College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Wayne State University

MILarge public institution · Overall rank #80 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Wayne State University completers earn about $15,049 more than expects for similar students.

Who it’s a good fit for

Wayne State University is a public university in Detroit where the degree mix is led by Business and Health Professions. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than on to further study, and mobility is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what the model predicts for students like them. 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.

Students who arrive with Pell Grants finish at a rate below the entering cohort as a whole. The admission rate is within a few points of the median for comparable schools.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are in engineering and computing, and they are much smaller.

Wayne State University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
81.2%
Six-year completion[2]
58.4%
Four-year earnings[3]
$68,551

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$12,068
Median student debt[4]
$21,250
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$16,378

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

Wayne State University is a public university in Detroit, Michigan, enrolling 15,587 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits near the top of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (95th percentile), with all four scoring in the eightieth percentile or higher.

The university admits 81.2% of applicants, against a median of 78.1% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. For the first-time, full-time cohort, 82.7% return after the first year, a touch below the median for comparable institutions, which is 83.1%.

The six-year graduation rate is 58.4%, trailing the comparable-institution median of 65.0%. An estimated 32.7% of undergraduates are not first-time, full-time students, so the six-year figure describes only those who started here full time.

The pillars are tightly grouped in the upper range. Mobility leads (95th percentile), followed closely by access (92nd percentile).

Return (83rd percentile) sits next, and affordability (81st percentile) trails the set. No single pillar sits far below the others, so the profile is relatively balanced across the four dimensions.

Azimuth ranks Wayne State University #80 for overall performance among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The access pillar ranks in the 92nd percentile, the return pillar in the 83rd percentile, and the affordability pillar in the 81st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

45.7% of undergraduates at Wayne State University receive Pell Grants. The university is a public university in Detroit, Michigan.

Azimuth ranks Wayne State University #124 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients complete at 44.7%, which is 13.7 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate.

Azimuth ranks the university #79 for mobility. Graduates earn about $15,049 more than the model expects for similar students, and the mobility pillar is the strongest of the four for this institution.

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

Wayne State University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#80

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 95
Access & reach
National percentile: 92
Affordability
National percentile: 81
Return on investment
National percentile: 83

Top-ranked majors

  1. Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other#1
  2. Funeral Service and Mortuary Science#2
  3. Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services#9

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Wayne State University briefing

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

The federal published cost of attendance at Wayne State University is $27,350. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported sticker charges for the 2026-27 academic year.

Those charges include in-state tuition at $14,188, required fees at $2,298, and on-campus food and housing at $12,844. The out-of-state tuition rate is $32,498.

Program-based differential pricing means 78.4% of full-time undergraduates pay more than the base tuition and fees. After aid, the average net price for recipients is $12,766, $14,584 below the published cost.

Aid covers about 53% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. That amount is below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,868.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth ranks Wayne State University #276 for affordability.

Wayne State University publishes a cost of attendance of $27,350. For aid recipients from families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $11,090.

The for families earning $48,001–$75,000 is $12,068, and for families earning over $110,000 it is $19,862. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $8,772.

Azimuth ranks the university #276 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 53% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average offset of $14,584.

The average net price across all aid recipients is $12,766, which is below the median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,868. The median federal student debt at completion is $21,250, with about 79.7% of federal aid recipients taking federal loans.

That median is above the peer median of $20,076 for comparable institutions by $1,174. Median Parent PLUS borrowing stands at $16,378.

If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment on the median federal debt is $242.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$12,068

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Wayne State University

At Wayne State University, 79.7% of federal aid recipients use federal loans. Borrowers who complete a degree face a median federal debt of $21,250.

That balance is above the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,174. Parent borrowers, counted separately from students, hold a median Parent PLUS debt of $16,378.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 47% of its 1,920 bachelor's graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $25,616 per borrower. Of those borrowers, 45% held federal loans averaging $20,366 and 9% held private loans averaging $28,728.

Graduates of Wayne State University earn about $15,049 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median earnings four years after completion reach $68,551, which sits in the 74th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios from the program mix show a typical earnings level of $68,551, a downside of $47,775, and an upside of $90,428. Borrowers carry a median federal student debt of $21,250 at completion, above the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, the median federal debt yields an estimated monthly payment of $242.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $16,378. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $242.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$21,250
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$16,378

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$242/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$208/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 / Wayne State University briefing

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

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $68,551, in the 74th percentile. That is $2,941 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $15,049 more than the model expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 92nd percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds $9,864. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $5,185.

Azimuth places the return pillar at the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The median earnings four years after completion for Wayne State University is $68,551, measured among 4,585 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. That median sits above the $65,610 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,941, which places it in the 74th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates of the university earn about $15,049 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios tied to the university's program mix stretch from $47,775 on the downside to $90,428 on the upside, while a typical scenario lands at $68,551.

Using program mix rather than observed enrollment, the model estimates that 28.2% of programs' graduates continue on to graduate study.

Four years after completion, Wayne State University completers earn a median of $68,551, which places the university in the 74th percentile nationally. That figure is above the median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,941.

Completers earn about $15,049 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 92nd percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,864.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $5,185. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,870.

Azimuth ranks the university #246 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $47,775 and an upside of $90,428.

The largest bachelor's program, Psychology, awarded 331 degrees and shows median earnings of $52,435 four years after completion, ranking #127 nationally in its field. International Business is the highest-earning large program, with 212 degrees awarded and median earnings of $79,882, good for a national rank of #11 and the top spot in Michigan.

The university also fields a high-return program in Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, where completers earn $92,707, or 1.36x the national median for the field. The program ranks #1 nationally.

Biomedical Engineering completers earn $106,048, the highest median at the university, with 18 degrees awarded.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, range from a downside of $47,775 to an upside of $90,428, with a typical scenario of $68,551. These are not observed groups of graduates but estimates of what the mix of programs can yield.

The highest-earning program is Biomedical Engineering, where graduates earn a median of $106,048 four years after completion, from 18 degrees awarded a year. Computer and Information Sciences follows at $104,630 with 164 degrees awarded, and Industrial Engineering at $101,990 from 16 degrees awarded.

Graduates of Wayne State University earn about $15,049 more than the model expects for similar students. The median federal student debt at completion is $21,250, which is above the median of $20,076 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $242. The university's average net price of $12,766 is below the peer median of $15,634.

For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $11,090, and the spread between the lowest and highest income bands is $8,772. Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate population from student borrowers, carries a median of $16,378.

Higher-than-expected earnings coincide with an average net price below the peer median, a combination that shows the university's strength in economic mobility.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$9,864
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$5,185
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$15,049

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 / Wayne State University briefing

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

Wayne State University admitted 81.2% of applicants, a rate that sits near the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 17,263 applicants, 14,430 admitted, and 3,071 enrolled first-year students.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
81.2%
25th percentile
1060
Median
1180
75th percentile
1290

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Wayne State University briefing

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

Wayne State University's highest-earning bachelor's programs cluster in engineering and computing. Biomedical Engineering leads at $106,048 four years after completion, though it awarded only 18 degrees.

Computer and Information Sciences follows at $104,630 with 164 degrees awarded and an Azimuth national rank of #46 in the field. Among the university's largest programs, earnings spread across a wide range.

International Business reaches $79,882 and ranks #11 nationally on 212 degrees awarded. By contrast, Psychology, the largest program with 331 degrees awarded, shows a median of $52,435 and an Azimuth national rank of #127. Public Health sits between them at $55,302 with 258 degrees awarded.

Wayne State University awards bachelor's degrees across 53 fields with published earnings data, 42 of which carry an Azimuth national rank. Business is the largest family at 25.3% of degrees awarded, and the single largest program is Psychology with 331 degrees a year.

Azimuth ranks it #127 nationally in its field, and its completers earn a median of $52,435 four years after completion. The best nationally ranked program is Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, at #1 in its field and #1 in Michigan, with 104 degrees awarded and median earnings of $92,707.

The highest earnings, however, come from Biomedical Engineering, a much smaller program at 18 degrees a year, where completers earn a median of $106,048. Computer and Information Sciences is both high-earning and larger, with 164 degrees awarded and a median of $104,630, ranking #46 nationally.

A student's choice of field here carries a wide earnings range, from the largest program's median to the six-figure outcomes in engineering and computing.

The program mix at Wayne State University is anchored by Business, which accounts for 25.3% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Health Professions at 14.8% and Psychology at 8.0%. Across the university, 42 programs carry an Azimuth national rank and 53 have published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Psychology, at 331 degrees awarded, with Public Health next at 258 and International Business at 212. The highest-ranked program is Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, which Azimuth places #1 nationally within its field and #1 in Michigan.

Funeral Service and Mortuary Science ranks #2 nationally within its field and #1 in Michigan, awarding 31 degrees with median earnings of $62,954. Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services ranks #1 in Michigan within its field and awards 64 degrees.

The highest-earning program is Biomedical Engineering, a larger field at 18 degrees awarded, where graduates earn $106,048. Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences carries a benchmark ratio of 1.36x against the national median for its field.

The pattern is one of strength spread across both large and small programs. The largest programs in business and health professions sit alongside highly ranked offerings in fields like Funeral Service and Mortuary Science and Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services.

The highest earnings come from engineering disciplines that graduate fewer students. 21.3% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields, and a high-return program in the health professions field alongside strong engineering earnings means the return picture varies considerably by field.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Psychology, General 331 degrees awarded
$52,435
Public Health 258 degrees awarded
$55,302
International Business 212 degrees awarded
$79,882
Marketing 209 degrees awarded
$67,504
Human Resources Management and Services 186 degrees awarded
$61,121
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 178 degrees awarded
$84,405

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 / Wayne State University briefing

How does Wayne State University serve students from different backgrounds?

On the mobility pillar, Azimuth ranks Wayne State University #79 among nonprofit four-year institutions. The mobility pillar sits in the 95th percentile.

First-time full-time students graduate within six years at a rate of 58.4%; Pell recipients complete at 44.7%, a level below the overall rate by 13.7 percentage points. Graduates earn about $15,049 more than the model expects for similar students, a figure in the 92nd percentile.

Azimuth places the access pillar of Wayne State University in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The public university admits 81.2% of applicants, a figure that sits above the peer median of 78.1%.

Pell Grant recipients account for 45.7% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 32.7% of its 15,587 undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / Wayne State University briefing

What colleges are similar to Wayne State University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Wayne State University.

Admissions peerBowling Green State University-Main Campus81.0% admitted
Comparison with Wayne State University
MeasureWayne State UniversityBowling Green State University-Main Campus
Peer earnings · 4 years$68,551$54,998-$13,553 vs Wayne State University
Average annual net price$12,766$24,022+$11,256 vs Wayne State University · higher cost
Admission rate81.2%81.0%
Explore Bowling Green State University-Main Campus →
Higher-admission alternativeUniversity of Toledo92.0% admitted
Comparison with Wayne State University
MeasureWayne State UniversityUniversity of Toledo
Peer earnings · 4 years$68,551$66,084-$2,467 vs Wayne State University
Average annual net price$12,766$17,249+$4,483 vs Wayne State University · higher cost
Admission rate81.2%92.0%
Explore University of Toledo →
Nearby alternativeMichigan State UniversityNearby option · MI
Comparison with Wayne State University
MeasureWayne State UniversityMichigan State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$68,551$74,093+$5,542 vs Wayne State University
Average annual net price$12,766$19,680+$6,914 vs Wayne State University · higher cost
Admission rate81.2%84.8%
Explore Michigan State University →
Higher-earnings alternativeSan Jose State University$89,614 earnings
Comparison with Wayne State University
MeasureWayne State UniversitySan Jose State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$68,551$89,614+$21,063 vs Wayne State University
Average annual net price$12,766$13,760+$994 vs Wayne State University · higher cost
Admission rate81.2%84.6%
Explore San Jose State University →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Michigan-Flint$7,007 average net price
Comparison with Wayne State University
MeasureWayne State UniversityUniversity of Michigan-Flint
Peer earnings · 4 years$68,551$65,600-$2,951 vs Wayne State University
Average annual net price$12,766$7,007-$5,759 vs Wayne State University · lower cost
Admission rate81.2%70.5%
Explore University of Michigan-Flint →
Similar profileKansas State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Wayne State University
MeasureWayne State UniversityKansas State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$68,551$64,711-$3,840 vs Wayne State University
Average annual net price$12,766$19,406+$6,640 vs Wayne State University · higher cost
Admission rate81.2%81.7%
Explore Kansas State 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 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