by our College Data Analytics TeamCentral College is a private not-for-profit institution in Pella, Iowa enrolling 1,070 undergraduates. It accepts 86% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 66%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #644 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 12%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Central College ranks #644 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 12%.
In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.
Central College was awarded 6 badges in the 2027 rankings.
Central is ranked #644 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 20% of all schools in the nation.
Within the state, Central holds the #10 spot on the Best Colleges in Iowa ranking.
See all of the rankings for Central College.
With an acceptance rate of 86%, Central College is easier to get into than many other schools. But that doesn’t mean you can slack off on your application. Make sure to treat this school like any other when submitting requested materials and documents.
About 3% of students accepted to Central submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 528 and 560. Math scores were between 528 and 560.
Central received ACT scores from 42% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 20 and 26.
Learn more about Central College admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at Central is an impressive 11 to 1. That’s quite good when you compare it to the national average of 15 to 1. This is a good sign that students at the school will have more opportunities for one-on-one interactions with their professors.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Central College is 81%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate of 80% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Central College enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Central the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 66%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Central College.
During the most recent academic year, there were 1,070 undergraduates at Central.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Central College.
The overall average net price of Central is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $16,231 | $16,237 | $19,532 | $21,936 | $27,165 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Central, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At Central, approximately 70% of students took out student loans averaging $6,484 a year. That adds up to $25,936 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 3.6%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Central College.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Central College make about $54,317 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is good news for future Central College graduates since it is 10% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Central College make the most money.
Central College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pella, Iowa. The surrounding location of Pella is ideal for students who enjoy the charms of a college town. Get more details about the location of Central College.
Contact information for Central College are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 812 University, Pella, IA 50219 |
| Phone: | 8774623687 |
| Website: | www.central.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_College_(Iowa) |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/CentralCollege |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/centralcollege |
In the latest year of available data, students from 18 majors graduated from Central College. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 295 | NA |
| Health & Physical Education | 54 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 45 | $43,169 |
| General Biology | 20 | NA |
| General Psychology | 18 | NA |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 16 | NA |
| Accounting | 16 | NA |
| Communication & Media Studies | 15 | NA |
| General English Literature | 11 | NA |
| Sociology | 10 | NA |
6 students took at least one online class at Central College.
Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.
Learn more about online learning at Central College.
Want to see how other colleges compare to Central? Match them up using College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References