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Elizabeth City State University: Rankings, Admissions, Cost & Majors

129 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
64% Acceptance Rate

Elizabeth City State University is a public institution in Elizabeth City, North Carolina enrolling 1,975 undergraduates. It accepts 64% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 44%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #2,682 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 52%), 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.

How Is Elizabeth City State University Ranked?

Elizabeth City State University ranks #2,682 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 52%.

#2,682 Best Colleges in Nation
#99 Best Colleges in NC
Elizabeth City State University ranking badge

2027 Rankings

College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.

Elizabeth City State University was awarded 129 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

ECSU is ranked #2,682 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list.

Within the state, ECSU holds the #99 spot on the Best Colleges in North Carolina ranking.

See all of the rankings for Elizabeth City State University.

Is It Hard to Get Into Elizabeth City State University?

64% Acceptance Rate
66% Of Accepted Are Women
3% Submit SAT Scores

Acceptance Rate

The acceptance rate at Elizabeth City State University is a competitive 64%, so make sure you take your application seriously when putting it together. Even leaving out a minor detail could be a reason to move you to the rejection pile.

Average Test Scores

About 3% of students accepted to ECSU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 470 and 560. Math scores were between 450 and 520.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Elizabeth City State University  ( 470 to 560 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Elizabeth City State University  ( 450 to 520 )
200
800

ECSU received ACT scores from 11% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 16 and 22.

ACT Composite Scores for Elizabeth City State University  ( 16 to 22 )
1
36

Learn more about Elizabeth City State University admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at Elizabeth City State University?

19 to 1 Student to Faculty
81% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

The student to faculty ratio at Elizabeth City State University is 19 to 1, which is high when compared to the national average of 15 to 1. This may indicate that some of your classes will be larger in size than they would be at other schools. However, upper level classes will probably be smaller.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at Elizabeth City State University is 81%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  81 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at Elizabeth City State University?

77% Freshmen Retention
44% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

Elizabeth City State University has a freshmen retention rate of 77%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  77 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at ECSU for first-time, full-time students is 44%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  44 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Elizabeth City State University.

How Diverse Is Elizabeth City State University?

1,975 Undergraduate Students
77.0% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
50.4% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 1,975 undergraduates at ECSU.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Elizabeth City State University.

How Much Does Elizabeth City State University Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
54% Take Out Loans
$24,292 Total Student Loans

The typical net cost at ECSU 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.

Net Price by Income Group for ECSU

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$4,246 $4,538 $5,354 $10,205 $15,663

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 ECSU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At ECSU, approximately 54% of students took out student loans averaging $6,073 a year. That adds up to $24,292 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 16.7%. This is significantly higher than the national default rate of 10.1%, which means you could have trouble paying back your student loans if you take any out. Get more details about paying for Elizabeth City State University.

How Much Do Elizabeth City State U Graduates Earn?

$40,026 Avg Salary of Grads
Low Earnings Boost

The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Elizabeth City State University make about $40,026 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is about 19% less than the average pay for college graduates overall. However, graduates with your major may make more. Average Salary for Elizabeth City State University Graduates

See which majors at Elizabeth City State University make the most money.

Where Is Elizabeth City State University Located?

North Carolina State
1,975 Undergraduate Students
Town Campus Setting

Elizabeth City State University is an public institution situated in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Elizabeth City is a good match for students who enjoy small-town life. Get more details about the location of Elizabeth City State University.

Location of Elizabeth City State University

Get in touch with Elizabeth City State University are given below.

Contact Details
Address: 1704 Weeksville Rd, Elizabeth City, NC 27909
Phone: 2523353400
Website: www.ecsu.edu
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ElizabethCityStateUniversity
Twitter: twitter.com/ecsu

What Majors Does Elizabeth City State University Offer?

16 Majors With Completions
812 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 16 majors graduated from Elizabeth City State University. 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 406 NA
Interdisciplinary Studies 73 NA
Teacher Education Grade Specific 46 $23,716
Business Administration & Management 45 $23,750
Health & Physical Education 37 NA
Air Transportation 29 NA
General Biology 27 $29,777
Criminal Justice & Corrections 19 $30,408
General Psychology 19 NA
Other Engineering Technology 13 NA

Learn more about the majors offered at Elizabeth City State University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Does ECSU Offer Online Classes?

86% Take At Least One Class Online
24% Take All Classes Online

1,699 students took at least one online class at Elizabeth City State University.

Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.

Learn more about online learning at Elizabeth City State University.

Want to see how other colleges compare to ECSU? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.

Notes and References

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

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