Private nonprofit · University

Western Governors University

Salt Lake City, Utah · Large suburb

#2 best value in Utah#5 for grad earnings in Utah
Admit rate
$12,548
Avg net price
46%
Graduation rate
$60,615
Median earnings

Western Governors University is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Salt Lake City, Utah (large suburb setting), enrolling 155,088 undergraduates. Programs are offered entirely online.

Private nonprofitLarge · 155,088 undergradsLarge suburbCold wintersSnowy

About Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. Before settlement by members of the LDS Church, the Shoshone, Weber Ute, and Paiute had dwelt in the Salt Lake Valley for thousands of years. At the time of Salt Lake City's founding, the valley was within the territory of the Northwestern Shoshone. Salt Lake City is home to several museums. Near Temple Square is the Church History Museum. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large suburb
Highest degree offered
Graduate
To the ocean
544 miles

How Western Governors University compares

Graduation rate46%

Higher than 32% · #8 of 11 in Utah

First-year retention65%

Higher than 19%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$60,615

Higher than 69% · #5 of 12 in Utah

Average net price$12,548

Cheaper than 83% · #2 cheapest of 12 in Utah

Median debt at graduation$11,116

Lower than 96%

Student–faculty ratio42 : 1

Lower than 1%

Undergraduate enrollment155,088

Larger than 99%

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

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

210,208students
  • Undergraduate155,08874%
  • Graduate55,12026%

Undergraduates by gender

155,088undergrads
  • Women106,93369%
  • Men48,15531%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White50%
  • Black14%
  • Hispanic16%
  • Asian4.3%
  • Other or multiracial16%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
155,088
Graduate enrollment
55,120
Student–faculty ratio
42 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
39%
First-generation students
47%
Students over 25
84%
Median family income
$46,442
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$57,375
Endowment
$3,320,366

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 2,027 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Utah4.0%
  • Other U.S. states96%

A national draw — only 4% of first-years come from Utah; 95% arrive from other states.

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
$8,658
Room & board
Books & supplies
$200
Total cost of attendance
$16,728
Average net price
$12,548

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)
46%
Graduated on time (4 years)
33%
First-year retention
65%
Transferred to another college
7%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$69,572
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$60,615
Median debt at graduation
$11,116
Students with federal loans
43%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
48%

About 13% 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
33%
Low-income (Pell)
39%
First-generation
44%

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
$65

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 2 campuses (210,208 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
$12,064
$30–48k
$12,436
$48–75k
$12,578
$75–110k
$14,824
$110k+
$12,734

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
$55,668

$12,578/year × about 4.4 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.

4%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,265
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 4% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,265. 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 1,377 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)
$60,615
Typical debt at graduation
$11,116
Debt vs. one year's pay
18%
Out-earn a HS grad
69%

Typical debt would take roughly 1.8 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Strong value

Graduates here tend to earn well relative to what they borrow — typical debt pays back fast, and most out-earn a high-school graduate.

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
$53,480
Men
$75,864

Men out-earn women by $22,384 (42%) 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
92°F
Winter low
23°F
Annual rain
17.7″
Annual snow
49″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.01.32.5JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Salt Lake City E Bench, UT US station (4.5 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 Western Governors University

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

Colleges near Western Governors 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.