College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Saint Louis University

MOMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #498 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Saint Louis University #498 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Saint Louis University is a private nonprofit university in Saint Louis, Missouri, where the degree mix is led by Health Professions and Business. Return is among the highest we track.

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 the factors it measures—field of study, enrollment and the local labor market—than to what it cannot explain.

Affordability is modestly below average, and the spread between the lowest and highest income bands is narrow. Pell students complete at a rate below the cohort as a whole, and access is modestly below average.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, and the largest programs are not the highest-earning ones.

Saint Louis University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
75.0%
Six-year completion[2]
79.5%
Four-year earnings[3]
$77,024

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$21,880
Median student debt[4]
$25,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$34,177

Saint Louis University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Saint Louis University sits in the upper half of the composite ranking (66th percentile). The university is a private nonprofit university in Saint Louis, Missouri, enrolling 7,267 undergraduates.

Saint Louis University admits 75.0% of those who apply, against a median of 71.2% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. After the first year, 87.8% of full-time first-year students remain enrolled, compared with a peer median of 83.4%.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 79.5%, against a median of 68.8% for similar schools. An estimated 25.7% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students, so that completion figure does not capture a sizable share of the student body.

The four sit far apart. Return is the strongest (91st percentile), while affordability is the weakest (28th percentile).

Access and mobility fall between them (35th and 53rd percentiles). That spread gives Saint Louis University a profile where the return pillar is far removed from the other three.

Azimuth evaluates Saint Louis University across four pillars among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. The strongest is return, in the 91st percentile, while affordability is the weakest, in the 28th percentile.

The mobility pillar sits in the 53rd percentile, and access in the 35th percentile. The return pillar stands well above the median, and affordability sits well below it.

That spread—a strong return percentile alongside a low affordability percentile—is the central tension in the university's Azimuth profile.

16.9% of undergraduates at Saint Louis University receive Pell Grants. For enrolled students who submitted scores, the middle 50% of SAT scores ranged from 1,200 to 1,410, and ACT scores from 25 to 31.

Azimuth ranks Saint Louis University #961 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year completion rate for Pell recipients is 61.9%, which is 17.6 percentage points below the overall rate for the entering cohort.

Azimuth ranks the university #687 for mobility. Graduates earn about $10,163 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that coincides with the mobility pillar's position.

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

Saint Louis University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#498

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 53
Access & reach
National percentile: 35
Affordability
National percentile: 28
Return on investment
National percentile: 91

Top-ranked majors

  1. Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions#4
  2. Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness#7
  3. International Business#12

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 / Saint Louis University briefing

Saint Louis University cost & financial aid[6][7]

Saint Louis University publishes a cost of attendance of $71,932, with tuition and fees at $55,760 and room and board at $15,280. After grants and scholarships, the average net price—what aid recipients actually pay—drops to $24,398, a savings of $47,534 against the sticker total.

That sits below the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,973. Azimuth ranks the university #1,016 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The return pillar tells a different story: Azimuth ranks Saint Louis University #140 for return on investment. A net price below the peer median and a return pillar in the top decile point in opposite directions, so the overall picture depends on both cost and earnings.

The published cost of attendance at Saint Louis University is $71,932. Azimuth ranks the university #1,016 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $22,501, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $21,880, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $27,466. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $4,965.

Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $24,398, which is $2,973 below the $27,371 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Tuition and fees are $55,760, and the average aid package offsets $47,534 of the published cost.

Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median of $25,000 in federal student loans. That is $801 above the peer median of $24,199.

92.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Parents who borrow through the Parent PLUS program hold a separate median of $34,177.

If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$21,880

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Saint Louis University

Saint Louis University graduates who borrow federal loans leave with a median debt of $25,000. That median is above the $24,199 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $801, and 92.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

For a separate population of parent borrowers, the median Parent PLUS loan is $34,177.

Graduates of Saint Louis University earn a median of $77,024 four years after completion, a figure in the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. They earn about $10,163 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome that falls in the 83rd percentile nationally.

Earnings scenarios derived from the university's program mix suggest a downside of $57,492 and an upside of $90,540, framing the range around the typical outcome. Borrowers finish with a median federal debt of $25,000, which is above the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years. Graduates earn above the median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $8,774, while the median federal debt sits only slightly above the peer median.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $34,177. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $284.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$25,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$34,177

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$284/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$434/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 / Saint Louis University briefing

Saint Louis University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Saint Louis University's strongest pillar is return on investment, which Azimuth places in the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $10,163 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 83rd percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,545. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $2,618.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,898. Four years after completion, the median earnings for the university's completers reach $77,024, which sits in the 85th percentile nationally.

That figure is above the peer median of $68,250 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $8,774. The combination of higher-than-expected earnings and a median well above the peer benchmark points to a strong return picture for graduates.

Federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $77,024 four years after completing a degree at Saint Louis University. That median falls in the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, measured among 2,022 completers.

Those earnings are $8,774 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $10,163 more than the model expects for similar students.

That gap places them in the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios run from a downside of $57,492 to an upside of $90,540, with $77,024 as the typical scenario.

An estimated 29.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Federally aided completers at Saint Louis University earn $77,024 four years after completion, working and not enrolled, placing the university in the 85th percentile for earnings among nonprofit four-year institutions. This median is $8,774 above the $68,250 figure that comparable institutions (same type and size) typically post.

Azimuth ranks the university #140 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $10,163 more than the model expects for similar students, a comparison of actual pay against the model's expectation.

That result sits at the 83rd percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,545.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $2,618. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,898.

The degrees awarded here cluster heavily in health professions and business, with biological sciences also prominent, while STEM fields make up a smaller share of the total. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, span from a downside of $57,492 to an upside of $90,540.

An estimated 29.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Earnings at Saint Louis University vary considerably by field, and the earnings scenarios capture that spread. The downside earnings scenario sits at $57,492, the upside at $90,540, and the typical scenario at $77,024.

The highest-earning programs show what the upside looks like in practice. Mechanical Engineering graduates earn a median of $99,331 four years after completion, while Finance completers reach $93,647 and International Business graduates earn $92,270.

Saint Louis University's return picture is strong: graduates earn about $10,163 more than the model expects for similar students. The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $25,000, which runs above the median of $24,199 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt would mean a monthly payment of $284. The average net price for aid recipients, what they pay after grants and scholarships, is $24,398, which is below the peer median of $27,371.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $34,177. Above-expected earnings at Saint Louis University coincide with a net price that sits below the peer median, though the median debt figure runs slightly above the peer benchmark.

The return is strong, while the financing side calls for a close look at the net price for your income band.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$7,545
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$2,618
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$10,163

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 / Saint Louis University briefing

Saint Louis University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Saint Louis University admits 75.0% of applicants, a rate that sits near the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). Most applicants receive an offer, and the rate does not signal a narrow gate.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
75.0%
Approximate lower endpoint
1200
Reported average
1317
Approximate upper endpoint
1410

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 / Saint Louis University briefing

What are the largest majors at Saint Louis University?[12]

Saint Louis University's largest programs show a wide earnings range four years after completion, and Azimuth ranks four of them nationally. Nursing, the largest by degrees awarded at 189, reports a median of $81,525 and an Azimuth national rank of #219.

Azimuth ranks Kinesiology and Physical Education #7 nationally and #1 in Missouri within its field. Its completers earn a median of $77,066 on 99 degrees awarded.

Biology awarded 81 degrees and shows a median of $65,517, ranking #96 nationally. Kinesiology and Physical Education awarded 99 degrees, reaches $77,066 and an Azimuth national rank of #7.

The earnings spread between the highest- and moderate-earning fields above highlights the variation across programs at Saint Louis University.

Saint Louis University holds an Azimuth national rank in 21 bachelor's fields among the 31 programs with published earnings data. Its highest-ranked field is Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions, placed at #4 nationally and #1 in Missouri.

The program awarded 57 degrees and reports a median of $70,351 four years after completion. Kinesiology and Physical Education ranks #7 nationally and #1 in Missouri.

The program awarded 99 degrees and shows a median of $77,066 four years after completion. International Business sits at #12 nationally and #1 in Missouri.

It awarded 30 degrees and its completers earn a median of $92,270 four years after completion. Air Transportation is ranked #16 nationally and #1 in Missouri.

The program awarded 33 degrees and reports a median of $83,903 four years after completion.

The program mix at Saint Louis University is anchored by Health Professions, which accounts for 28.0% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Business at 17.4% and Biological Sciences at 8.9%. The university has 21 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 31 with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single programs are Nursing at 189 degrees awarded, Kinesiology and Physical Education at 99, and Biology at 81. Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions is the highest-ranked program in its field, with median earnings of $70,351 four years after completion.

It ranks #1 in Missouri within its field. Azimuth ranks Kinesiology and Physical Education #7 nationally within its field, with 99 degrees awarded and median earnings of $77,066.

The highest-earning program is Mechanical Engineering, where graduates earn a median of $99,331 four years out, from 27 degrees awarded a year. Finance, the fourth-largest program, follows at $93,647 with 73 degrees awarded.

Kinesiology and Physical Education stands out for its return: a benchmark ratio of 1.41x against the national median for its field. The pattern is one of strength concentrated in health and business fields, where the highest-ranked and highest-earning programs sit.

21.5% of degrees awarded are in STEM. The largest program, Nursing, earns a median of $81,525 and ranks #3 in Missouri within its field.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 189 degrees awarded
$81,525
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 99 degrees awarded
$77,066
Biology, General 81 degrees awarded
$65,517
Finance and Financial Management Services 73 degrees awarded
$93,647
Psychology, General 58 degrees awarded
$58,862
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions 57 degrees awarded
$70,351

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 / Saint Louis University briefing

How does Saint Louis University serve students from different backgrounds?

Graduates earn about $10,163 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 83rd percentile nationally. Azimuth places the university's mobility pillar in the 53rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 79.5%. Pell recipients complete at 61.9%, which is below the overall rate by 17.6 percentage points.

Saint Louis University, a private nonprofit university in Saint Louis, enrolls 7,267 undergraduates and admits 75.0% of applicants, a rate that sits above the median for comparable institutions (its peers), which is 71.2%. An estimated 25.7% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students, and 16.9% receive Pell Grants, a financial-access measure.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 35th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / Saint Louis University briefing

What colleges are similar to Saint Louis 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 Saint Louis University.

Admissions peerMissouri University of Science and Technology72.6% admitted
Comparison with Saint Louis University
MeasureSaint Louis UniversityMissouri University of Science and Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,024$93,514+$16,490 vs Saint Louis University
Average annual net price$24,398$16,298-$8,100 vs Saint Louis University · lower cost
Admission rate75.0%72.6%
Explore Missouri University of Science and Technology →
Higher-admission alternativeMaryville University of Saint Louis95.1% admitted
Comparison with Saint Louis University
MeasureSaint Louis UniversityMaryville University of Saint Louis
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,024$84,871+$7,847 vs Saint Louis University
Average annual net price$24,398$22,066-$2,332 vs Saint Louis University · lower cost
Admission rate75.0%95.1%
Explore Maryville University of Saint Louis →
Nearby alternativeMaryville University of Saint LouisNearby option · MO
Comparison with Saint Louis University
MeasureSaint Louis UniversityMaryville University of Saint Louis
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,024$84,871+$7,847 vs Saint Louis University
Average annual net price$24,398$22,066-$2,332 vs Saint Louis University · lower cost
Admission rate75.0%95.1%
Explore Maryville University of Saint Louis →
Higher-earnings alternativeMolloy University$96,058 earnings
Comparison with Saint Louis University
MeasureSaint Louis UniversityMolloy University
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,024$96,058+$19,034 vs Saint Louis University
Average annual net price$24,398$24,347-$51 vs Saint Louis University · lower cost
Admission rate75.0%81.7%
Explore Molloy University →
Lower-cost alternativePurdue University Northwest$6,079 average net price
Comparison with Saint Louis University
MeasureSaint Louis UniversityPurdue University Northwest
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,024$73,337-$3,687 vs Saint Louis University
Average annual net price$24,398$6,079-$18,319 vs Saint Louis University · lower cost
Admission rate75.0%72.4%
Explore Purdue University Northwest →
Similar profileUniversity of DaytonMatched across several measures
Comparison with Saint Louis University
MeasureSaint Louis UniversityUniversity of Dayton
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,024$78,870+$1,846 vs Saint Louis University
Average annual net price$24,398$29,533+$5,135 vs Saint Louis University · higher cost
Admission rate75.0%65.5%
Explore University of Dayton →

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