Public · Community college

Kent State University at Salem

Salem, Ohio · Fringe rural

18%
Transfer rate
$13,799
Avg net price
31%
Grad / completion
$45,388
Median earnings

Kent State University at Salem is a public associate-granting institution in Salem, Ohio (fringe rural setting), enrolling 1,164 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 1,164 undergradsFringe ruralCold winters

About Salem, Ohio

Salem is a city in Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. Salem was founded by a New Jersey clockmaker, Zadok Street, and a Pennsylvanian potter, John Straughan, in 1806. The city was named after Salem, New Jersey, Street's native community. Two neighborhoods of the city are designated as National Register historic districts: the South Lincoln Avenue Historic District (designated 1993) and the Salem Downtown Historic District (designated 1995), which includes several of the town's monumental and architecturally distinctive homes and businesses. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Fringe rural
Highest degree offered
Bachelor's
To Great Lakes shore
63 miles
Nearest airport
32 miles to Akron Canton (CAK)

How Kent State University at Salem compares

Graduation rate31%

Higher than 14% · #142 of 168 in Ohio

First-year retention47%

Higher than 9%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$45,388

Higher than 84% · #34 of 157 in Ohio

Average net price$13,799

Cheaper than 55% · #65 cheapest of 155 in Ohio

Median debt at graduation$24,500

Lower than 2%

Student–faculty ratio26 : 1

Lower than 9%

Undergraduate enrollment1,164

Larger than 75%

Percentiles compare Kent State University at Salem with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Ohio.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

1,164undergrads
  • Women74164%
  • Men42336%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White81%
  • Black8.6%
  • Hispanic3.9%
  • Asian0.8%
  • Other or multiracial6.0%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
1,164
Student–faculty ratio
26 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
33%
First-generation students
36%
Students over 25
21%
Median family income
$50,411
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$72,594

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

Where students come from

Home state of the 136 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Ohio99%
  • Other U.S. states0.7%

Most first-years stay in state — Kent State University at Salem draws overwhelmingly from Ohio.

Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Cost

In-state tuition
$7,492
Out-of-state tuition
$17,342
Room & board
Books & supplies
$800
Total cost of attendance
$18,446
Average net price
$13,799

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)
31%
Graduated on time (4 years)
1%
First-year retention
47%
Transferred to another college
18%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$40,179
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$45,388
Median debt at graduation
$24,500
Students with federal loans
40%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
41%

About 30% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
1%
Low-income (Pell)
39%
First-generation
42%

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 (1,633 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
$10,684
$30–48k
$9,900
$48–75k
$14,582
$75–110k
$17,624
$110k+
$18,045

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
$79,641

$14,582/year × about 5.5 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?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

39%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,767
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 39% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,767. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 82 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

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

Median earnings (10 years)
$45,388
Typical debt at graduation
$24,500
Debt vs. one year's pay
54%
Out-earn a HS grad
57%

Typical debt would take roughly 5.4 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
$41,877
Men
$50,893

Men out-earn women by $9,016 (22%) 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
82°F
Winter low
19°F
Annual rain
40.8″
Annual snow
27.9″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.34.6JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Millport 4 NE, OH US station (6.6 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 Kent State University at Salem

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Kent State University at Salem side by side →

Colleges near Kent State University at Salem

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.