College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Portland State University

ORLarge public institution · Overall rank #135 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places Portland State University #135 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Portland State University suits a student who wants a large public campus in Portland and expects to work after the degree. Mobility is among the highest we track, and the degree mix is led by Business and Social Sciences.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds, and the part it cannot explain subtracts.

Students who arrive with Pell Grants finish within a few points of the rate for the entering cohort as a whole. The lowest income band pays well below the published cost, and affordability is well above average.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones — Computer Science and the engineering fields — are smaller.

Portland State University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
90.9%
Six-year completion[2]
52.7%
Four-year earnings[3]
$62,060

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$8,981
Median student debt[4]
$20,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$18,859

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

Portland State University is a public university in Portland, Oregon, with an undergraduate enrollment of 13,182. In the Azimuth ranking of 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions, the university sits in the top tenth of the field.

The university admits 90.9% of applicants, against a peer median of 78.1% — the middle value for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who begin full time, 76.1% return for a second year, against a peer median of 83.1% for that group.

52.7% of those students complete a degree within six years, against 65.0% for the same peer set. An estimated 61.1% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year graduation rate, which tracks only first-time, full-time students, describes a minority of those who study here.

The four are spread across the ranking, with three clustered near the top and one sitting much lower. Mobility is the strongest (at the 92nd percentile), and return is the weakest (at the 55th percentile). Access and affordability sit between them, both near the top of the field.

Portland State University's clearest strength is mobility: Azimuth places that pillar in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The university also sits in the 87th percentile for access and the 89th percentile for affordability.

Return is the weakest pillar, at the 55th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Strong mobility, access, and affordability sit beside a more middle-of-the-pack return measure.

41.6% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, a measure of financial access that shows the share of the student body qualifying for the federal aid program directed to lower-income households. Azimuth ranks Portland State University #191 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients in the first-time full-time cohort complete at 48.9%, which sits 3.8 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (52.7%). That gap measures the distance between the completion rate for Pell recipients and the rate for the entering cohort as a whole.

Azimuth ranks the university #123 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $3,787 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that coincides with the university's mobility rank and the access outcomes that accompany it.

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

Portland State University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#135

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 92
Access & reach
National percentile: 87
Affordability
National percentile: 89
Return on investment
National percentile: 55

Top-ranked majors

  1. Community Organization and Advocacy#4
  2. Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other#8
  3. Biological and Physical Sciences#9

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 / Portland State University briefing

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

At Portland State University, the published cost of attendance is $21,590 (an average across living arrangements), and aid recipients face a much lower average net price. In-state tuition and fees are $11,679, while out-of-state tuition and fees are $31,074.

Published room and board adds $13,728 to the standard budget. The , what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $9,552.

That is $12,038 less than the published cost for the average aid recipient. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $15,634; Portland State’s figure is $6,082 below that median.

Azimuth places the affordability pillar in the 89th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The lower average price and the favorable peer comparison point in the same direction for aid recipients.

A standard year at Portland State University carries a published cost of attendance of $21,590 (an average across living arrangements), but aid recipients’ prices differ sharply by family-income band. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $7,655 for the lowest family-income band, $7,752 for the next band, $8,981 for the middle band, $12,993 for the next-highest band, and $19,112 for the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $11,457. Azimuth ranks Portland State University #154 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 56% of the published cost, an average savings of $12,038 against the sticker price. Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $9,552, which is $6,082 below the peer median of $15,634 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Published in-state tuition and fees are $11,679, and out-of-state tuition and fees are $31,074; room and board are $13,728. The lower average price and the average aid offset point in the same direction for aid recipients.

Federal borrowing at completion sits close to the comparable-institution benchmark. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $20,500, which is $424 above the peer median of $20,076 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

81.1% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $18,859.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$8,981

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Portland State University

Federal borrowing is common at Portland State University, with 81.1% of federal aid recipients taking federal loans. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt at completion is $20,500.

That median is above the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size), a difference of $424. Parent PLUS borrowers are a separate parent-borrower population, with median borrowing of $18,859.

The investment picture at Portland State University varies across modeled program-mix scenarios. Four years after completion, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $62,060.

Azimuth places that earnings figure in the 57th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. For earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, Azimuth places the university in the 67th percentile.

Graduates earn about $3,787 more than the model expects for similar students. The downside, typical, and upside earnings scenarios are $47,567, $62,060, and $85,570.

Median federal student debt is above the $20,076 peer median at $20,500, and that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years. Above-expected earnings sit alongside debt that is close to comparable institutions.

For the separate population of Parent PLUS parent borrowers, median federal borrowing was $18,859. 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
$18,859

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$233/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$240/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 / Portland State University briefing

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

For completers, Portland State University has a mixed return picture: median earnings four years after completion are $62,060, placing them in the 57th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610, with earnings below it by $3,550.

Azimuth puts the university's return pillar at the 55th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $3,787 more 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 67th 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 $6,722.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $2,935. Above-expected earnings sit alongside a peer median that is higher.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of Portland State University who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $62,060. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, that median falls at the 57th percentile.

The figure comes from an earnings cohort of 4,971 completers. Graduates earn about $3,787 more than the model expects for similar students.

That result sits at the 67th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, reflecting pay that exceeds the model's expectation for comparable students. Earnings scenarios drawn from the program mix illustrate the range of possible outcomes: a downside of $47,567, a typical scenario of $62,060, and an upside of $85,570.

These scenarios are estimates, not observed cohorts. An estimated 31.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Portland State University has a mixed return picture: federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $62,060 four years after completion, in the 57th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610, putting the university $3,550 below that mark.

Graduates earn about $3,787 more 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 67th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,722. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $2,935.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,398. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix run from $47,567 on the downside to $85,570 on the upside.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 55th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Above-expected earnings and a below-peer median point in different directions.

Psychology is the largest program, with 365 degrees awarded and median earnings of $49,063 four years after completion. Azimuth ranks it #183 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Business Administration and Management had 275 degrees awarded and median earnings of $71,621; Computer Science had 168 degrees awarded and $113,889 in median earnings; and Electrical Engineering had 58 degrees awarded and $101,905 in median earnings. The large program’s lower median sits alongside higher medians in the other named fields.

Portland State University has a broad modeled earnings range across its program mix rather than one uniform outcome. The downside scenario is $47,567 and the upside scenario is $85,570 four years after completion, framing lower- and higher-earning program clusters.

Cost is the clearer part of the financial picture at Portland State University: the average net price is $9,552 for aid recipients, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships. That average is below the $15,634 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

For borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $20,500. It is above the peer median, and that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years.

Completers four years after completion earn about $3,787 more than the model expects for similar students. Lower average net price and higher-than-expected earnings point in the same direction, even as debt sits close to peers.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$6,722
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$2,935
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$3,787

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 / Portland State University briefing

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

For applicants, Portland State University presents a relatively open admission outcome, with an admission rate of 90.9%. The figure is above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size), indicating that its reported applicant-pool outcome was less restrictive than the peer midpoint.

Admissions
Admission rate
90.9%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / Portland State University briefing

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

Among Portland State University’s nationally ranked fields, the earnings picture is moderate overall, with a higher end that remains well below the university’s highest-earning offerings. Four years after completion, Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services has median earnings of $70,765 from 44 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #8 in its field nationally.

Community Organization and Advocacy records median earnings of $51,066 across 25 degrees awarded, with an Azimuth national field rank of #4. Biological and Physical Sciences posts $57,303 in median earnings and 124 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #9 in its field nationally.

These fields hold national Azimuth positions, but their four-year earnings differ by field.

At Portland State University, 43 bachelor's fields carry Azimuth national ranks among nonprofit four-year institutions. Community Organization and Advocacy is the highest-ranked: Azimuth ranks it #4 nationally within its field, with 25 degrees awarded and median earnings of $51,066 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services #8 nationally within its field; it recorded 44 degrees awarded and median earnings of $70,765 four years after completion. Biological and Physical Sciences ranks #9 nationally within its field, with 124 degrees awarded and median earnings of $57,303 four years after completion.

Portland State University awards bachelor's degrees across 49 programs with published four-year earnings data, and 43 hold an Azimuth national rank within their field. The largest program family is Business, accounting for 20.6% of degrees awarded, followed by Social Sciences at 11.6% and Health Professions at 8.0%.

The largest single program is Psychology, at 365 degrees awarded a year. Business Administration and Management is next with 275 degrees, and Social Sciences follows at 247.

The highest-ranked program is Community Organization and Advocacy, which awards 25 degrees a year and ranks #1 in Oregon within its field. Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services also ranks well, at #8 nationally and #1 in Oregon, with 44 degrees awarded and median earnings of $70,765.

The highest-earning program is Computer Science, where graduates earn a median of $113,889 four years out. It awards 168 degrees a year.

Electrical Engineering follows, with median earnings of $101,905 from 58 degrees awarded. The pattern is one of breadth: the largest programs sit in the social sciences and business, while the highest earnings come from engineering and computer science. 18.5% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Psychology, General 365 degrees awarded
$49,063
Business Administration, Management and Operations 275 degrees awarded
$71,621
Social Sciences, General 247 degrees awarded
$52,562
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 223 degrees awarded
$50,949
Marketing 209 degrees awarded
$61,499
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General 190 degrees awarded
$59,961

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 / Portland State University briefing

How does Portland State University serve students from different backgrounds?

Completion and modeled earnings give Portland State University a favorable mobility picture, though Pell completion remains lower than the overall rate. Azimuth places the university’s mobility pillar in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 52.7%, while Pell recipients complete within six years at 48.9%, below the overall rate by 3.8 percentage points. Graduates earn about $3,787 more than the model expects for similar students.

The earnings-beyond-expectations measure, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 67th percentile. High mobility standing and above-expected earnings point the same way, although Pell completion trails the overall rate.

Portland State University combines broad entry with a substantial transfer presence: it admits 90.9% of applicants and has 13,182 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients account for 41.6% of undergraduates, and an estimated 61.1% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places its access pillar in the 87th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, a result consistent with an institution serving many transfer and Pell-supported undergraduates.

06 / Portland State University briefing

What colleges are similar to Portland 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 Portland State University.

Admissions peerSaint Martin's University89.8% admitted
Comparison with Portland State University
MeasurePortland State UniversitySaint Martin's University
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,060$71,704+$9,644 vs Portland State University
Average annual net price$9,552$28,119+$18,567 vs Portland State University · higher cost
Admission rate90.9%89.8%
Nearby alternativeGeorge Fox UniversityNearby option · OR
Comparison with Portland State University
MeasurePortland State UniversityGeorge Fox University
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,060$69,145+$7,085 vs Portland State University
Average annual net price$9,552$31,679+$22,127 vs Portland State University · higher cost
Admission rate90.9%93.5%
Higher-earnings alternativeCalifornia State University-East Bay$72,596 earnings
Comparison with Portland State University
MeasurePortland State UniversityCalifornia State University-East Bay
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,060$72,596+$10,536 vs Portland State University
Average annual net price$9,552$9,320-$232 vs Portland State University · lower cost
Admission rate90.9%97.4%
Explore California State University-East Bay →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Brooklyn College$3,103 average net price
Comparison with Portland State University
MeasurePortland State UniversityCUNY Brooklyn College
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,060$62,833+$773 vs Portland State University
Average annual net price$9,552$3,103-$6,449 vs Portland State University · lower cost
Admission rate90.9%58.4%
Explore CUNY Brooklyn College →
Similar profileCalifornia State University-ChicoMatched across several measures
Comparison with Portland State University
MeasurePortland State UniversityCalifornia State University-Chico
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,060$65,228+$3,168 vs Portland State University
Average annual net price$9,552$14,480+$4,928 vs Portland State University · higher cost
Admission rate90.9%92.7%
Explore California State University-Chico →

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