10-yr median earnings
$52,131
Federal aid recipients only
Public · Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University is a public institution in Cleveland, Ohio. as a public institution, published Scorecard outcomes are the federal Title-IV cohort view of former students — not every graduate and not a guarantee for any one enrollee.
- $14,764
- Avg net price / yr
- $52,131
- 10-yr median earnings
- 49.7%
- 150%-time completion
- 91.3%
- Acceptance rate
The verdict
Cleveland State University pairs above-median former-student earnings with open admission.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- Top 26%
- former-student earnings, US
- 91.3%
- acceptance rate
- 49.7%
- 150%-time completion
- +17%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
City: Large
Carnegie: R2
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this Cleveland State University profile
Figures above come from IPEDS institution records published through the College Scorecard (retrieved July 2026 for institution fields; March 2026 for field-of-study). Peer groups and cost cohorts follow IPEDS ownership sector, Carnegie class ("Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity"), and locale, not an editorial shortlist.
Average net price subtracts grant and scholarship aid from cost of attendance for full-time, first-time undergraduate Title IV recipients. It is a defined cohort average, not a personalized price; income-band fields add context but do not replace the school's current net-price calculator.
Earnings use Treasury-linked records for federally aided former students who were working and not enrolled in the measurement year (completers and noncompleters). IPEDS completion and retention use separate first-time, full-time cohorts, so those denominators are not the earnings cohort. Read cost, completion, and earnings as distinct historical measures, not a causal verdict or individual forecast.
College Value Score
C-
College Value Score
51/100
Cleveland State University
A 6-metric composite of earnings, cost, and completion outcomes benchmarked against every reporting US college, not a ranking of teaching quality, campus life, or fit for any individual student. See the full methodology.
Earnings B
$52,131
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price C
$14,764
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate F
49.7%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt F
$21,797
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment C
62.1%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention F
70.3%
First-year students returning for year two
Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.
Avg net price
$14,764
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
49.7%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 49.7%
Four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - Cleveland State University vs peers
Each dot is a college plotted by 10-year median earnings (x-axis) vs average net price (y-axis), colored by completion within 150% of normal time. Bottom-right = high earnings/lower price; top-left = lower earnings/higher price.
How Cleveland State University ranks nationally
Where this school's former-student earnings fall within the full national distribution of every US college that reports to the College Scorecard, not just its peer set.
Cleveland State University: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$52,131 Top 26% higher than 74% of 5,103 US colleges
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US colleges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals
| Metric | Cleveland State University | National rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $52,131 | #1307 of 5103 | 74th |
| Average net price | $14,764 | #2046 of 5020 | 59th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 49.7% | #3001 of 4858 | 38th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 8,969 | #398 of 5462 | 93rd |
National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.
Quick Facts
8,969
Undergraduate enrollment
91.3%
Acceptance rate
-
SAT average
49.7%
150%-time completion
$52,131
10-yr median earnings
70.3%
First-year retention
How Cleveland State University ranks in Ohio
State rank among 243 reporting Ohio colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | Cleveland State University | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $52,131 | #60 of 243 | 75th |
| Average net price | $14,764 | #87 of 228 | 62nd (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 49.7% | #152 of 235 | 35th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 8,969 | #12 of 257 | 95th |
Highest former-student earnings in Ohio
| # | School | 10-yr earnings | Net price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chamberlain University-Ohio | $92,405 | $31,544 |
| 2 | Case Western Reserve University | $87,989 | $41,190 |
| 3 | Ohio Northern University | $80,928 | $24,478 |
| 4 | Four County Career Center | $77,338 | - |
| 5 | University of Dayton | $75,537 | $29,533 |
| 6 | Mount Carmel College of Nursing | $75,103 | $10,420 |
| 7 | Mount Carmel College of Nursing - Fairfield | $75,103 | - |
| 8 | Kenyon College | $71,830 | $38,512 |
| 9 | Trinity Health System School of Nursing | $71,660 | $9,825 |
| 10 | Firelands Regional Medical Center School of Nursing | $68,723 | - |
| 11 | The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences | $68,303 | $18,378 |
| 12 | Denison University | $67,753 | $40,007 |
| 60 | Cleveland State UniversityThis school | $52,131 | $14,764 |
Admissions
| Admission Rate | 91.3% |
| ACT Average | 23 |
Costs & Financial Aid
Net price by family income at Cleveland State University
Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket
- $0 – $30k
$0 – $30k
$11,958 net price / yr
- $30k – $48k
$30k – $48k
$13,561 net price / yr
- $48k – $75k
$48k – $75k
$14,727 net price / yr
- $110k+
$110k+
$20,378 net price / yr
What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at Cleveland State University - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $12,988 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $18,510 |
| Average Net Price | $14,764 |
40.5%
Pell Grant Rate
73.7%
Federal Loan Rate
$21,797
Median Debt
$231/mo
Monthly Payment
Net price at Cleveland State University swings rather than trends
Across 11 reported years between 2013 and 2023, the average net price here has ranged from $15,124 to $17,278 without settling into a rise or a fall. Comparing only the first and last years would read as -4.1%, but the years in between do not follow that line, so the honest summary is the range rather than a trend. Budget against the upper end, not the average.
Lowest year
$15,124
Highest year
$17,278
Most recent (2023)
$16,065
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $16,7502023 · $16,065
Over the same years, enrollment went -21.0% (11,484 → 9,077 students).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, per-year fields (2013–2023). Net price is the average cost after grant and scholarship aid for federally-aided undergraduates.
Student Demographics
Race & ethnicity
Student body at a glance
58.9%
Female
38.4%
First Generation
Outcomes
70.3%
Retention Rate
$44,625
Median Earnings (6yr)
66.1%
Earning Over $25K
62.1%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Completion within 150% of normal time | First-time, full-time | 49.7% |
| First-year retention | First-time, full-time freshmen | 70.3% |
| Median earnings | 6 years after entry | $44,625 |
| Median earnings | 10 years after entry | $52,131 |
| Share earning over $25,000 | Working, not enrolled | 66.1% |
| Loan repayment rate | Completers, 3 years after leaving | 62.1% |
| Median federal student debt | At completion | $21,797 |
| Estimated monthly payment | Standard 10-year plan | $231/mo |
Programs & Earnings
Field-of-study summary by credential
| Credential | Programs | Award count | Avg earnings | Top earnings | Avg debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's | 51 | 2,385 | $59,870 | $100,385 | $22,881 |
| Master's | 26 | 938 | $76,962 | $116,780 | $40,507 |
| First Professional | 2 | 169 | $82,904 | $91,229 | $71,686 |
| Doctoral | 2 | 13 | - | - | - |
Top programs at Cleveland State University by completer earnings
Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file
- Clinical/Medical Laborator…
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions
$116,780 median earnings
- Electrical, Electronics, a…
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering
$115,285 median earnings
- Registered Nursing, Nursin…
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$108,840 median earnings
- Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
$106,560 median earnings
- Business Administration, M…
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$101,635 median earnings
- Computer Science
Computer Science
$100,385 median earnings
- Biomedical/Medical Enginee…
Biomedical/Medical Engineering
$94,556 median earnings
- Law
Law
$91,229 median earnings
What this shows The highest-earning programs at a school are not necessarily its most popular ones - a small specialized program can post strong median earnings without reflecting the outcome most students here actually see.
Nearby Schools
Explore Data-Matched Colleges
Matches use Scorecard measures among reporting colleges — not state-system recommendations or geographic proximity.
Similar Enrollment and Sector
Other Public institutions closest in reported enrollment, preferring the same Carnegie classification.
Similar Reported Net Price
Other Public institutions with the nearest reported average net price.
Ohio State University-Newark Campus
Newark, OH
$14,767 net price · $3 apart
Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Dickson
Dickson, TN
$14,780 net price · $16 apart
University of California-Davis
Davis, CA
$14,741 net price · $23 apart
Northwest Iowa Community College
Sheldon, IA
$14,800 net price · $36 apart
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the acceptance rate at Cleveland State University? ▼
Cleveland State University is a public institution in Cleveland, Ohio. The acceptance rate is 91.3%. Undergraduate enrollment is 8,969 students.
How much do Cleveland State University former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at Cleveland State University who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $52,131 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $44,625.
How much does Cleveland State University cost? ▼
The average net price at Cleveland State University is $14,764. In-state tuition is $12,988 and out-of-state tuition is $18,510. Median student debt at graduation is $21,797.
What is the graduation rate at Cleveland State University? ▼
Cleveland State University has a 49.7% completion rate within 150% of normal time at a four-year institution (typically six years for a bachelor’s program). The first-year retention rate is 70.3%.
Is Cleveland State University worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at Cleveland State University is $21,797, while former students earn a median of $52,131 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 42% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 62.1% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $231.
Sources & methodology
Public-college profiles lean on IPEDS enrollment and Scorecard Title-IV outcomes. State appropriations are outside this page; the figures below are the federal cohort measures only.
Every number is read live from the Mar–Jul 2026 Scorecard/IPEDS retrievals. Public institutions often enroll large Title-IV cohorts, so medians can be stable — still cohort averages, never a personal forecast. Read the full methodology for how the data is sourced, computed, and verified.
- College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education - former-student earnings, cost & completion (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics - enrollment, admissions, Carnegie class & demographics (nces.ed.gov/ipeds).
- U.S. Treasury / IRS earnings linkage - median earnings 6 & 10 years after enrollment for federal-aid recipients (irs.gov).
- College Scorecard, Field of Study - program-level (credential) earnings & debt (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- Federal Student Aid (Title IV / NSLDS) - U.S. Department of Education - net price, student debt & aid-recipient repayment outcomes (studentaid.gov).
Where to go next from Cleveland State University
- Compare Cleveland State University against schools with similar outcomes at a lower average net price.Find similar schools that cost less
- Browse every reporting college in Ohio side by side.Browse Ohio
- See how fields of study differ on former-student earnings and debt.Explore programs
Public-college Scorecard figures are historical Title-IV cohort averages — confirm current tuition, aid, and admissions rules with the institution before deciding.
Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Public-institution profiles compile Scorecard Title-IV earnings, IPEDS enrollment/admissions, and Treasury linkage fields — no editor-typed figures. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals.