College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Wisconsin-Parkside

WIMedium public institution · Overall rank #576 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks University of Wisconsin-Parkside #576 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of Wisconsin-Parkside is a public university in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where Business and Psychology lead the degree mix. Affordability is well above average, and the net price for the lowest income band sits well below the published cost.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes an addition to the factors it measures and a subtraction to the remainder it cannot explain.

Pell Grant recipients complete at the same rate as the entering cohort as a whole, and access is above average. The lowest and highest income bands pay averages that are closer together than the published cost might suggest.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study.

University of Wisconsin-Parkside at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
75.4%
Six-year completion[2]
40.4%
Four-year earnings[3]
$55,184

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$11,241
Median student debt[4]
$20,492
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$13,139

University of Wisconsin-Parkside rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

2,844 undergraduates enroll at University of Wisconsin-Parkside, a public university in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, it lands in the middle of the field (61st percentile).

The university accepts 75.4% of those who apply. That sits below the 85.9% median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Of those who enroll full time, 68.7% come back for a second year; the peer median is 73.7%. For the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate is 40.4%, while the peer median is 49.1%.

An estimated 42.8% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students. Because the six-year rate counts only first-time, full-time students, it describes a minority of the people who study at University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

The four here are spread far apart. Affordability is the strongest (87th percentile), while return is the weakest (34th percentile). Access and mobility sit between those two, at the 64th and 49th percentiles.

Affordability is the pillar that stands out most clearly in the Azimuth profile, at the 87th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Return is the weakest of the four, at the 34th percentile.

Access sits at the 64th percentile and mobility at the 49th percentile. Affordability is the strongest pillar and return is the weakest.

35.0% of undergraduates at University of Wisconsin-Parkside receive Pell Grants. That is the financial-access picture for undergraduates.

Azimuth ranks the university #536 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients complete at 40.4%, a gap of 0.0 percentage points percentage points from the overall six-year graduation rate (40.4%).

For mobility, Azimuth ranks University of Wisconsin-Parkside #751. Graduates earn about $5,459 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

University of Wisconsin-Parkside rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#576

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 49
Access & reach
National percentile: 64
Affordability
National percentile: 87
Return on investment
National percentile: 34

01 / University of Wisconsin-Parkside briefing

University of Wisconsin-Parkside cost & financial aid[6][7]

The published cost of attendance at University of Wisconsin-Parkside is $18,199. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported in-state tuition of $6,978 and required fees of $1,552 for the 2025-26 academic year.

On-campus food and housing added $9,341 to the sticker charge. Nonresidents faced tuition of $16,137.

The average net price — what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships — is $11,772. That is $2,296 below the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #190 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 35% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

Only 2.5% of full-time undergraduates paid more than the base tuition and fees, according to the university's 2024-25 Common Data Set.

The published cost of attendance is $18,199, and affordability is the strongest of the university's four pillars. Azimuth ranks University of Wisconsin-Parkside #190 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 $7,425, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $11,241, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $17,917. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $10,492.

Aid saves the average recipient $6,427 off the published cost. The across all aid recipients is $11,772, which is $2,296 below the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

81.7% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median of $20,492 in federal student loans.

That is $737 below the peer median of $21,229. Parents who borrow through the Parent PLUS program hold a separate median of $13,139.

If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$11,241

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Wisconsin-Parkside

Federal borrowing is common at University of Wisconsin-Parkside: 81.7% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $20,492, which is $737 below the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Parent borrowers are a separate population, with median Parent PLUS borrowing of $13,139.

The return picture at University of Wisconsin-Parkside is mixed. Graduates earn about $5,459 less than the model expects for similar students, a result at the 35th percentile.

The median earnings of $55,184 four years after completion rank at the 33rd percentile and sit below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $42,156 on the downside to $72,232 on the upside, with a typical scenario of $55,184.

On the cost side, the picture is clearer. Borrowers who finish leave with a median of $20,492 in federal loans, $737 below the peer median of $21,229.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years. The university combines a low net price with below-expected earnings.

The median federal student debt at completion is $20,492, below the peer median of $21,229 by $737.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $13,139. 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
$20,492
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$13,139

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$233/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$167/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 / University of Wisconsin-Parkside briefing

University of Wisconsin-Parkside career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Azimuth places the return pillar for University of Wisconsin-Parkside in the 34th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median earnings for federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled four years after completion are $55,184, in the 33rd percentile.

The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $57,301, and the university's figure is $2,117 below. Those who complete a degree earn about $5,459 less than the model expects for similar students.

That result is at the 35th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,149.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $15,608. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,065.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of University of Wisconsin-Parkside who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $55,184. Azimuth places that figure in the 33rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 852 completers.

Graduates earn about $5,459 less than the model expects for similar students. That gap sits at the 35th percentile.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix put the typical outcome at $55,184, with a downside of $42,156 and an upside of $72,232. An estimated 27.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Azimuth ranks the university #962 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. The return picture is mixed: earnings sit below both the peer median and the model's expectation.

The median for federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled four years after completion is $55,184, at the 33rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That amount sits $2,117 below the $57,301 median that comparable institutions (same type and size) report.

For return, Azimuth places University of Wisconsin-Parkside at #962 among nonprofit four-year institutions nationally. Graduates earn about $5,459 less than the model expects for similar students.

That result falls at the 35th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings figure draws from 852 completers counted in the four-year earnings cohort.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,149. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $15,608.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,065. Degrees cluster heavily in Business, Psychology and Security & Protective Services, with smaller showings elsewhere.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $42,156 on the downside to $72,232 on the upside. An estimated 27.4% of graduates continue onward to graduate study, based on the overall program mix and degree fields.

The earnings scenarios point to a wide range: from $42,156 on the downside to $72,232 on the upside. These are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

At the upper end, Management Information Systems and Services graduates earn $70,370 four years after completion, from 16 degrees awarded a year. Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences follows at $67,130, with 34 degrees awarded.

The largest program with published earnings, Psychology, reports median earnings of $46,647.

Borrowers who finish at University of Wisconsin-Parkside hold a median of $20,492 in federal student loans. That amount falls $737 below the median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Parents who take out loans hold a median of $13,139 in Parent PLUS debt, a separate pool from student borrowing. The median covers federal-loan borrowers who completed and excludes Parent PLUS and private loans.

Completers here earn about $5,459 less than the model expects for similar students. Debt is below the peer median, while earnings are earn about $5,459 less than the model expects for similar students.

Median debt is below the peer median, and median earnings four years after completion are below the peer median.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$10,149
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$15,608
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$5,459

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 / University of Wisconsin-Parkside briefing

University of Wisconsin-Parkside acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

The University of Wisconsin-Parkside admits 75.4% of applicants, a rate that sits below the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 2,048 first-year applicants and 1,997 admitted applicants.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
75.4%
25th percentile
1020
Median
1130
75th percentile
1230

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / University of Wisconsin-Parkside briefing

What are the largest majors at University of Wisconsin-Parkside?[12]

The highest-earning program at University of Wisconsin-Parkside is Management Information Systems and Services, where graduates earn a median of $70,370 four years after completion. That figure comes from 16 degrees awarded a year, a small share of the university's output.

The largest program with published earnings is Psychology, with 71 degrees awarded and median earnings of $46,647. Accounting and Biology sit higher on the earnings scale, at $64,177 and $60,928 respectively, from 41 and 40 degrees each.

The spread between the largest program and the best-paid one is wide, and the highest-earning fields are not the ones awarding the most degrees.

Business accounts for 27.9% of bachelor's degrees awarded, ahead of Psychology at 9.3% and Security & Protective Services at 7.8%. The largest program with published earnings is Psychology, at 71 degrees awarded.

Its completers earn a median of $46,647 four years after finishing. Criminal Justice is close behind in size, with 60 degrees awarded and median earnings of $54,156.

The best-paid program is a smaller one. Management Information Systems and Services graduates earn $70,370 four years out, from 16 degrees awarded.

Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences follows at $67,130, with 34 degrees awarded.

The degree mix at University of Wisconsin-Parkside is led by Business, which accounts for 27.9% of bachelor's degrees awarded. Psychology is next at 9.3%, followed by Security & Protective Services at 7.8%.

The university has 16 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest program with published earnings is Psychology, at 71 degrees awarded a year.

Its graduates earn a median of $46,647 four years after completion, which is 0.92x the national median for the field. Criminal Justice is the second-largest program with published earnings, with 60 degrees awarded and median earnings of $54,156.

The highest-earning program is a smaller one. Management Information Systems and Services graduates report a median of $70,370 four years out, from 16 degrees awarded a year.

Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences is next, with 34 degrees awarded and median earnings of $67,130. The pattern is one of modest variation: the largest programs sit near or below the national median for their fields.

The highest earnings come from a program that awards fewer than twenty degrees a year. 16.5% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business Administration, Management and Operations 126 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Psychology, General 71 degrees awarded
$46,647
Criminal Justice and Corrections 60 degrees awarded
$54,156
Computer and Information Sciences, General 43 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Communication and Media Studies 42 degrees awarded
$53,923
Accounting and Related Services 41 degrees awarded
$64,177

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 / University of Wisconsin-Parkside briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Wisconsin-Parkside?[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 University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

Admissions peerLewis University71.3% admitted
Comparison with University of Wisconsin-Parkside
MeasureUniversity of Wisconsin-ParksideLewis University
Peer earnings · 4 years$55,184$66,586+$11,402 vs University of Wisconsin-Parkside
Average annual net price$11,772$17,028+$5,256 vs University of Wisconsin-Parkside · higher cost
Admission rate75.4%71.3%
Explore Lewis University →
Higher-admission alternativeTrinity International University-Illinois100.0% admitted
Comparison with University of Wisconsin-Parkside
MeasureUniversity of Wisconsin-ParksideTrinity International University-Illinois
Peer earnings · 4 years$55,184$51,985-$3,199 vs University of Wisconsin-Parkside
Average annual net price$11,772$2,835-$8,937 vs University of Wisconsin-Parkside · lower cost
Admission rate75.4%100.0%
Nearby alternativeUniversity of Wisconsin-WhitewaterNearby option · WI
Comparison with University of Wisconsin-Parkside
MeasureUniversity of Wisconsin-ParksideUniversity of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Peer earnings · 4 years$55,184$58,704+$3,520 vs University of Wisconsin-Parkside
Average annual net price$11,772$14,158+$2,386 vs University of Wisconsin-Parkside · higher cost
Admission rate75.4%85.7%
Explore University of Wisconsin-Whitewater →
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Illinois Chicago$72,839 earnings
Comparison with University of Wisconsin-Parkside
MeasureUniversity of Wisconsin-ParksideUniversity of Illinois Chicago
Peer earnings · 4 years$55,184$72,839+$17,655 vs University of Wisconsin-Parkside
Average annual net price$11,772$10,974-$798 vs University of Wisconsin-Parkside · lower cost
Admission rate75.4%77.4%
Explore University of Illinois Chicago →
Lower-cost alternativeTrinity International University-Illinois$2,835 average net price
Comparison with University of Wisconsin-Parkside
MeasureUniversity of Wisconsin-ParksideTrinity International University-Illinois
Peer earnings · 4 years$55,184$51,985-$3,199 vs University of Wisconsin-Parkside
Average annual net price$11,772$2,835-$8,937 vs University of Wisconsin-Parkside · lower cost
Admission rate75.4%100.0%
Similar profileMinnesota State University MoorheadMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Wisconsin-Parkside
MeasureUniversity of Wisconsin-ParksideMinnesota State University Moorhead
Peer earnings · 4 years$55,184$55,083-$101 vs University of Wisconsin-Parkside
Average annual net price$11,772$17,997+$6,225 vs University of Wisconsin-Parkside · higher cost
Admission rate75.4%58.8%
Explore Minnesota State University Moorhead →

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