College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

State University of New York at New Paltz

NYMedium public institution · Overall rank #462 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks State University of New York at New Paltz #462 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

State University of New York at New Paltz is a public university in New Paltz, New York, where the largest degree families are Business and Education. Mobility is well above average.

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

Return is below the levels seen at many peers. Pell recipients complete at a rate below the overall cohort, and access is well above average.

The lowest income band pays well under the published cost, while the highest pays close to it. The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are much smaller.

SUNY New Paltz at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
61.6%
Six-year completion[2]
71.6%
Four-year earnings[3]
$56,933

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$20,178
Median student debt[4]
$18,750
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$23,871

SUNY New Paltz rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

State University of New York at New Paltz is a public university in New Paltz, New York, enrolling 6,086 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The strongest is mobility, and the weakest is return. The university admits 61.6% of applicants, which is more selective than the 85.9% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Once enrolled, 85.0% of full-time students return for a second year, and 71.6% finish within six years. Both figures run above the medians for comparable institutions, which are 73.7% and 49.1%.

An estimated 34.7% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate covers the first-time full-time cohort and excludes those who started elsewhere. The four pillars are spread across the ranking.

Mobility leads (85th percentile), while return trails (23rd percentile). Access and affordability sit between them (77th and 69th percentiles).

State University of New York at New Paltz draws its strongest Azimuth rating from economic mobility, where it sits in the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The access pillar follows in the 77th percentile, and affordability in the 69th percentile. The return pillar is the weakest, in the 23rd percentile.

The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,170 and 1,340. For the ACT, the middle 50% of submitted scores ran from 25 to 29.

31.9% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Pell Grant recipients complete at 57.6%, below the overall six-year rate by 14.0 percentage points (the entering cohort graduates at 71.6%).

Azimuth ranks State University of New York at New Paltz #344 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks the university #227 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $12,981 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

SUNY New Paltz rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#462

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 85
Access & reach
National percentile: 77
Affordability
National percentile: 69
Return on investment
National percentile: 23

Top-ranked majors

  1. Visual and Performing Arts, General#16
  2. Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas#21
  3. Radio, Television, and Digital Communication#30

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 / SUNY New Paltz briefing

SUNY New Paltz cost & financial aid[6][7]

State University of New York at New Paltz publishes a cost of attendance of $28,428, with in-state tuition and fees at $8,572 and out-of-state at $18,822. Room and board adds $16,684.

For the average aid recipient, the average net price—what students pay after grants and scholarships—drops to $18,809, a savings of $9,619 against the sticker total. That sits above the peer median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $4,741.

Azimuth ranks the university #445 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 34% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

The net price is higher than the peer median, yet the sticker-to-net gap still cuts the published cost by more than a third for those who receive aid.

The published cost of attendance at State University of New York at New Paltz is $28,428. Azimuth ranks the university #445 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, aid recipients in the lowest family-income band (under $30,000) average $10,541, those in the middle band ($48,001–$75,000) average $20,178, and those in the highest band (over $110,000) average $26,256. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $15,715.

Aid covers about 34% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The average net price across all aid recipients is $18,809, which is $4,741 above the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $18,750 in federal student loans. That is $2,479 below the peer median of $21,229 for comparable institutions.

85.8% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $23,871 in Parent PLUS loans.

If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $213 a month. It estimates what a family might pay based on income and assets.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$20,178

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at SUNY New Paltz

Federal borrowing is common at State University of New York at New Paltz: 85.8% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, yet the amounts that graduates carry stay moderate. The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $18,750.

That median is below the $21,229 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,479. Parent borrowers, a separate population, carry a median Parent PLUS loan of $23,871.

The return picture at State University of New York at New Paltz is mixed. Graduates earn a median of $56,933 four years after completion.

That figure is below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). It sits in the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

At the same time, graduates earn about $12,981 less than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 12th percentile nationally. Earnings scenarios derived from the university's program mix show a downside scenario of $44,858 and an upside scenario of $73,339.

Borrowers finish with a median federal debt of $18,750, which is below the $21,229 peer median. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $213 a month if repaid over ten years.

Earnings that beat the peer median and debt that runs below it point in a favorable direction, even as the earnings gap persists.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $23,871. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $213.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$18,750
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$23,871

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$213/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$303/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 / SUNY New Paltz briefing

SUNY New Paltz career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

The return pillar is the weakest of the four for State University of New York at New Paltz, at the 23rd percentile. Graduates earn about $12,981 less than the model expects for similar students.

That gap sits at the 12th percentile. Four years after completion, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $56,933.

That figure is at the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, and it is $368 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $2,318.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $15,299. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $630.

State University of New York at New Paltz graduates who are working and not enrolled four years after completion earn a median of $56,933. That measure covers 795 federally aided completers and sits in the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The median is $368 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $12,981 less than the model expects for similar students.

That result puts the earnings gap in the 12th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a typical outcome of $56,933, a downside scenario of $44,858 and an upside scenario of $73,339.

These are estimates tied to program clusters, not observed graduate outcomes. An estimated 31.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The return picture at State University of New York at New Paltz is mixed. Four years after completion, graduates earn a median of $56,933, which is below the peer median of $57,301 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $368.

That median sits in the 39th percentile nationally. Graduates earn about $12,981 less than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 12th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $2,318. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $15,299.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $630. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $44,858 and an upside of $73,339.

Azimuth ranks the university #1,132 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Program-level results show a wider spread.

The largest program, Psychology, awarded 207 degrees and its completers earn a median of $55,378 four years after completion, which Azimuth ranks #80 nationally in the field. The highest-earning program is Computer and Information Sciences, with 50 degrees awarded and median earnings of $103,020.

Subject-Area Teacher Education stands out: it ranks #21 nationally and its completers earn $60,371, a figure that is 1.18x the national median for the field. Radio, Television, and Digital Communication is the third-largest program with 111 degrees awarded.

The institutional return percentile is low, yet several programs exceed their field medians.

Earnings four years after completion vary widely by field at State University of New York at New Paltz. The earnings scenarios, which reflect the program mix, range from a downside of $44,858 to an upside of $73,339.

The highest-earning programs show the upper end of that spread: Computer and Information Sciences completers earn a median of $103,020, Mechanical Engineering graduates reach $89,504, and Accounting completers earn $67,626.

Graduates of State University of New York at New Paltz earn about $12,981 less than the model expects for similar students. The median federal student debt for borrowers who finish is $18,750, which is $2,479 below the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $213 a month. The published cost of attendance is $28,428.

After grants and scholarships, aid recipients in the lowest income band average $10,541, while those in the highest band average $26,256. The spread between the two ends is $15,715. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $23,871 in Parent PLUS loans.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$2,318
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$15,299
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$12,981

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 / SUNY New Paltz briefing

SUNY New Paltz acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

State University of New York at New Paltz admits 61.6% of applicants. The median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size) sits above the university's rate.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
61.6%
Approximate lower endpoint
1170
Reported average
1265
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 / SUNY New Paltz briefing

What are the largest majors at SUNY New Paltz?[12]

The highest-earning bachelor's program at State University of New York at New Paltz is Computer and Information Sciences, where completers earn a median of $103,020 four years after completion, with 50 degrees awarded. Mechanical Engineering follows at $89,504 and 48 degrees awarded.

Among the largest programs, Psychology awarded 207 degrees and shows median earnings of $55,378, with an Azimuth national rank of #80 in its field. Subject-Area Teacher Education, another large program with 102 degrees awarded, reaches $60,371 and ranks #21 nationally.

Radio, Television, and Digital Communication, with 111 degrees awarded, earns $47,453 and holds a national rank of #30, illustrating how earnings vary across the university's mix of fields.

The program picture varies by field, with ranked offerings showing different earnings levels four years after completion. State University of New York at New Paltz has 17 bachelor’s fields ranked nationally by Azimuth among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For Visual and Performing Arts, Azimuth places the field at #16 nationally; 28 degrees were awarded, and median earnings were $41,097 four years after completion. Subject-Area Teacher Education holds Azimuth’s #21 national field rank, alongside 102 degrees awarded and $60,371 in median earnings four years after completion.

Azimuth lists Radio, Television, and Digital Communication at #30 nationally in its field; it awarded 111 degrees, with $47,453 in median earnings four years after completion. Communication Disorders Sciences and Services is ranked #49 nationally in its field by Azimuth, with 65 degrees awarded and median earnings of $60,112 four years after completion.

The degree mix at State University of New York at New Paltz is spread across several fields, with no single family dominating. Business accounts for 14.0% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed closely by Education at 13.6% and Psychology at 11.8%.

The university has 17 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 18 with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Psychology, at 207 degrees awarded, with Teacher Education next at 137 and Radio, Television, and Digital Communication at 111.

The highest-ranked program is Visual and Performing Arts. Subject-Area Teacher Education ranks #21 nationally within its field and #9 in New York.

Visual and Performing Arts, the highest-ranked program, awards 28 degrees a year. Graduates earn a median of $41,097 four years after completion, a benchmark ratio of 0.99x against the national median for its field.

The highest-earning program is a smaller one: Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn $103,020, from 50 degrees awarded, while Mechanical Engineering follows at $89,504 with 48 degrees awarded. The pattern is one of strength in professional preparation fields.

Psychology, the biggest program, earns a median of $55,378 and ranks #80 nationally within its field. The best-paid programs in computing and engineering award fewer degrees but post substantially higher earnings. 13.8% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Psychology, General 207 degrees awarded
$55,378
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 137 degrees awarded
$53,267
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication 111 degrees awarded
$47,453
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas 102 degrees awarded
$60,371
Sociology 96 degrees awarded
$51,290
English Language and Literature, General 72 degrees awarded
$45,024

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 / SUNY New Paltz briefing

How does SUNY New Paltz serve students from different backgrounds?

State University of New York at New Paltz earns its strongest pillar in mobility, where Azimuth places it in the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients in the first-time full-time cohort complete at a rate of 57.6%, below the overall six-year graduation rate of 71.6% by 14.0 percentage points.

Four years after completion, graduates earn about $12,981 less than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 12th percentile nationally. The mobility pillar is strong, but earnings fall short of the model's expectation.

State University of New York at New Paltz enrolls 6,086 undergraduates and admits 61.6% of applicants, a rate well below the peer median—the median among comparable institutions—of 85.9%. Pell Grant recipients make up 31.9% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 34.7% of students arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / SUNY New Paltz briefing

What colleges are similar to SUNY New Paltz?[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 SUNY New Paltz.

Admissions peerSiena University69.0% admitted
Comparison with SUNY New Paltz
MeasureSUNY New PaltzSiena University
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,933$70,594+$13,661 vs SUNY New Paltz
Average annual net price$18,809$33,733+$14,924 vs SUNY New Paltz · higher cost
Admission rate61.6%69.0%
Higher-admission alternativeEast Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania92.1% admitted
Comparison with SUNY New Paltz
MeasureSUNY New PaltzEast Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,933$56,971+$38 vs SUNY New Paltz
Average annual net price$18,809$18,134-$675 vs SUNY New Paltz · lower cost
Admission rate61.6%92.1%
Explore East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania →
Nearby alternativeSUNY Old WestburyNearby option · NY
Comparison with SUNY New Paltz
MeasureSUNY New PaltzSUNY Old Westbury
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,933$58,756+$1,823 vs SUNY New Paltz
Average annual net price$18,809$11,282-$7,527 vs SUNY New Paltz · lower cost
Admission rate61.6%83.6%
Explore SUNY Old Westbury →
Higher-earnings alternativeRamapo College of New Jersey$67,266 earnings
Comparison with SUNY New Paltz
MeasureSUNY New PaltzRamapo College of New Jersey
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,933$67,266+$10,333 vs SUNY New Paltz
Average annual net price$18,809$18,173-$636 vs SUNY New Paltz · lower cost
Admission rate61.6%70.6%
Explore Ramapo College of New Jersey →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Brooklyn College$3,103 average net price
Comparison with SUNY New Paltz
MeasureSUNY New PaltzCUNY Brooklyn College
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,933$62,833+$5,900 vs SUNY New Paltz
Average annual net price$18,809$3,103-$15,706 vs SUNY New Paltz · lower cost
Admission rate61.6%58.4%
Explore CUNY Brooklyn College →
Similar profileKutztown University of PennsylvaniaMatched across several measures
Comparison with SUNY New Paltz
MeasureSUNY New PaltzKutztown University of Pennsylvania
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,933$55,608-$1,325 vs SUNY New Paltz
Average annual net price$18,809$21,331+$2,522 vs SUNY New Paltz · higher cost
Admission rate61.6%90.8%
Explore Kutztown University of Pennsylvania →

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

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Data notes & source fields

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

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

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

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

    Source fields: C150_4

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

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

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

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

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

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

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

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

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

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

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

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

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

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

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

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

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

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

    Source fields: RET_FT4

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

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

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

    Source fields: PCTPELL

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

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

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

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings