Private nonprofit · College

Peirce College

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · Large city

#2 best value in Pennsylvania
Admit rate
$12,148
Avg net price
10%
Graduation rate
$50,660
Median earnings

Peirce College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (large city setting), enrolling 799 undergraduates.

Private nonprofitSmall · 799 undergradsLarge cityCold wintersNear the coast

About Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, colloquially referred to as Philly, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the sixth-most populous city in the United States. Before the arrival of Europeans in the early 17th century, the Lenape, an Indian tribe also known as the Delaware Indians, lived in the village of Shackamaxon in present-day Philadelphia and the surrounding area. Philadelphia is home to many national historical sites that relate to the founding of the United States. Independence National Historical Park is the center of these historical landmarks and one of the country's 22 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
Nearest big city
Philadelphia, PA
To the ocean
2 miles
Nearest airport
7 miles to Philadelphia (PHL) · major hub

How Peirce College compares

Graduation rate10%

Higher than 3% · #115 of 116 in Pennsylvania

Earnings, 10 years after entry$50,660

Higher than 40% · #97 of 116 in Pennsylvania

Average net price$12,148

Cheaper than 84% · #2 cheapest of 112 in Pennsylvania

Median debt at graduation$31,250

Lower than 2%

Student–faculty ratio13 : 1

Lower than 50%

Undergraduate enrollment799

Larger than 31%

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

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

929students
  • Undergraduate79986%
  • Graduate13014%

Undergraduates by gender

799undergrads
  • Women56871%
  • Men23129%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White22%
  • Black51%
  • Hispanic13%
  • Asian3.1%
  • Other or multiracial12%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
799
Graduate enrollment
130
Student–faculty ratio
13 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
53%
First-generation students
55%
Students over 25
91%
Median family income
$22,866
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$71,199
Endowment
$3,898,887

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

Cost

In-state tuition
$15,060
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,200
Total cost of attendance
$18,660
Average net price
$12,148

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)
10%
Graduated on time (4 years)
50%
First-year retention
Transferred to another college
20%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$41,647
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$50,660
Median debt at graduation
$31,250
Students with federal loans
62%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
23%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
50%
Low-income (Pell)
18%
First-generation
19%

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 (929 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
$30–48k
$48–75k
$13,686
$75–110k
$10,610
$110k+

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
$54,744

$13,686/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.

Is it worth it?

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

Median earnings (10 years)
$50,660
Typical debt at graduation
$31,250
Debt vs. one year's pay
62%
Out-earn a HS grad
66%

Typical debt would take roughly 6.2 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

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
$49,325
Men
$58,258

Men out-earn women by $8,933 (18%) 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
89°F
Winter low
28°F
Annual rain
50.7″
Annual snow
16.1″

Average temperature

HighLow
20°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.55.0JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Phila Franklin Inst, PA US station (0.7 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 Peirce College

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

Colleges near Peirce College

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.