Private for-profit · University

Capella University

Minneapolis, Minnesota · Large city

Admit rate
$17,956
Avg net price
20%
Graduation rate
$42,189
Median earnings

Capella University is a private for-profit bachelor's-granting institution in Minneapolis, Minnesota (large city setting), enrolling 18,364 undergraduates. Programs are offered entirely online.

Private for-profitLarge · 18,364 undergradsLarge cityCold wintersSnowy

About Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. Two Indigenous nations inhabited the area now called Minneapolis. Archaeologists have evidence that since 1000 AD, they were the Dakota (one half of the Sioux nation), and, after the 1700s, the Ojibwe (also known as Chippewa, members of the Anishinaabe nations). During the Gilded Age, the Walker Art Center began as a private art collection in the home of lumberman T. B. Walker, who extended free admission to the public. Around 1940, the center's focus shifted to modern and contemporary art. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
Nearest big city
Minneapolis, MN
To Great Lakes shore
134 miles

How Capella University compares

Graduation rate20%

Higher than 6% · #39 of 39 in Minnesota

First-year retention42%

Higher than 3%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$42,189

Higher than 18% · #35 of 38 in Minnesota

Average net price$17,956

Cheaper than 60% · #12 cheapest of 39 in Minnesota

Median debt at graduation$14,968

Lower than 91%

Student–faculty ratio41 : 1

Lower than 1%

Undergraduate enrollment18,364

Larger than 94%

Percentiles compare Capella University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Minnesota.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

47,759students
  • Undergraduate18,36438%
  • Graduate29,39562%

Undergraduates by gender

18,364undergrads
  • Women13,71675%
  • Men4,64825%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White44%
  • Black28%
  • Hispanic15%
  • Asian3.6%
  • Other or multiracial9.5%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
18,364
Graduate enrollment
29,395
Student–faculty ratio
41 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
39%
First-generation students
50%
Students over 25
92%
Median family income
$31,525
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$68,643

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Cost

In-state tuition
$14,400
Room & board
Books & supplies
$425
Total cost of attendance
$22,820
Average net price
$17,956

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
20%
Graduated on time (4 years)
20%
First-year retention
42%
Transferred to another college
27%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$48,500
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$42,189
Median debt at graduation
$14,968
Students with federal loans
47%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
25%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
20%
Low-income (Pell)
16%
First-generation
21%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
No
Application fee
$50

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.0 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
0
Property offenses (2022–2024)
0

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (47,761 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$17,485
$30–48k
$17,324
$48–75k
$17,490
$75–110k
$21,292
$110k+
$22,820

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$69,960

$17,490/year × about 4.0 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Capella University funds essentially no grants of its own — almost all aid here comes from federal (Pell), state, or outside sources rather than the school's own discount. Its sticker price is what it is.

Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid, 2022–23 full-time first-year undergraduates.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$42,189
Typical debt at graduation
$14,968
Debt vs. one year's pay
35%
Out-earn a HS grad
69%

Typical debt would take roughly 3.5 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$38,744
Men
$51,643

Men out-earn women by $12,899 (33%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
83°F
Winter low
8°F
Annual rain
34.4″
Annual snow
40.4″

Average temperature

HighLow
0°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.44.8JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Lower ST Anthony Falls, MN US station (1.1 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Capella University

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Capella University side by side →

Colleges near Capella University

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.