Private nonprofit · University

Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, Texas · Remote town

56.0%
Admit rate
$20,590
Avg net price
19%
Graduation rate
$51,838
Median earnings

Wayland Baptist University is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Plainview, Texas (remote town setting), enrolling 2,041 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). It has a Southern Baptist religious affiliation.

Private nonprofitMidsize · 2,041 undergradsRemote townSelective · 56% admitNAIA Division I · Sooner Athletic ConferenceCold winters

About Plainview, Texas

Plainview is a city in and the county seat of Hale County, Texas, United States. Plainview began when Z. T. Maxwell and Edwin Lowden Lowe established a post office on March 18, 1887. The town received its name due to the vast treeless plain surrounding it. In 2009, the Texas Department of State Health Services ordered the recall of all products produced by a processing facility near Plainview owned by Peanut Corporation of America. Rodents, excrement, and feathers in the plant had been found in the facility's products. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Remote town
Highest degree offered
Graduate
Nearest big city
43 miles to Lubbock, TX
To the ocean
481 miles
Nearest airport
37 miles to Lubbock Preston Smith (LBB)

How Wayland Baptist University compares

Selectivity56.0%

More selective than 80% · #18 most selective of 77 in Texas

Graduation rate19%

Higher than 5% · #83 of 87 in Texas

First-year retention45%

Higher than 4%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$51,838

Higher than 44% · #58 of 94 in Texas

Average net price$20,590

Cheaper than 48% · #52 cheapest of 88 in Texas

Median debt at graduation$23,106

Lower than 52%

Student–faculty ratio10 : 1

Lower than 76%

Undergraduate enrollment2,041

Larger than 58%

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

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

2,763students
  • Undergraduate2,04174%
  • Graduate72226%

Undergraduates by gender

2,041undergrads
  • Women1,17958%
  • Men86242%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White29%
  • Black19%
  • Hispanic28%
  • Asian2.3%
  • Other or multiracial22%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
2,041
Graduate enrollment
722
Student–faculty ratio
10 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
46%
First-generation students
45%
Students over 25
58%
Median family income
$32,295
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$53,991
Endowment
$122,050,796

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 289 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Texas85%
  • Other U.S. states14%
  • International1.0%

Most first-years stay in state — Wayland Baptist University draws overwhelmingly from Texas.

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
56.0%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$23,782
Room & board
$9,654
Books & supplies
$840
Total cost of attendance
$36,323
Average net price
$20,590

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)
19%
Graduated on time (4 years)
9%
First-year retention
45%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$44,159
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$51,838
Median debt at graduation
$23,106
Students with federal loans
50%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
40%

About 10% 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
9%
Low-income (Pell)
34%
First-generation
33%

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
810
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
40%
Housing charge (year)
$3,986
Meal plan (year)
$6,240
Application fee
$35
Athletics
NAIA Division I
Football conference
Sooner Athletic Conference
Varsity athletes
706 (498 men · 208 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 (11)

Football142
Baseball108
Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)107
Basketball94
Soccer80
Wrestling67
Softball37
Other Sports27
Volleyball22
Beach Volleyball13
Golf9

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
B
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.8 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
1
Property offenses (2022–2024)
6

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 27 campuses (2,809 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.

2.3reported offenses a year
0.3 violent a year2.0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
1.3
Motor vehicle theft
0.7
Rape
0.3

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.

< $30k
$20,070
$30–48k
$16,344
$48–75k
$19,949
$75–110k
$21,542
$110k+
$25,435

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
$95,262

$19,949/year × about 4.8 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.

82%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$10,834
average award, among those who get one

A meaningful share of freshmen — 82% — get grant money from Wayland Baptist University itself, averaging $10,834, which softens the sticker price.

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 245 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)
$51,838
Typical debt at graduation
$23,106
Debt vs. one year's pay
45%
Out-earn a HS grad
70%

Typical debt would take roughly 4.5 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
$47,174
Men
$62,015

Men out-earn women by $14,841 (31%) 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
91°F
Winter low
24°F
Annual rain
18.4″
Annual snow
7″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.01.53.0JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Plainview Wtr Productn, TX US station (1.2 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 Wayland Baptist University

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

Colleges near Wayland Baptist 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.