Private nonprofit · University
Western Governors University
Salt Lake City, Utah · Large suburb
- —
- 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.
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
- Nearest big city
- 5 miles to Salt Lake City, UT
- To the ocean
- 544 miles
How Western Governors University compares
Higher than 32% · #8 of 11 in Utah
Higher than 19%
Higher than 69% · #5 of 12 in Utah
Cheaper than 83% · #2 cheapest of 12 in Utah
Lower than 96%
Lower than 1%
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
- Undergraduate155,08874%
- Graduate55,12026%
Undergraduates by gender
- 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)
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.
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.
$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.
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.
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.
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
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Salt Lake City E Bench, UT US station (4.5 mi from campus).
What Western Governors 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 Western Governors University
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Western Governors University side by side →
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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.












