Private nonprofit · University
Southern New Hampshire University
Manchester, New Hampshire · Midsize suburb
- 99.5%
- Admit rate
- $36,708
- Avg net price
- 43%
- Graduation rate
- $50,318
- Median earnings
Southern New Hampshire University is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Manchester, New Hampshire (midsize suburb setting), enrolling 163,164 undergraduates.
About Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The native Pennacook people called Amoskeag Falls on the Merrimack River—the area that became the heart of Manchester—Namaoskeag, meaning "good fishing place". Cultural landmarks include the historic Palace Theatre, the Currier Museum of Art, the New Hampshire Institute of Art, the Franco-American Center, the Manchester Historic Association Millyard Museum, the Massabesic Audubon Center, the Amoskeag Fishways Learning and Visitors Center, the Lawrence L. Lee Scouting Museum and Max I. Silber Library, the Zimmerman House and Kalil House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and the SEE Science Center. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Midsize suburb
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 3 miles to Manchester, NH
- To the ocean
- 33 miles
- Nearest airport
- 7 miles to Manchester-Boston (MHT)
How Southern New Hampshire University compares
More selective than 5% · #11 most selective of 11 in New Hampshire
Higher than 27% · #11 of 13 in New Hampshire
Higher than 14%
Higher than 40% · #13 of 15 in New Hampshire
Cheaper than 7% · #13 cheapest of 13 in New Hampshire
Lower than 66%
Lower than 4%
Larger than 99%
Percentiles compare Southern New Hampshire University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in New Hampshire.
Southern New Hampshire University campus
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate163,16487%
- Graduate25,10813%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women110,41368%
- Men52,75132%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White50%
- Black20%
- Hispanic15%
- Asian2.3%
- Other or multiracial13%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 163,164
- Graduate enrollment
- 25,108
- Student–faculty ratio
- 24 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 49%
- First-generation students
- 48%
- Students over 25
- 75%
- Median family income
- $27,192
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $88,245
- Endowment
- $64,647,512
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 99.5%
- Test scores
- Not considered
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- —
- SAT average
- —
- SAT reading
- —
- SAT math
- —
- ACT composite
- —
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $17,200
- Room & board
- $12,800
- Books & supplies
- $1,500
- Total cost of attendance
- $40,918
- Average net price
- $36,708
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)
- 43%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 34%
- First-year retention
- 61%
- Transferred to another college
- 18%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $41,945
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $50,318
- Median debt at graduation
- $21,082
- Students with federal loans
- 58%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 43%
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
- 1,789
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 1%
- Housing charge (year)
- $9,000
- Meal plan (year)
- $3,800
- Application fee
- Free
- Athletics
- NCAA Division II without football
- Varsity athletes
- 449 (223 men · 226 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
- A
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 0.1 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 35
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 6
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (189,531 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.
$36,641/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.
Modest institutional aid: 12% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $4,192. 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 2,948 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)
- $50,318
- Typical debt at graduation
- $21,082
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 42%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 71%
Typical debt would take roughly 4.2 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 $18,362 (41%) 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
- 81°F
- Winter low
- 13°F
- Annual rain
- 42.5″
- Annual snow
- 52.8″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Massabesic Lake, NH US station (4.5 mi from campus).
What Southern New Hampshire 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 Southern New Hampshire University
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Southern New Hampshire University side by side →
Liberty University
Lynchburg, Virginia · Small city · 42 mi to Roanoke
- Students
- 50,012
- Admission
- 99%
- Net price
- $29k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $45k
Grand Canyon University
Phoenix, Arizona · Large city · 6 mi to Phoenix
- Students
- 73,371
- Admission
- 79%
- Net price
- $22k
- SAT
- 1077
- GPA
- 3.1
- Earnings
- $42k
Savannah College of Art and Design
Savannah, Georgia · Midsize city · 1 mi to Savannah
- Students
- 15,243
- Admission
- 83%
- Net price
- $49k
- SAT
- 1173
- GPA
- 3.4
- Earnings
- $46k
Belmont University
Nashville, Tennessee · Large city · 2 mi to Nashville
- Students
- 7,137
- Admission
- 95%
- Net price
- $33k
- SAT
- 1280
- GPA
- 3.5
- Earnings
- $56k
California Baptist University
Riverside, California · Large city · 5 mi to Riverside
- Students
- 8,179
- Admission
- 85%
- Net price
- $26k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $62k
DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois · Large city · < 1 mi to Chicago
- Students
- 14,090
- Admission
- 76%
- Net price
- $31k
- SAT
- 1262
- GPA
- 3.6
- Earnings
- $69k
Colleges near Southern New Hampshire University
Empire Beauty School-Hooksett
Hooksett, NH · Private for-profit · Certificate · 306 students
Manchester Community College
Manchester, NH · Public · Associate · 1,587 students
University of New Hampshire at Manchester
Manchester, NH · Public · Bachelor's · 443 students
Saint Anselm College
Manchester, NH · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 2,087 students
University of New Hampshire-Franklin Pierce School of Law
Concord, NH · Public · Graduate
NHTI-Concord's Community College
Concord, NH · Public · Associate · 2,154 students
Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
Merrimack, NH · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 97 students
Harmony Health Care Institute
Merrimack, NH · Private for-profit · Certificate · 153 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.













