Research brief & institution hub

University of Nevada-Las Vegas

NVLarge public institution · Overall rank #76 nationally

Data snapshot September 27, 2026Updated October 1, 2026

Ranked #76 nationally by Azimuth in Las Vegas.

Who it’s a good fit for

The University of Nevada-Las Vegas is a public university in Las Vegas whose degree mix is led by Business, Psychology, and Health Professions. Mobility is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes part of that to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — which add, while the unexplained remainder subtracts.

Return is above average. Pell recipients complete within a few points of the rate for the entering cohort as a whole, and access is well above average.

The net price for the lowest income band sits well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it, and affordability is well above average. The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study.

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

UNLV at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate^[1]: 96.2%
Six-year completion^[2]: 50.5%
Four-year earnings^[3]: $62,637

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income^[6]: $10,606
Median student debt^[4]: $19,450
Median Parent PLUS debt^[7]: $20,906

UNLV rankings: how Azimuth assesses value^[5]

University of Nevada-Las Vegas is a public university in Las Vegas, Nevada, enrolling 24,622 undergraduates. Its composite standing is in the top decile of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (95th percentile).

The university admits 96.2% of applicants, a rate well above the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 79.2% return for a second year and 50.5% finish within six years.

Those figures sit against peer medians of 83.1% and 65.0%. An estimated 35.7% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students.

The shape is a broad-access public campus where mobility is the strongest and return the weakest, with access and affordability sitting between them. The four pillars are spread out, with mobility far ahead of the others.

The mobility pillar anchors University of Nevada-Las Vegas's profile, landing in the 96th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The university has a large undergraduate body of 24,622 and a Pell share of 40.1%.

Affordability sits in the 89th percentile and access in the 87th percentile. The return pillar, at the 72nd percentile, is the weakest of the four, though all four stand above the median for nonprofit four-year institutions.

40.1% of undergraduates at University of Nevada-Las Vegas receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks University of Nevada-Las Vegas #187 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The Pell completion rate is 48.1%, 2.4 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole. Azimuth ranks the university #54 for mobility. Graduates earn about $9,843 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

UNLV rankings in context
Geography	Rank
National	#76

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility: National percentile: 96

Access & reach: National percentile: 87

Affordability: National percentile: 89

Return on investment: National percentile: 72

Top-ranked majors

Human Services, General#6
Special Education and Teaching#7
Urban Studies/Affairs#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 / UNLV briefing

UNLV cost & financial aid^[6]^[7]

The University of Nevada-Las Vegas publishes a cost of attendance of $19,638. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported in-state tuition of $8,909 and required fees of $1,039 for the 2025-26 academic year.

On-campus food and housing added $12,628. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $10,359, which is $5,275 below the $15,634 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Financial aid reduces the published cost by an average of $9,279. Azimuth ranks the university #157 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The published cost of attendance at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas is $19,638. For families earning under $30,000 the average net price is $8,526, and for those in the $30,001–$48,000 band it is $8,537.

The reaches $10,606 for families earning $48,001–$75,000, $13,513 for the $75,001–$110,000 band, and $15,905 for families earning over $110,000. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $7,379.

Azimuth ranks the university #157 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places it in the 89th percentile.

Aid covers about 47% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average savings of $9,279 against the sticker price. The average net price across all aid recipients is $10,359, which sits below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $5,275.

Median federal student debt at completion is $19,450, with about 63.5% of federal aid recipients borrowing. That median is below the peer median of $20,076 by $626.

The median Parent PLUS borrowing stands at $20,906. The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $221 a month if repaid over ten years.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$10,606

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at UNLV

Among undergraduates at University of Nevada-Las Vegas, 63.5% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. For those who borrow and complete, the median federal student debt is $19,450.

That median sits below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), by $626. For parent borrowers, a separate population, the median Parent PLUS loan is $20,906.

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported that 38% of 2,723 bachelor's graduates borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative amount of $22,412 per borrower. Federal loans accounted for most of that: 37% of graduates held federal debt, averaging $20,022, while 4% held private loans, including some who also held federal loans, averaging $25,035.

Graduates of University of Nevada-Las Vegas earn about $9,843 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median earnings four years after completion stand at $62,637, which places the public university in the 59th percentile nationally.

Earnings scenarios derived from the university's program mix point to a typical earnings level of $62,637, with a downside scenario of $48,517 and an upside scenario of $86,135. For those who borrow, the median federal student debt at completion is $19,450, a figure below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt level corresponds to an estimated monthly payment of $221.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate federal parent-borrower population, stands at $20,906. The estimated monthly payment on the median federal student debt if repaid over ten years is $221.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt: $19,450
Institution Parent PLUS debt: $20,906

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

Estimated student payment · monthly: $221/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly: $266/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 / UNLV briefing

UNLV career outcomes & earnings^[3]^[8]^[9]

Four years after completing a degree at University of Nevada-Las Vegas, the median earnings stand at $62,637, which places the university in the 59th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That median runs below the peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,973.

Graduates earn about $9,843 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 83rd percentile nationally. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $11,218.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $1,375. The STEM component of the measured factors adds $1,266.

Azimuth ranks the return pillar for University of Nevada-Las Vegas in the 72nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The four-year earnings cohort at University of Nevada-Las Vegas includes 4,722 completers. For federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings four years after completion reach $62,637, placing the university in the 59th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That median runs below the $65,610 median of comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,973. Those completers earn about $9,843 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 83rd percentile.

Azimuth's earnings scenarios for the university's program mix run from a downside of $48,517 to a typical outcome of $62,637 and an upside of $86,135. The program mix implies that an estimated 28.9% of graduates continue to graduate study; this is a modeled estimate, not observed enrollment.

At University of Nevada-Las Vegas, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $62,637 four years after completing a degree, at the 59th percentile. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $65,610, leaving this university $2,973 below that benchmark.

For return, Azimuth ranks the university #410 among nonprofit four-year institutions. They earn about $9,843 more than the model expects for similar students.

That result falls at the 83rd 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 $11,218.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $1,375. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,266.

The program mix covers business, psychology, and health professions, alongside hospitality administration/management and criminal justice. Estimated from that mix, the downside earnings scenario is $48,517 and the upside is $86,135.

An estimated 28.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

At University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Electrical Engineering graduates earn $100,765 four years after completion, Mechanical Engineering completers earn $97,901, and Nursing graduates earn $94,600. These figures illustrate the upper end of program-level outcomes.

Azimuth's earnings scenarios for the university's program mix run from a downside of $48,517 to a typical outcome of $62,637 and an upside of $86,135, a range that captures the earnings variation across fields.

The value case at University of Nevada-Las Vegas rests on a net price that runs well below the peer median and debt that stays manageable. The return picture is mixed: graduates earn about $9,843 more than the model expects for similar students, but median earnings sit below the peer midpoint.

The published cost of attendance is $19,638. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $10,359, which is $5,275 below the peer median of $15,634 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Aid covers about 47% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, though this is an average rather than a personal quote. Borrowers who complete a degree leave with a median of $19,450 in federal student loans, $626 below the peer median of $20,076.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $221 a month if repaid over ten years. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $20,906 in Parent PLUS loans.

What explains value-added earnings?

Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.: +$11,218
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.: -$1,375
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.: +$9,843

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

Read the full admissions brief

04 / UNLV briefing

What are the largest majors at UNLV?^[12]

University of Nevada-Las Vegas fields 40 ranked bachelor's programs, and the highest-earning among them reach six-figure medians four years after completion. Electrical Engineering leads at $100,765, though it awarded only 38 degrees.

Mechanical Engineering follows at $97,901 with 98 degrees awarded. Among the largest programs, Nursing stands out: its median of $94,600 coincides with an Azimuth national field rank of #95 and 232 degrees awarded.

Hospitality Administration/Management, the largest program by degrees at 462 awarded, reports a more moderate $58,719 and ranks #13 nationally. Criminal Justice earns $57,556 with 330 degrees awarded and an Azimuth rank of #41 in its field.

Azimuth ranks 40 of the university's bachelor's programs nationally, with earnings data published for 45 fields. The university's top-ranked program is Human Services, which holds the #6 spot in its field and awarded 32 degrees.

Nursing graduates earn a median of $94,600 on 232 degrees awarded and the program ranks #95 nationally. Criminal Justice ranks #41 and shows median earnings of $57,556 on 330 degrees awarded.

Special Education and Teaching ranks #7 nationally with 29 degrees awarded and a median of $60,958 four years after completion.

The University of Nevada-Las Vegas awards degrees across a broad set of fields, with Business leading at 23.4% of bachelor's degrees, followed by Psychology at 8.7% and Health Professions at 7.8%. The university has 40 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 45 with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Hospitality Administration/Management, at 462 degrees awarded, with Psychology next at 412 degrees awarded and Criminal Justice at 330 degrees awarded. The top-ranked programs span several fields of study.

Human Services awards 32 degrees, earns a median of $58,130 four years after completion and ranks #1 in Nevada within its field. Special Education and Teaching ranks #1 in Nevada within its field, with 29 degrees awarded and median earnings of $60,958.

It also carries a benchmark ratio of 1.21x against the national median for its field. The highest-earning program is a smaller one: Electrical Engineering reports median earnings of $100,765, from 38 degrees awarded.

The pattern is one of strength in applied fields that serve the local economy. Nursing, with 232 degrees awarded, earns $94,600, while Biology earns $62,087 and ranks #1 in Nevada. Across all fields, 17.7% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields

Hospitality Administration/Management 462 degrees awarded: $58,719
Psychology, General 412 degrees awarded: $51,200
Criminal Justice and Corrections 330 degrees awarded: $57,556
Biology, General 246 degrees awarded: $62,087
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 232 degrees awarded: $94,600
Communication and Media Studies 220 degrees awarded: $56,944

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 / UNLV briefing

How does UNLV serve students from different backgrounds?

For mobility, Azimuth ranks the university #54 among nonprofit four-year institutions. The mobility pillar falls in the 96th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $9,843 more than the model expects for similar students. The earnings-beyond-expectations measure falls in the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The six-year graduation rate stands at 50.5% for the first-time full-time cohort. Pell recipients complete at 48.1%, a rate below the overall figure by 2.4 percentage points.

Azimuth places the access pillar for University of Nevada-Las Vegas in the 87th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The public university admits 96.2% of applicants and enrolls 24,622 undergraduates.

Pell Grant recipients make up 40.1% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 35.7% of students enter as transfers or part-time students.

06 / UNLV briefing

What colleges are similar to UNLV?^[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 UNLV.

Admissions peerSt. Mary's University97.8% admitted

Comparison with UNLV
Measure	UNLV	St. Mary's University
Peer earnings · 4 years	$62,637	$58,545-$4,092 vs UNLV
Average annual net price	$10,359	$21,145+$10,786 vs UNLV · higher cost
Admission rate	96.2%	97.8%

Nearby alternativeNevada State UniversityNearby option · NV

Comparison with UNLV
Measure	UNLV	Nevada State University
Peer earnings · 4 years	$62,637	$73,626+$10,989 vs UNLV
Average annual net price	$10,359	$14,068+$3,709 vs UNLV · higher cost
Admission rate	96.2%	86.8%

Higher-earnings alternativeCalifornia State University-East Bay$72,596 earnings

Comparison with UNLV
Measure	UNLV	California State University-East Bay
Peer earnings · 4 years	$62,637	$72,596+$9,959 vs UNLV
Average annual net price	$10,359	$9,320-$1,039 vs UNLV · lower cost
Admission rate	96.2%	97.4%

Explore California State University-East Bay →

Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Brooklyn College$3,103 average net price

Comparison with UNLV
Measure	UNLV	CUNY Brooklyn College
Peer earnings · 4 years	$62,637	$62,833+$196 vs UNLV
Average annual net price	$10,359	$3,103-$7,256 vs UNLV · lower cost
Admission rate	96.2%	58.4%

Explore CUNY Brooklyn College →

Similar profileNorthern Arizona UniversityMatched across several measures

Comparison with UNLV
Measure	UNLV	Northern Arizona University
Peer earnings · 4 years	$62,637	$60,629-$2,008 vs UNLV
Average annual net price	$10,359	$14,158+$3,799 vs UNLV · higher cost
Admission rate	96.2%	89.6%

Explore Northern Arizona 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 September 27, 2026Governed hub narrative September 27, 2026Governed spoke corpus September 27, 2026

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.

Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.
Source fields: ADM_RATE
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.
Source fields: RET_FT4
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
Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.
Source fields: PCTPELL
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
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