by our College Data Analytics TeamMurray State University is a public institution in Murray, Kentucky enrolling 6,688 undergraduates. It accepts 86% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 61%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,178 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 23%), 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.
Murray State University ranks #1,178 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 23%.
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.
Murray State University was awarded 655 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked Murray State as #1,178 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list.
Murray State also holds the #12 spot on the Best Colleges in Kentucky ranking.
See all of the rankings for Murray State University.
Murray State University has an acceptance rate of 86%, so it is easier to gain admission to this school than some others. Still, the admissions staff will examine your application closely to make sure you’re a good fit for Murray State.
About 19% of students accepted to Murray State submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 480 and 600. Math scores were between 460 and 570.
Murray State received ACT scores from 82% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 19 and 26.
Learn more about Murray State University admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at Murray State University is about average at 17 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.
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 Murray State University is 82%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Murray State University has a freshmen retention rate of 76%. 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.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Murray State the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 61%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Murray State University.
In the current academic year, there are 6,688 undergraduates at Murray State.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Murray State University.
The typical net cost at Murray State 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $6,242 | $6,347 | $8,104 | $12,811 | $15,450 |
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 Murray State, 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 Murray State, approximately 35% of students took out student loans averaging $8,077 a year. That adds up to $32,308 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 7.3%. Although this is lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, you’ll still want to keep this in mind when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for Murray State University.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Murray State University make around $44,737 per year during the early years of their employment. This is in the same neighborhood of the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. However, certain majors may produce higher-paying graduates.
See which majors at Murray State University make the most money.
Murray State University is an public institution found in Murray, Kentucky. Murray is a great place for students who enjoy small town life. Get more details about the location of Murray State University.
Get in touch with Murray State University can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 218 Wells Hall, Murray, KY 42071-3318 |
| Phone: | 2708093011 |
| Website: | www.murraystate.edu |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/murraystateuniversity |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/murraystateuniv |
In the latest year of available data, students from 22 majors graduated from Murray 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 | 2,357 | NA |
| Other Agriculture | 232 | $40,351 |
| Business & Commerce | 181 | $45,947 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 135 | $34,265 |
| Nursing | 126 | $54,148 |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 122 | $31,376 |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 99 | $42,436 |
| Animal Science | 97 | NA |
| Accounting | 94 | $40,996 |
| Quality Control Technology | 69 | $66,445 |
3,815 students took at least one online class at Murray 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 Murray State University.
Interested in comparing Murray State? Match them up using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
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
More about our data sources and methodologies.