

Pace University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
75.9%
Six-year completion[2]
60.0%
Four-year earnings[3]
$80,804

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$28,467
Median student debt[4]
$23,250
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$46,275

Pace University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Pace University enrolls 7,665 undergraduates as a private nonprofit university in New York, New York. The university sits in the upper third of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (the 70th percentile), with return the clear outlier among the four .

Pace University admits 75.9% of applicants, against a median of 71.2% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Among students who start full time, 75.5% return for a second year, while the peer median is 83.4%.

The six-year graduation rate is 60.0%, compared with 68.8% for peers. An estimated 21.1% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the first-time full-time cohort that the six-year rate describes is only part of the student body.

Return is the strongest pillar by a wide margin (the 91st percentile), and affordability the weakest (the 12th percentile). Access and mobility sit close together near the middle of the field (the 58th and 61st percentiles), while return and affordability sit at opposite ends.

Azimuth evaluates Pace University across four pillars among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. The return pillar is the strongest, in the 91st percentile, while affordability is the weakest, in the 12th percentile.

The mobility pillar sits in the 61st percentile and the access pillar in the 58th percentile. The wide spread between the return and affordability pillars means the university's overall standing depends heavily on which measure a family weighs most.

27.3% of undergraduates at Pace University receive Pell Grants. The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores among enrolled students fell between 1,180 and 1,340.

The middle 50% of submitted ACT scores fell between 24 and 29. Azimuth ranks the university #615 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The six-year completion rate for Pell recipients is 48.7%, which trails the overall rate by 11.3 percentage points. Azimuth ranks Pace University #572 for mobility. Graduates earn about $14,519 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

Pace University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#441

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 61
Access & reach
National percentile: 58
Affordability
National percentile: 12
Return on investment
National percentile: 91

Top-ranked majors

  1. Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management#1
  2. Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology#3
  3. Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication#11

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Pace University briefing

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

The published cost of attendance at Pace University is $69,550, an average across living arrangements. Tuition and fees are $53,290, and room and board are $22,553.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients falls to $30,892, a savings of $38,658 against the sticker total. That sits above the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $3,521.

Azimuth ranks the university #1,240 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The gap between the published cost and the peer median net price is wide, while the average net price after aid lands closer to the peer figure.

The sticker-to-net discount is the mechanism that narrows that distance for aid recipients.

The published cost of attendance at Pace University is $69,550 (an average across living arrangements). Azimuth ranks the university #1,240 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, aid recipients in the lowest family-income band (under $30,000) average $26,473, those in the middle band ($48,001–$75,000) average $28,467, and those in the highest band (over $110,000) average $36,430. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,957.

Aid covers about 56% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, bringing the average price students actually pay after grants and scholarships to $30,892. That is $3,521 above the $27,371 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $23,250 in federal student loans, $949 below the median for comparable institutions of $24,199. 92.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $46,275 in Parent PLUS loans. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $264 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$28,467

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Pace University

The median federal debt among borrowers who finish a degree at Pace University is $23,250. One quarter leave with the lower amount or less, while another quarter leave with the higher amount or more.

92.1% of federal aid recipients use federal loans. The comparable-institution median (same type and size) is $24,199, leaving the university $949 below that figure.

The median Parent PLUS debt, tracked among parent borrowers as a separate group, is $46,275. If repaid over ten years, that median federal debt corresponds to an estimated monthly payment of $264.

The return picture at Pace University is strong: graduates earn about $14,519 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 91st percentile nationally. Four years after completion, the median earnings reach $80,804, which lands in the 89th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That figure runs $12,554 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Earnings scenarios derived from the university's program mix show a downside of $52,650 and an upside of $112,348.

Borrowers finish with a median federal debt of $23,250, which is $949 below the $24,199 peer median. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $264 a month if repaid over ten years.

Above-expected earnings combined with debt that runs below the peer median point the same way for graduates.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $46,275. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $264.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$23,250
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$46,275

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$264/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$588/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 / Pace University briefing

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

Among federally aided completers of Pace University who are working and not enrolled, median earnings four years after completion are $80,804. That figure is in the 89th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

It is $12,554 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). The return pillar is in the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $14,519 more than the model expects for similar students. That outcome is in the 91st 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 $6,063. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $8,456. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $99.

Four years after completion, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $80,804 at Pace University. Azimuth places that figure in the 89th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 2,411 completers.

Completers earn about $14,519 more than the model expects for similar students. That puts the gap at the 91st percentile.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix put typical earnings at $80,804, with a downside scenario of $52,650 and an upside scenario of $112,348. An estimated 25.1% of completers continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Pace University graduates earn a median of $80,804 four years after completion, $12,554 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the university #132 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $14,519 more than the model expects for similar students. That puts the gap at the 91st percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,063. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $8,456.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $99. The university's program mix tilts toward business and health professions, fields that tend to pay well early on.

The downside earnings scenario, estimated from the program mix, is $52,650, while the upside scenario reaches $112,348. An estimated 25.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The earnings scenarios show a wide range: from $52,650 on the downside to $112,348 on the upside. These are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of completers.

At the upper end, Computer Science completers earn $117,835 four years after completion, and Nursing completers earn $115,695. Accounting follows at $100,797.

The earnings picture at Pace University is strong, but the cost side requires a closer look. The published cost of attendance is $69,550 (an average across living arrangements), and aid covers about 56% of that for the average aid recipient.

The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $30,892. That average is above the peer median of $27,371 at comparable institutions (same type and size), by $3,521.

Borrowers who complete carry a median of $23,250 in federal student loans, below the peer median of $24,199 by $949. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $264 a month if repaid over ten years. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $46,275 in Parent PLUS loans.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$6,063
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$8,456
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$14,519

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 / Pace University briefing

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

Pace University admits 75.9% of applicants, a rate that sits above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
75.9%
Approximate lower endpoint
1180
Reported average
1266
Approximate upper endpoint
1340

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 / Pace University briefing

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

Pace University's largest programs span fields with sharply different earnings, and Azimuth ranks several of them near the top of their fields nationally. Nursing, the biggest program with 234 degrees awarded, shows a median of $115,695 four years after completion and an Azimuth national rank of #31.

Finance follows at $92,271 (ranked #56 nationally) on 124 degrees awarded, and Accounting, with 95 degrees awarded, reaches $100,797 with a national rank of #29. Moderate-earning fields also carry strong Azimuth ranks.

Communication and Media Studies awards 115 degrees and shows median earnings of $69,876, good for a national rank of #29. The contrast between a program like Nursing and one like Communication and Media Studies illustrates the wide earnings range across the university's largest fields.

Pace University publishes earnings data for 23 bachelor's programs, and 19 of them hold an Azimuth national rank. The largest program, Nursing, awarded 234 degrees and its completers earn a median of $115,695 four years after completion.

It ranks #31 nationally and #9 in New York. Finance follows with 124 degrees awarded and a median of $92,271, ranking #56 nationally.

Among the best-ranked programs, Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management holds a national rank of #1 with 75 degrees awarded and a median of $62,064, while Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology ranks #3 nationally, awarded 55 degrees, and shows a median of $67,811. Accounting, which awarded 95 degrees, ranks #29 nationally and its completers earn a median of $100,797.

Pace University grants bachelor's degrees through 19 programs that carry an Azimuth national rank and 23 with published four-year earnings data. Business accounts for 24.0% of degrees awarded, with Health Professions second at 15.7% and Visual & Performing Arts third at 14.6%.

Nursing is the largest program at 234 degrees awarded, followed by Finance with 124 and Communication and Media Studies with 115. The highest-ranked program is Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management, awarding 75 degrees a year and showing median earnings of $62,064 four years after completion.

Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology ranks #2 in New York within its field, with 55 degrees awarded and median earnings of $67,811. The highest-earning program is Computer Science, where graduates earn $117,835 from 63 degrees awarded.

Nursing, the largest program, reports median earnings of $115,695 and ranks #9 in New York within its field. Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology posts a benchmark ratio of 1.34x against the national median for its field.

Strength is split between professional programs and the arts. Programs in media and the performing arts hold ranked positions nationally within their fields alongside larger business and health programs. Across all fields, 10.6% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 234 degrees awarded
$115,695
Finance and Financial Management Services 124 degrees awarded
$92,271
Communication and Media Studies 115 degrees awarded
$69,876
Accounting and Related Services 95 degrees awarded
$100,797
Business Administration, Management and Operations 94 degrees awarded
$76,974
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication 87 degrees awarded
$79,376

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 / Pace University briefing

How does Pace University serve students from different backgrounds?

Pace University's strongest pillar is return, but its mobility story rests on who finishes and what graduates earn. Azimuth places the university in the 61st percentile for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 60.0%, while Pell recipients complete at 48.7% — a gap of 11.3 percentage points below the overall rate. On the earnings side, graduates earn about $14,519 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that lands in the 91st percentile nationally.

Pace University combines open admissions with moderate financial access for its 7,665 undergraduates. The private nonprofit university in New York admits 75.9% of those who apply, while comparable institutions show a peer median of 71.2%.

27.3% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 21.1% enter as transfers or part-time students. The access pillar sits in the 58th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / Pace University briefing

What colleges are similar to Pace 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 Pace University.

Admissions peerSt. John's University-New York83.4% admitted
Comparison with Pace University
MeasurePace UniversitySt. John's University-New York
Peer earnings · 4 years$80,804$77,868-$2,936 vs Pace University
Average annual net price$30,892$29,999-$893 vs Pace University · lower cost
Admission rate75.9%83.4%
Explore St. John's University-New York →
Higher-admission alternativeSaint Joseph's University - Philadelphia88.8% admitted
Comparison with Pace University
MeasurePace UniversitySaint Joseph's University - Philadelphia
Peer earnings · 4 years$80,804$84,010+$3,206 vs Pace University
Average annual net price$30,892$29,689-$1,203 vs Pace University · lower cost
Admission rate75.9%88.8%
Explore Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia →
Nearby alternativeMarist UniversityNearby option · NY
Comparison with Pace University
MeasurePace UniversityMarist University
Peer earnings · 4 years$80,804$78,561-$2,243 vs Pace University
Average annual net price$30,892$41,544+$10,652 vs Pace University · higher cost
Admission rate75.9%56.5%
Explore Marist University →
Higher-earnings alternativeClarkson University$91,312 earnings
Comparison with Pace University
MeasurePace UniversityClarkson University
Peer earnings · 4 years$80,804$91,312+$10,508 vs Pace University
Average annual net price$30,892$30,305-$587 vs Pace University · lower cost
Admission rate75.9%77.4%
Explore Clarkson University →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Bernard M Baruch College$3,033 average net price
Comparison with Pace University
MeasurePace UniversityCUNY Bernard M Baruch College
Peer earnings · 4 years$80,804$82,748+$1,944 vs Pace University
Average annual net price$30,892$3,033-$27,859 vs Pace University · lower cost
Admission rate75.9%47.5%
Explore CUNY Bernard M Baruch College →
Similar profileSacred Heart UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Pace University
MeasurePace UniversitySacred Heart University
Peer earnings · 4 years$80,804$79,431-$1,373 vs Pace University
Average annual net price$30,892$46,174+$15,282 vs Pace University · higher cost
Admission rate75.9%65.4%
Explore Sacred Heart 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