10-yr median earnings
$67,753
Federal aid recipients only
Private Nonprofit · Granville, Ohio
Denison University
Denison University is a private nonprofit institution in Granville, Ohio. as a private nonprofit, published Scorecard outcomes cover federal-aid recipients at this campus — endowment and sticker price sit outside those cohort fields.
- $67,753
- 10-yr median earnings
- 17.4%
- Acceptance rate
- $40,007
- Avg net price / yr
- 79.5%
- 150%-time completion
The verdict
Denison University pairs top-10% former-student earnings with a very selective admit.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- Top 9%
- former-student earnings, US
- 17.4%
- acceptance rate
- 79.5%
- 150%-time completion
- +32%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
Suburb: Small
Carnegie: Bacc: A&S
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this Denison 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 ("Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus"), 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
58/100
Denison 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 A+
$67,753
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price F
$40,007
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate A-
79.5%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt F
$26,000
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment A+
84.7%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention A-
88.5%
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
$40,007
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
79.5%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 79.5%
Four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - Denison 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 Denison 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.
Denison University: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$67,753 Top 9% higher than 91% 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 | Denison University | National rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $67,753 | #436 of 5103 | 91st |
| Average net price | $40,007 | #4881 of 5020 | 3rd (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 79.5% | #753 of 4858 | 84th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 2,380 | #1322 of 5462 | 76th |
National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.
Quick Facts
2,380
Undergraduate enrollment
17.4%
Acceptance rate
1,410
SAT average
79.5%
150%-time completion
$67,753
10-yr median earnings
88.5%
First-year retention
How Denison University ranks in Ohio
State rank among 243 reporting Ohio colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | Denison University | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $67,753 | #12 of 243 | 95th |
| Average net price | $40,007 | #225 of 228 | 1st (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 79.5% | #47 of 235 | 80th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 2,380 | #37 of 257 | 86th |
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 UniversityThis school | $67,753 | $40,007 |
Admissions
| Admission Rate | 17.4% |
| SAT Average | 1,410 |
| SAT Math (25th-75th) | 660 – 760 |
| SAT Reading (25th-75th) | 660 – 730 |
| ACT Average | 30 |
| ACT (25th-75th) | 30 – 33 |
Costs & Financial Aid
Net price by family income at Denison University
Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket
- $0 – $30k $16,656
$0 – $30k
$16,656 net price / yr
- $30k – $48k $13,086
$30k – $48k
$13,086 net price / yr
- $48k – $75k $17,827
$48k – $75k
$17,827 net price / yr
- $110k+
$110k+
$48,472 net price / yr
What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at Denison University - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $67,000 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $67,000 |
| Average Net Price | $40,007 |
12.6%
Pell Grant Rate
50.5%
Federal Loan Rate
$26,000
Median Debt
$276/mo
Monthly Payment
What students pay at Denison University rose +62.1% since 2013
Average net price for the reported Title IV-recipient cohort went from $23,507 in 2013 to $38,111 in 2023, a rise of $14,604 in nominal dollars. Across the 4,315 colleges measured over the same 2013–2023 span, the median change was +14.6%.
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $23,5072023 · $38,111
Over the same years, enrollment went +6.3% (2,255 → 2,398 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
57.8%
Female
17.1%
First Generation
Outcomes
88.5%
Retention Rate
$51,352
Median Earnings (6yr)
73.7%
Earning Over $25K
84.7%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Completion within 150% of normal time | First-time, full-time | 79.5% |
| First-year retention | First-time, full-time freshmen | 88.5% |
| Median earnings | 6 years after entry | $51,352 |
| Median earnings | 10 years after entry | $67,753 |
| Share earning over $25,000 | Working, not enrolled | 73.7% |
| Loan repayment rate | Completers, 3 years after leaving | 84.7% |
| Median federal student debt | At completion | $26,000 |
| Estimated monthly payment | Standard 10-year plan | $276/mo |
Programs & Earnings
Top programs at Denison University by completer earnings
Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file
- Economics
Economics
$97,394 median earnings
- Communication and Media St…
Communication and Media Studies
$66,730 median earnings
- Education, General
Education, General
$65,429 median earnings
- Biology, General
Biology, General
$55,654 median earnings
- Romance Languages, Literat…
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
$49,358 median earnings
- Sociology and Anthropology
Sociology and Anthropology
$49,035 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.
| Program | Credential | Completers | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economics | Bachelor's | 77 | $97,394 | $22,375 |
| Communication and Media Studies | Bachelor's | 64 | $66,730 | $25,000 |
| Education, General | Bachelor's | 23 | $65,429 | - |
| Biology, General | Bachelor's | 46 | $55,654 | $25,000 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's | 16 | $49,358 | - |
| Sociology and Anthropology | Bachelor's | 17 | $49,035 | $26,500 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | Bachelor's | 17 | - | - |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | Bachelor's | 20 | - | - |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | Bachelor's | 15 | - | - |
| Psychology, General | Bachelor's | 0 | - | - |
| Research and Experimental Psychology | Bachelor's | 53 | - | $24,932 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies | Bachelor's | 14 | - | - |
| Political Science and Government | Bachelor's | 28 | - | $24,125 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | Bachelor's | 2 | - | - |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | Bachelor's | 8 | - | - |
Nearby Schools
Central Ohio Technical College
Newark, OH
1,941 students
Ohio State University-Newark Campus
Newark, OH
2,396 students
Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking County
Newark, OH
237 students
Ohio State School of Cosmetology-Heath
Heath, OH
86 students
Knox County Career Center
Mount Vernon, OH
126 students
Explore Data-Matched Colleges
Independent Scorecard matches among reporting colleges — not recommendations from the institution or a counselor.
Similar Enrollment and Sector
Other Private Nonprofit institutions closest in reported enrollment, preferring the same Carnegie classification.
Similar Reported Net Price
Other Private Nonprofit institutions with the nearest reported average net price.
Similar 2013–2023 Net-Price Trend
Same-sector institutions with the same direction and nearest fitted annual change; only series with R² of at least 0.40 qualify.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the acceptance rate at Denison University? ▼
Denison University is a private nonprofit institution in Granville, Ohio. The acceptance rate is 17.4%. The average SAT score is 1,410. Undergraduate enrollment is 2,380 students.
How much do Denison University former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at Denison University who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $67,753 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $51,352.
How much does Denison University cost? ▼
The average net price at Denison University is $40,007. In-state tuition is $67,000 and out-of-state tuition is $67,000. Median student debt at graduation is $26,000.
What is the graduation rate at Denison University? ▼
Denison University has a 79.5% 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 88.5%.
Is Denison University worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at Denison University is $26,000, while former students earn a median of $67,753 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 38% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 84.7% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $276.
Sources & methodology
Private-nonprofit profiles emphasize Scorecard cost-after-aid and completion alongside IPEDS Carnegie class. Endowment, gifts, and sticker price are not Scorecard fields on this page.
Figures are the Mar–Jul 2026 federal retrievals. Nonprofit campuses vary widely in aid practice — net price here is the Title-IV-recipient cohort average, not an individual award letter. 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 Denison University
- Compare Denison 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
Nonprofit Scorecard medians describe federal-aid recipients who were working and not enrolled — they are not sticker-price ROI and not advice.
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. Private-nonprofit profiles compile Scorecard net-price and earnings cohorts with IPEDS structure 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.