10-yr median earnings
$42,810
Federal aid recipients only
Private For-Profit · Minneapolis, Minnesota
Walden University
Walden University is a private for-profit institution in Minneapolis, Minnesota. as a private for-profit, published Scorecard outcomes are Title-IV-recipient medians — program mix and repayment risk deserve a closer look than a single headline number.
- $33,817
- Avg net price / yr
- $42,810
- 10-yr median earnings
The verdict
Walden University posts above-median former-student earnings.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- Top 44%
- former-student earnings, US
- -15%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
City: Large
Carnegie: Doctoral/Prof
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this Walden 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/Professional Universities"), 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
F
College Value Score
32/100
Walden 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 C-
$42,810
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price F
$33,817
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate N/A
N/A
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt F
$20,834
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment F
48.6%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention N/A
N/A
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
$33,817
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
Not reported
Full-time, first-time cohort
College ROI Quadrant - Walden 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 Walden 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.
Walden University: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$42,810 Top 44% higher than 56% 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 | Walden University | National rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $42,810 | #2262 of 5103 | 56th |
| Average net price | $33,817 | #4695 of 5020 | 6th (lower is better) |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 9,136 | #389 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
9,136
Undergraduate enrollment
-
Acceptance rate
-
SAT average
-
150%-time completion
$42,810
10-yr median earnings
0.0%
First-year retention
How Walden University ranks in Minnesota
State rank among 96 reporting Minnesota colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | Walden University | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $42,810 | #72 of 96 | 25th |
| Average net price | $33,817 | #80 of 82 | 2nd (lower is better) |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 9,136 | #4 of 85 | 95th |
Highest former-student earnings in Minnesota
| # | School | 10-yr earnings | Net price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science | $79,652 | - |
| 2 | Saint Johns University | $76,786 | $25,672 |
| 3 | Carleton College | $75,525 | $25,407 |
| 4 | University of St Thomas | $73,739 | $29,155 |
| 5 | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | $69,020 | $16,778 |
| 6 | University of Minnesota-Rochester | $69,020 | $13,744 |
| 7 | The College of Saint Scholastica | $65,934 | $27,846 |
| 8 | Gustavus Adolphus College | $65,607 | $22,900 |
| 9 | St Olaf College | $65,543 | $23,874 |
| 10 | Metropolitan State University | $64,705 | $16,863 |
| 11 | Macalester College | $63,878 | $32,149 |
| 12 | Bethel University | $63,764 | $28,556 |
| 72 | Walden UniversityThis school | $42,810 | $33,817 |
Costs & Financial Aid
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $12,762 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $12,762 |
| Average Net Price | $33,817 |
Net Price by Family Income
| $0 – $30,000 | $32,652 |
| $30,001 – $48,000 | $34,983 |
55.2%
Pell Grant Rate
68.8%
Federal Loan Rate
$20,834
Median Debt
$221/mo
Monthly Payment
Net price at Walden University swings rather than trends
Across 4 reported years between 2014 and 2021, the average net price here has ranged from $18,325 to $29,141 without settling into a rise or a fall. Comparing only the first and last years would read as -34.2%, 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
$18,325
Highest year
$29,141
Most recent (2021)
$18,325
4 reported years (years the source did not report are left as gaps). Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2014 · $27,8512021 · $18,325
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, per-year fields (2014–2021). Net price is the average cost after grant and scholarship aid for federally-aided undergraduates.
Student Demographics
Race & ethnicity
Student body at a glance
81.3%
Female
50.8%
First Generation
Outcomes
0.0%
Retention Rate
$50,657
Median Earnings (6yr)
74.8%
Earning Over $25K
48.6%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| First-year retention | First-time, full-time freshmen | 0.0% |
| Median earnings | 6 years after entry | $50,657 |
| Median earnings | 10 years after entry | $42,810 |
| Share earning over $25,000 | Working, not enrolled | 74.8% |
| Loan repayment rate | Completers, 3 years after leaving | 48.6% |
| Median federal student debt | At completion | $20,834 |
| Estimated monthly payment | Standard 10-year plan | $221/mo |
Programs & Earnings
Field-of-study summary by credential
| Credential | Programs | Award count | Avg earnings | Top earnings | Avg debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Master's | 27 | 9,153 | $72,338 | $122,823 | $45,133 |
| Bachelor's | 19 | 1,606 | $65,796 | $106,892 | $34,019 |
| Doctoral | 13 | 1,508 | $97,049 | $132,421 | $128,570 |
| Level 99 | 8 | 0 | $70,624 | $91,353 | - |
| Graduate Certificate | 3 | 50 | $76,188 | $77,566 | $99,025 |
Top programs at Walden University by completer earnings
Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file
- Registered Nursing, Nursin…
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$132,421 median earnings
- Registered Nursing, Nursin…
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$122,823 median earnings
- Health Services/Allied Hea…
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General
$113,723 median earnings
- Management Information Sys…
Management Information Systems and Services
$109,874 median earnings
- Public Health
Public Health
$108,951 median earnings
- Registered Nursing, Nursin…
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$106,892 median earnings
- Business Administration, M…
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$105,432 median earnings
- Public Administration
Public Administration
$100,861 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
Capella University
Minneapolis, MN
18,364 students
North Central University
Minneapolis, MN
709 students
Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute Minneapolis
Minneapolis, MN
623 students
Bethlehem College & Seminary
Minneapolis, MN
117 students
Minneapolis Community and Technical College
Minneapolis, MN
5,268 students
Explore Data-Matched Colleges
Scorecard-derived matches among reporting colleges — not school marketing or paid placement lists.
Similar Enrollment and Sector
Other Private For-Profit institutions closest in reported enrollment, preferring the same Carnegie classification.
Similar Reported Net Price
Other Private For-Profit institutions with the nearest reported average net price.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the admissions statistics for Walden University? ▼
Walden University is a private for-profit institution in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Undergraduate enrollment is 9,136 students.
How much do Walden University former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at Walden University who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $42,810 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $50,657.
How much does Walden University cost? ▼
The average net price at Walden University is $33,817. In-state tuition is $12,762 and out-of-state tuition is $12,762. Median student debt at graduation is $20,834.
Is Walden University worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at Walden University is $20,834, while former students earn a median of $42,810 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 49% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 48.6% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $221.
Sources & methodology
Private for-profit profiles foreground Scorecard debt, repayment, and program-level earnings where reported. Marketing claims from the school are not inputs to this page.
Every figure is the Mar–Jul 2026 federal retrieval. For-profit program mixes can shift year to year — treat institution medians as a starting map, then check Field-of-Study rows below. 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 Walden University
- Compare Walden University against schools with similar outcomes at a lower average net price.Find similar schools that cost less
- Browse every reporting college in Minnesota side by side.Browse Minnesota
- See how fields of study differ on former-student earnings and debt.Explore programs
For-profit Scorecard figures are Title-IV cohort history — verify current program costs, accreditation, and repayment outcomes with the school and official aid tools.
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 for-profit profiles compile Scorecard debt/earnings and IPEDS operating fields from federal files — 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.