College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Westfield State University

MAMedium public institution · Overall rank #525 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places Westfield State University in the 64th percentile overall.

Who it’s a good fit for

Westfield State University is a public university in Westfield, Massachusetts, where the degree mix is led by Security & Protective Services and Business. Mobility is well above average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — adds.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts. Pell recipients complete at a rate a few points above the cohort as a whole.

Families at the bottom of the income scale pay well below the published cost, while those at the top pay closer to it. The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools.

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, and the largest programs are not the best-paid ones.

Westfield State University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
81.4%
Six-year completion[2]
54.4%
Four-year earnings[3]
$59,434

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$14,199
Median student debt[4]
$22,457
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$18,544

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

Westfield State University enrolls 3,615 undergraduates at a public university in Westfield, Massachusetts. Its standing among nonprofit four-year institutions sits in the middle of the pack (64th percentile).

Westfield State University admits 81.4% of applicants, against a median of 85.9% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 73.9% return for a second year, against a peer median of 73.7%.

The six-year graduation rate is 54.4%, compared to a peer median of 49.1%, though that figure counts only the first-time full-time cohort. An estimated 29.5% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students.

The four are spread across the range, with mobility the strongest (76th percentile) and return the weakest (41st percentile), while access and affordability fall between them.

For Westfield State University, mobility and affordability are the stronger parts of the profile, while return is the weakest pillar. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, mobility stands at the 76th percentile, affordability at the 67th percentile, and access at the 58th percentile.

Return sits at the 41st percentile, leaving a profile with stronger mobility measures than return measures.

33.0% of undergraduates at Westfield State University receive Pell Grants. Those students complete at 58.2%, which is 3.8 percentage points above the overall six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort.

Azimuth ranks the university #618 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Westfield State University #351 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Mobility is the strongest of the four pillars here, even though graduates earn about $3,963 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

Westfield State University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#525
Massachusetts#23
Northeast#138

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 76
Access & reach
National percentile: 58
Affordability
National percentile: 67
Return on investment
National percentile: 41

01 / Westfield State University briefing

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

At Westfield State University, the published cost of attendance is $27,649, while the average net price for aid recipients is $16,721—what recipients pay after grants and scholarships. That difference makes the listed price a starting point rather than the average amount paid by recipients.

Published in-state tuition and fees are $12,179, out-of-state tuition and fees are $18,259, and room and board are $14,018. Financial aid offsets $10,928 of the published cost on average for aid recipients.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $14,068; Westfield’s is $2,653 above that figure. Azimuth places the university’s affordability pillar in the 67th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid reduces the listed price substantially, though the average recipient cost remains above the peer middle value.

Families face a published cost of attendance of $27,649, with aid-recipient prices varying widely by income band. The average net price is $10,751 for the lowest family-income band, $11,517 for the lower-middle band, $14,199 for the middle band, $18,201 for the upper-middle band, and $23,286 for the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $12,535, and Azimuth ranks Westfield State University #463 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. For first-time, full-time federal-aid recipients on the public in-state basis, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $16,721 after average financial-aid savings of $10,928.

Aid covers about 40% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. That average is $2,653 above the peer median net price of $14,068 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Published in-state tuition is $12,179, versus $18,259 for out-of-state tuition. Aid reduces the published cost, but the average net price remains above the comparable-school median.

Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $22,457, and 93.0% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. The peer median debt is $21,229 at comparable institutions (same type and size), placing the university $1,228 above that figure.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $255 a month if repaid over ten years. Median Parent PLUS borrowing for parent borrowers is $18,544.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$14,199

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Westfield State University

Federal borrowing reaches 93.0% of federal aid recipients at Westfield State University, making debt a common part of the cost picture. Among borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt at completion is $22,457.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt, the middle value for that group, is $21,229. The university’s median is $1,228 above that figure.

For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $18,544.

The investment picture at Westfield State University is shaped by earnings that sit near the middle of the pack and borrowing that runs slightly above the peer median. Four years after completion, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $59,434, a figure in the 49th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $3,963 less than the model expects for similar students. That outcome falls in the 39th percentile.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, stretch from $50,541 in a downside case to $78,783 in an upside case, with a typical outcome of $59,434. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $22,457 in federal student loans, $1,228 above the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $255 a month if repaid over ten years.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing at Westfield State University is $18,544. The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $255 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
$22,457
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$18,544

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$255/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$236/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 / Westfield State University briefing

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

Westfield State University shows a mixed return record: graduates earn about $3,963 less than the model expects for similar students, although its four-year earnings stand $2,133 above the peer median. Azimuth puts earnings beyond expectations in the 39th 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 $3,845. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $7,808.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $307. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $59,434 four years after completion, in the 49th percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $57,301. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 41st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Above-peer earnings and below-expected earnings point in different directions.

For federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, $59,434 is the median earned four years after completion at Westfield State University. This is a schoolwide measure, so it combines outcomes across the institution’s fields.

Azimuth places that earnings measure in the 49th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions and bases it on an earnings cohort of 1,840 completers. Earnings scenarios drawn from the program mix show how earnings can vary across fields; they are scenarios rather than observed groups.

An estimated 29.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, offer a separate model-based reading.

Graduates earn about $3,963 less than the model expects for similar students. The earnings placement and below-expected reading present a mixed return picture.

Federally aided graduates of Westfield State University who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $59,434 four years after completion, in the 49th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That median sits $2,133 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #866 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $3,963 less than the model expects for similar students.

That gap sits in the 39th percentile. Earnings beyond expectations measure the gap between what graduates actually earn and what the model expects for similar students in the same fields.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,845. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $7,808.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component alone subtracts $307. Earnings scenarios are estimates drawn from the program mix, not observed outcomes for any specific group of graduates.

Estimated from the program mix, the downside earnings scenario is $50,541 and the upside scenario is $78,783. An estimated 29.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Program choice is central to the earnings picture at Westfield State University. The downside earnings scenario is $50,541, and the upside scenario is $78,783.

These scenarios are drawn from the program mix rather than from observed groups of graduates. Among the higher-earning fields, median earnings four years after completion are $95,932 in Computer Science, $93,248 in Nursing, and $72,539 in Economics.

Those field-level results show why the modeled scenario endpoints matter when weighing programs.

Westfield State University combines an average net price above its peer median with federal borrowing that also sits above the comparable level. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $16,721.

That is above the $14,068 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size), by $2,653. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $22,457, above the peer median of $21,229 by $1,228.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $255 a month if repaid over ten years. Earnings beyond expectations adds caution: Graduates earn about $3,963 less than the model expects for similar students.

Higher costs and debt relative to peers coincide with earnings below the model’s expectation.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$3,845
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$7,808
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$3,963

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 / Westfield State University briefing

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

Westfield State University admitted 81.4% of applicants in the reported entering class, describing a school-level admissions outcome rather than an individual prediction. The rate is below the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Applicants should use the published rate to place the university alongside schools with a range of admission outcomes when building an application list.

Admissions
Admission rate
81.4%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / Westfield State University briefing

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

At Westfield State University, program earnings differ substantially four years after completion, separating higher-earning fields from more moderate options. Computer Science is the highest-earning listed program, with median earnings of $95,932 and 14 degrees awarded.

Nursing follows at $93,248, with 66 degrees awarded. Economics records median earnings of $72,539 across 24 degrees awarded, while Criminal Justice posts $67,363 alongside 151 degrees awarded.

The contrast between the first pair of fields and the latter pair shows why program choice changes how the university's four-year earnings figures should be read.

Security & Protective Services accounts for 13.3% of bachelor’s degrees awarded at Westfield State University, the largest program family. Earnings data cover 22 programs, so the larger fields show only part of the school’s program-level earnings picture.

The program mix at Westfield State University is concentrated in a few professional fields. Security & Protective Services accounts for 13.3% of bachelor's degrees awarded, with Business next at 12.6% and Liberal Arts & General Studies at 11.4%.

The largest single program is Criminal Justice, at 151 degrees awarded, followed closely by Business/Commerce at 143 and Liberal Arts and General Studies at 129. Across the university, 22 programs have published four-year earnings data, and 8.2% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

The highest-earning programs are small relative to the largest ones. Computer Science graduates report median earnings of $95,932 four years after completion, from 14 degrees awarded a year.

Nursing graduates report median earnings of $93,248, from 66 degrees awarded. The largest program, Criminal Justice, reports median earnings of $67,363 and a benchmark ratio of 1.22x—program median divided by the national median for its field.

Business/Commerce, the second-largest, earns $66,889. The pattern is one of a few large programs with mixed benchmark results and a handful of much smaller programs that pay more.

Criminal Justice and Business/Commerce together account for a substantial share of degrees awarded, though their earnings differ. The three largest programs alone award more than four hundred degrees a year, while the two highest-earning fields together account for fewer than a hundred.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Criminal Justice and Corrections 151 degrees awarded
$67,363
Business/Commerce, General 143 degrees awarded
$66,889
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 129 degrees awarded
$51,730
Psychology, General 109 degrees awarded
$54,484
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 78 degrees awarded
$51,049
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 66 degrees awarded
$93,248

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 / Westfield State University briefing

How does Westfield State University serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is the strongest measured pillar at Westfield State University, where the first-time full-time cohort has a 54.4% six-year graduation rate. Pell recipients in that cohort complete within six years at 58.2%, above the overall rate by 3.8 percentage points.

Azimuth places mobility in the 76th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 39th percentile.

Graduates earn about $3,963 less than the model expects for similar students. Strong completion figures and below-expected modeled earnings point in different directions.

Westfield State University admits 81.4% of applicants and enrolls 3,615 undergraduates, figures that describe a student body combining Pell recipients and transfer students. Among those students, 33.0% receive Pell Grants, while an estimated 29.5% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth ranks the university #618 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the access pillar in the 58th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, a position that coincides with the university's admission rate, Pell participation, and transfer enrollment.

06 / Westfield State University briefing

What colleges are similar to Westfield 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 Westfield State University.

Admissions peerSUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill84.0% admitted
Comparison with Westfield State University
MeasureWestfield State UniversitySUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill
Peer earnings · 4 years$59,434$50,709-$8,725 vs Westfield State University
Average annual net price$16,721$18,701+$1,980 vs Westfield State University · higher cost
Admission rate81.4%84.0%
Higher-admission alternativeSt. Thomas Aquinas College93.1% admitted
Comparison with Westfield State University
MeasureWestfield State UniversitySt. Thomas Aquinas College
Peer earnings · 4 years$59,434$60,309+$875 vs Westfield State University
Average annual net price$16,721$19,994+$3,273 vs Westfield State University · higher cost
Admission rate81.4%93.1%
Nearby alternativeBridgewater State UniversityNearby option · MA
Comparison with Westfield State University
MeasureWestfield State UniversityBridgewater State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$59,434$59,669+$235 vs Westfield State University
Average annual net price$16,721$16,383-$338 vs Westfield State University · lower cost
Admission rate81.4%87.8%
Explore Bridgewater State University →
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Massachusetts-Lowell$81,163 earnings
Comparison with Westfield State University
MeasureWestfield State UniversityUniversity of Massachusetts-Lowell
Peer earnings · 4 years$59,434$81,163+$21,729 vs Westfield State University
Average annual net price$16,721$17,163+$442 vs Westfield State University · higher cost
Admission rate81.4%83.0%
Explore University of Massachusetts-Lowell →
Lower-cost alternativeRhode Island College$9,478 average net price
Comparison with Westfield State University
MeasureWestfield State UniversityRhode Island College
Peer earnings · 4 years$59,434$59,430-$4 vs Westfield State University
Average annual net price$16,721$9,478-$7,243 vs Westfield State University · lower cost
Admission rate81.4%91.8%
Explore Rhode Island College →
Similar profileWestern Connecticut State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Westfield State University
MeasureWestfield State UniversityWestern Connecticut State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$59,434$60,346+$912 vs Westfield State University
Average annual net price$16,721$17,604+$883 vs Westfield State University · higher cost
Admission rate81.4%87.0%
Explore Western Connecticut 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