College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Winona State University

MNMedium public institution · Overall rank #579 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth puts Winona State University in the 61st percentile overall.

Who it’s a good fit for

Winona State University is a public university in Winona, Minnesota, where the degree mix is led by Health Professions and Education. Mobility is above average.

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

Pell students complete at a rate that is above the overall cohort, and mobility is above average. The lowest income band pays well under the published cost, while the highest pays closer to it.

The admission rate is below 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 fields are much smaller ones.

Winona State University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
75.5%
Six-year completion[2]
56.9%
Four-year earnings[3]
$60,533

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$13,814
Median student debt[4]
$21,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$19,316

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

Winona State University is a public university in Winona, Minnesota, enrolling 5,144 undergraduates. Its composite standing in the Azimuth ranking of 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions sits near the middle of the field (61st percentile).

The university admits 75.5% of applicants, a rate that is more selective than the 85.9% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Among first-time, full-time students, 79.0% return for a second year, above the peer median of 73.7%.

The six-year graduation rate for that cohort is 56.9%, which also exceeds the peer median of 49.1%. An estimated 27.9% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, and the six-year rate describes the first-time, full-time cohort only.

The four are spread out. Mobility is the strongest (73rd percentile), and affordability is not far behind (67th percentile).

Return is the weakest of the four (45th percentile), with access sitting between them (49th percentile).

Mobility is the clearest part of the profile at Winona State University, whereas return is the area with the least favorable standing. Azimuth places mobility in the 73rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Affordability is in the 67th percentile, followed by access in the 49th percentile. Return, the weakest pillar, is in the 45th percentile.

The stronger mobility and affordability measures sit beside a return measure that merits separate attention.

At Winona State University, 24.2% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, the federal aid program used here as a measure of financial access. Those students complete at 57.4%, a rate that sits 0.5 percentage points above the overall six-year graduation rate (56.9%) for the entering cohort as a whole.

For access, Azimuth ranks the university #750 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. For mobility, Azimuth ranks the university #395 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $3,827 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

Winona State University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#579

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 73
Access & reach
National percentile: 49
Affordability
National percentile: 67
Return on investment
National percentile: 45

01 / Winona State University briefing

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

At Winona State University, aid recipients face an average net price of $17,503, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships. The published cost of attendance is $23,683, with in-state tuition and fees of $10,576 and room and board of $9,654.

Out-of-state tuition and fees are $17,308. Financial aid reduces the published cost by $6,180 on average for aid recipients.

Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median net price of $14,068, and Winona State’s average is $3,435 above that figure. Azimuth places the university in the 67th percentile for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The above-peer net price and solid affordability standing point in different directions.

The published cost of attendance at Winona State University is $23,683. After grants and scholarships, the average net price—what aid recipients pay—is $10,224 for families earning under $30,000, $11,792 for the $30,001–$48,000 band, $13,814 for the $48,001–$75,000 band, $17,871 for the $75,001–$110,000 band, and $21,307 for families earning over $110,000.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $11,083. Azimuth ranks the university #464 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, grants and scholarships cover about 26% of the published cost, an average savings of $6,180, resulting in an overall of $17,503. This figure is $3,435 above the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

In-state tuition and fees are $10,576, while out-of-state students pay $17,308. About 91.7% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

Borrowers who complete a degree leave with a median of $21,500 in federal student loans, which is $271 above the peer median of $21,229. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parents who borrow through the separate Parent PLUS program hold a median of $19,316.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$13,814

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Winona State University

Federal loans reach 91.7% of federal aid recipients at Winona State University, making borrowing a common part of the cost picture. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $21,500.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $21,229; the university's median is $271 above it. Parent PLUS borrowers are a separate parent-borrower population, with median borrowing of $19,316.

Student debt sits only slightly above comparable peers, but federal borrowing reaches most undergraduates.

At Winona State University, mobility stands out more than return, and the investment picture is mixed. Median earnings are $60,533 four years after completion, placing the university in the 53rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $3,827 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places this measure in the 40th percentile nationally.

Earnings scenarios put earnings at $47,990 in a downside case, $60,533 in a typical case, and $81,292 in an upside case. Median federal debt is $21,500, compared with a peer median of $21,229 at comparable institutions (same type and size), and is $271 above it.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years. The return picture is mixed: modeled earnings fall short of expectations while debt sits above comparable peers.

Parent borrowers have median Parent PLUS borrowing of $19,316, a separate population from student federal-loan borrowers. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 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
$21,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$19,316

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$244/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$245/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 / Winona State University briefing

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

Return data give a mixed reading at Winona State University. On earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, graduates earn about $3,827 less than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth puts that measure in the 40th 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 $5,848.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,675. Azimuth assigns the return pillar to the 45th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $60,533 four years after completion, placing earnings in the 53rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $57,301, with the university $3,232 above it.

The peer comparison is above the midpoint, but the model result is below expectations.

Winona State University graduates earn a median of $60,533 four years after completing a degree. The figure comes from 2,042 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled.

That amount is $3,232 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Among nonprofit four-year institutions, that median sits at the 53rd percentile.

Graduates earn about $3,827 less than the model expects for similar students. That gap is at the 40th percentile.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a typical outcome of $60,533, a downside of $47,990 and an upside of $81,292. An estimated 29.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The earnings picture is therefore mixed: above the peer median but below what the model expects for similar students.

Winona State University graduates have median earnings of $60,533 four years after completion, placing them in the 53rd percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $57,301; the university’s median is $3,232 above that benchmark.

Graduates earn about $3,827 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sits in the 40th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $5,848. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,675.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $156. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix place the downside at $47,990 and the upside at $81,292.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 45th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The peer comparison and the model expectation point in different directions.

Nursing is the largest field, with 223 degrees awarded and median earnings of $80,117 four years after completion. Materials Engineering had 19 degrees awarded and median earnings of $91,528, while Computer Science had 44 degrees awarded and median earnings of $88,164.

Teacher Education recorded 143 degrees awarded, with median earnings of $46,863 four years after completion. The larger fields and the highest-earning fields span a wide range of reported earnings.

The earnings range at Winona State University is wide enough that field choice deserves close attention. Earnings scenarios run from $47,990 on the downside to $81,292 on the upside; they are based on program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

Among higher-earning fields, Materials Engineering reports median earnings of $91,528 four years after completion, Computer Science reports $88,164, and Nursing reports $80,117. Those field results help explain the distance between the earnings scenarios.

The published cost of attendance at Winona State University is $23,683. After grants and scholarships, aid recipients in the lowest income band pay an average net price of $10,224, while those in the highest band pay $21,307.

The spread between the two ends is $11,083. Borrowers who finish leave with a median of $21,500 in federal student loans, $271 above the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $19,316.

The return picture is mixed: earnings beat the peer median but fall short of what the model expects for similar students. The affordability pillar sits at the 67th percentile, with debt and net prices that are close to the peer medians.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$5,848
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$9,675
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$3,827

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 / Winona State University briefing

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

Admission at Winona State University is more limited than at comparable institutions, with 75.5% of applicants admitted. The published rate sits below the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Applicants should place this rate alongside those at other colleges when building an application list. It describes a past applicant pool rather than forecasting an individual admission decision.

Admissions
Admission rate
75.5%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / Winona State University briefing

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

Materials Engineering sits at the higher-earning end of the program picture at Winona State University, with median earnings of $91,528 four years after completion and 19 degrees awarded in an academic year. Computer Science also has higher median earnings, at $88,164 four years after completion, alongside 44 degrees awarded.

Nursing combines median earnings of $80,117 four years after completion with 223 degrees awarded. At a more moderate earnings level, Teacher Education records $46,863 four years after completion and 143 degrees awarded.

These fields show a broad range of earnings outcomes across programs at the university.

Winona State University has published earnings for 28 bachelor’s fields. Its largest degree families are Health Professions, with 19.2% of bachelor’s degrees awarded; Education, with 16.1%; and Business, with 16.0%.

The higher published medians include Materials Engineering, with 19 degrees awarded and median earnings of $91,528 four years after completion; Computer Science, with 44 degrees awarded and $88,164; and Nursing, with 223 degrees awarded and $80,117. The variation makes field choice central to the earnings picture here.

The degree mix at Winona State University is led by Health Professions, which accounts for 19.2% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed closely by Education at 16.1% and Business at 16.0%. The university has 28 programs with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Nursing, at 223 degrees awarded, with Teacher Education next at 143 degrees awarded and Business Administration and Management at 108 degrees awarded. The highest-earning program is a small one: Materials Engineering graduates earn a median of $91,528 four years after completion, from 19 degrees awarded a year.

Computer Science is next at $88,164, with 44 degrees awarded. The largest program, Nursing, is also the third-highest-earning at $80,117, and its earnings sit at a benchmark ratio of 0.90x against the national median for its field.

Finance graduates earn $75,807, from 33 degrees awarded. The pattern is a professional and technical core that pays well, anchored by a large nursing program, alongside a substantial education and social-science wing where earnings are lower.

The highest-earning programs are concentrated in engineering, computing, and business, while the largest programs by degrees awarded span health, education, and business. 11.0% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 223 degrees awarded
$80,117
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 143 degrees awarded
$46,863
Business Administration, Management and Operations 108 degrees awarded
$61,878
Social Work 85 degrees awarded
$54,056
Psychology, General 73 degrees awarded
$49,361
Communication and Media Studies 70 degrees awarded
$53,456

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 / Winona State University briefing

How does Winona State University serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is the university’s strongest Azimuth pillar, although completion and modeled earnings do not point in the same direction. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth assigns mobility a 73rd percentile position.

For the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate is 56.9%; Pell recipients complete within six years at 57.4%, above the overall rate by 0.5 percentage points. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, falls in the 40th percentile.

Graduates earn about $3,827 less than the model expects for similar students. Completion and the earnings model therefore give different signals.

Winona State University enrolls 5,144 undergraduates and admitted 75.5% of applicants, framing access at a mid-sized public university. Pell Grant recipients account for 24.2% of undergraduates, and an estimated 27.9% enter as transfers or part-time students.

For access, Azimuth assigns the university a 49th percentile position among nonprofit four-year institutions. Its enrollment, admission rate, Pell participation, and estimated transfer entry describe several routes into the undergraduate population.

06 / Winona State University briefing

What colleges are similar to Winona 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 Winona State University.

Admissions peerViterbo University72.4% admitted
Comparison with Winona State University
MeasureWinona State UniversityViterbo University
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,533$69,675+$9,142 vs Winona State University
Average annual net price$17,503$21,260+$3,757 vs Winona State University · higher cost
Admission rate75.5%72.4%
Higher-admission alternativeSt Catherine University91.9% admitted
Comparison with Winona State University
MeasureWinona State UniversitySt Catherine University
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,533$65,829+$5,296 vs Winona State University
Average annual net price$17,503$19,764+$2,261 vs Winona State University · higher cost
Admission rate75.5%91.9%
Nearby alternativeSt Catherine UniversityNearby option · MN
Comparison with Winona State University
MeasureWinona State UniversitySt Catherine University
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,533$65,829+$5,296 vs Winona State University
Average annual net price$17,503$19,764+$2,261 vs Winona State University · higher cost
Admission rate75.5%91.9%
Higher-earnings alternativeConcordia University-Saint Paul$68,250 earnings
Comparison with Winona State University
MeasureWinona State UniversityConcordia University-Saint Paul
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,533$68,250+$7,717 vs Winona State University
Average annual net price$17,503$18,462+$959 vs Winona State University · higher cost
Admission rate75.5%78.9%
Explore Concordia University-Saint Paul →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Wisconsin-River Falls$14,054 average net price
Comparison with Winona State University
MeasureWinona State UniversityUniversity of Wisconsin-River Falls
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,533$54,923-$5,610 vs Winona State University
Average annual net price$17,503$14,054-$3,449 vs Winona State University · lower cost
Admission rate75.5%81.7%
Explore University of Wisconsin-River Falls →
Similar profileSaint Cloud State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Winona State University
MeasureWinona State UniversitySaint Cloud State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,533$59,194-$1,339 vs Winona State University
Average annual net price$17,503$13,529-$3,974 vs Winona State University · lower cost
Admission rate75.5%94.8%
Explore Saint Cloud 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