Private nonprofit · University
Simpson University
Redding, California · Small city
- 86.0%
- Admit rate
- $27,817
- Avg net price
- 49%
- Graduation rate
- $54,340
- Median earnings
Simpson University is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Redding, California (small city setting), enrolling 809 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). It has a Christ and Missionary Alliance Church religious affiliation.
About Redding, California
Redding is a city in and the county seat of Shasta County, California, United States, and the economic and cultural capital of the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California. Although Europeans had been to California as early as 1542, when Juan Cabrillo sailed to what is now San Diego Bay, indigenous natives long remained the only inhabitants of the Northern California region. The Redding Metropolitan Statistical Area was recognized as the 29th Most Dynamic MSA in the United States in 2019 by the Walton Family Foundation. Redding was recognized for having a diversified economy with several large employers in different sectors. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Small city
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 147 miles to Sacramento, CA
- To the ocean
- 93 miles
- Nearest airport
- 8 miles to Redding (RDD)
How Simpson University compares
More selective than 33% · #70 most selective of 107 in California
Higher than 37% · #96 of 122 in California
Higher than 14%
Higher than 51% · #99 of 130 in California
Cheaper than 21% · #65 cheapest of 118 in California
Lower than 81%
Lower than 23%
Larger than 31%
Percentiles compare Simpson University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in California.
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate80982%
- Graduate17218%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women56970%
- Men24030%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White45%
- Black4.5%
- Hispanic29%
- Asian4.7%
- Other or multiracial17%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 809
- Graduate enrollment
- 172
- Student–faculty ratio
- 17 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 44%
- First-generation students
- 38%
- Students over 25
- 29%
- Median family income
- $34,920
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $67,536
- Endowment
- $7,374,442
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 145 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From California75%
- Other U.S. states24%
- International1.4%
Most first-years stay in state — Simpson University draws overwhelmingly from California.
1% came from outside the U.S. 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.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 86.0%
- Test scores
- Not considered
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- —
- SAT average
- —
- SAT reading
- —
- SAT math
- —
- ACT composite
- —
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $39,708
- Room & board
- $11,900
- Books & supplies
- $1,200
- Total cost of attendance
- $54,688
- Average net price
- $27,817
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)
- 49%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 41%
- First-year retention
- 60%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $51,256
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $54,340
- Median debt at graduation
- $18,750
- Students with federal loans
- 63%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 61%
About 8% 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)
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
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 450
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 56%
- Housing charge (year)
- $6,300
- Meal plan (year)
- $5,600
- Application fee
- Free
- Athletics
- NAIA Division II
- Football conference
- Frontier Conference
- Varsity athletes
- 524 (325 men · 199 women)
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%.
Varsity sports (13)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- C
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 2.4 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 2
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 5
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (992 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.
Reported offenses in an average year
The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.
By offense type, per year
Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.
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.
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.
$28,479/year × about 4.3 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.
Simpson University discounts heavily: 100% of freshmen are awarded a grant straight from the school, averaging $20,634. For many families the real price lands well below sticker.
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 110 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)
- $54,340
- Typical debt at graduation
- $18,750
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 35%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 56%
Typical debt would take roughly 3.5 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
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.
Men out-earn women by $8,795 (17%) 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
- 100°F
- Winter low
- 37°F
- Annual rain
- 33.5″
- Annual snow
- 2.6″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Redding Muni AP, CA US station (6.9 mi from campus).
What Simpson University graduates study — and earn
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 Simpson University
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Simpson University side by side →
Ottawa University-Ottawa
Ottawa, Kansas · Distant town · 50 mi to Kansas City
- Students
- 870
- Admission
- 83%
- Net price
- $28k
- SAT
- 1000
- GPA
- 2.9
- Earnings
- $56k
Thomas Aquinas College
Santa Paula, California · Distant rural · 35 mi to Santa Barbara
- Students
- 566
- Admission
- 83%
- Net price
- $26k
- SAT
- 1329
- GPA
- 3.7
- Earnings
- $56k
Covenant College
Lookout Mountain, Georgia · Large suburb · 7 mi to Chattanooga
- Students
- 939
- Admission
- 87%
- Net price
- $26k
- SAT
- 1294
- GPA
- 3.6
- Earnings
- $50k
Central College
Pella, Iowa · Distant town · 39 mi to Des Moines
- Students
- 1,070
- Admission
- 86%
- Net price
- $23k
- SAT
- 1147
- GPA
- 3.3
- Earnings
- $54k
Saint Joseph's College of Maine
Standish, Maine · Fringe rural · 16 mi to Portland
- Students
- 964
- Admission
- 84%
- Net price
- $28k
- SAT
- 1040
- GPA
- 3.0
- Earnings
- $59k
Rivier University
Nashua, New Hampshire · Small city · 18 mi to Manchester
- Students
- 1,231
- Admission
- 83%
- Net price
- $28k
- SAT
- 1070
- GPA
- 3.1
- Earnings
- $52k
Colleges near Simpson University
Shasta College
Redding, CA · Public · Associate · 6,128 students
Shasta School of Cosmetology
Redding, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 112 students
Shasta Bible College and Graduate School
Redding, CA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 21 students
College of the Siskiyous
Weed, CA · Public · Associate · 1,190 students
Cal Northern School of Law
Chico, CA · Private for-profit · Graduate
California State University-Chico
Chico, CA · Public · Bachelor's · 13,631 students
Butte County Regional Occupational Program
Chico, CA · Public · Certificate · 41 students
Butte College
Oroville, CA · Public · Associate · 8,890 students
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.














