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Luther College: Rankings, Admissions, Cost & Majors

38 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
72% Acceptance Rate

Luther College is a private not-for-profit institution in Decorah, Iowa enrolling 1,379 undergraduates. It accepts 72% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 71%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #474 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 9%), 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 Luther College Ranked?

Luther College ranks #474 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 9%.

#474 Best Colleges in Nation
#6 Best Colleges in IA
Luther College ranking badge

2027 Rankings

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.

Luther College was awarded 38 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

Luther Norse is ranked #474 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 10% of all schools in the nation.

Within the state, Luther Norse holds the #6 spot on the Best Colleges in Iowa ranking.

See all of the rankings for Luther College.

Is It Hard to Get Into Luther College?

72% Acceptance Rate
75% Of Accepted Are Women
9% Submit SAT Scores

Acceptance Rate

Luther College has an acceptance rate of 72%, which makes it somewhat selective. Make sure it’s not the only school you apply to, even if it’s your school of choice. Whether you get in or not will largely depend on how you compare to other applicants.

Average Test Scores

About 9% of students accepted to Luther Norse submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 550 and 668. Math scores were between 528 and 738.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Luther College  ( 550 to 668 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Luther College  ( 528 to 738 )
200
800

Luther Norse received ACT scores from 17% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 22 and 29.

ACT Composite Scores for Luther College  ( 22 to 29 )
1
36

Learn more about Luther College admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at Luther College?

9 to 1 Student to Faculty
88% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

The student to faculty ratio at Luther Norse is an impressive 9 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.

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 Luther College is 88%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  88 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at Luther College?

77% Freshmen Retention
71% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

The freshmen retention rate of 77% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Luther 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.

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 Luther Norse for first-time, full-time students is 71%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  71 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Luther College.

How Diverse Is Luther College?

1,379 Undergraduate Students
12.9% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
51.9% Percent Women

In the current academic year, there are 1,379 undergraduates at Luther Norse.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Luther College.

How Much Does Luther College Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
65% Take Out Loans
$26,448 Total Student Loans

The average net price of Luther Norse 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 Luther Norse

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$12,517 $12,835 $19,351 $22,204 $29,376

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 Luther Norse, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

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 Luther Norse, approximately 65% of students took out student loans averaging $6,612 a year. That adds up to $26,448 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 3.0%. 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 Luther College.

How Much Do Luther College Graduates Earn?

$59,850 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Luther College with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $59,850 in their early years. This is good news for future Luther College graduates since it is 22% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Average Salary for Luther College Graduates

See which majors at Luther College make the most money.

Where Is Luther College Located?

Iowa State
1,379 Undergraduate Students
Town Campus Setting

Luther College is a private not-for-profit institution situated in Decorah, Iowa. Decorah is a good match for students who enjoy small-town life. Get more details about the location of Luther College.

Location of Luther College

Contact details for Luther College are listed below.

Contact Details
Address: 700 College Drive, Decorah, IA 52101-1045
Phone: 5633872000
Website: www.luther.edu
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_College_(Iowa)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/luthercollege
Twitter: www.twitter.com/luthercollege

What Majors Does Luther College Offer?

20 Majors With Completions
838 Undergraduate Degrees

In the most recent reporting year, students from 20 majors graduated from Luther 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 419 NA
Nursing 33 $63,140
Music 33 $37,723
Business Administration & Management 29 $43,545
General Biology 24 $25,391
Child Development & Psychology 21 NA
Health Sciences & Services 20 $29,691
Design & Applied Arts 18 NA
Information Science 15 NA
Natural Resources Conservation 15 $25,131

Learn more about the majors offered at Luther College along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Does Luther Norse Offer Online Classes?

1% Take At Least One Class Online

15 students took at least one online class at Luther 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 Luther College.

Interested in comparing Luther Norse? Pit them head to head with 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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