by our College Data Analytics TeamNorthern Illinois University is a public institution in Dekalb, Illinois enrolling 11,301 undergraduates. It accepts 70% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 49%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #414 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 8%), 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.
Northern Illinois University ranks #414 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 8%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
Northern Illinois University was awarded 377 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, NIU is ranked #414 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.
NIU also holds the #20 spot on the Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.
See all of the rankings for Northern Illinois University.
Northern Illinois University has an acceptance rate of 70%, which means the school is serious about who it admits. Take your time in putting together a strong application that highlights why you are a good fit for NIU.
Learn more about Northern Illinois University admissions.
With a student to faculty ratio of 15 to 1, Northern Illinois University is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it’s a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.
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 Northern Illinois University is 75%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate tells us what percentage of first-year, full-time students choose to continue on to their sophomore year at a particular school. The rate at Northern Illinois University is 70%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at NIU for first-time, full-time students is 49%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Northern Illinois University.
In the current academic year, there are 11,301 undergraduates at NIU.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Northern Illinois University.
The overall average net price of NIU 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,126 | $9,854 | $12,797 | $17,612 | $21,834 |
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 NIU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At NIU, approximately 47% of students took out student loans averaging $6,544 a year. That adds up to $26,176 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 7.4%. 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 Northern Illinois University.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Northern Illinois University make around $57,808 per year during the early years of their employment. This is good news for future Northern Illinois University graduates since it is 17% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Northern Illinois University make the most money.
Northern Illinois University is an public institution situated in Dekalb, Illinois. Dekalb is considered a suburb and offers tranquility and safety near the excitement of a city center. Get more details about the location of Northern Illinois University.
Contact details for Northern Illinois University are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 1425 W. Lincoln Hwy., Dekalb, IL 60115-2828 |
| Phone: | 8008923050 |
| Website: | www.niu.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Illinois_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/NorthernIllUniv |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/NIUlive |
In the latest year of available data, students from 25 majors graduated from Northern Illinois 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 | 4,053 | NA |
| General Psychology | 285 | $29,740 |
| Business Administration & Management | 224 | $73,170 |
| Computer Science | 214 | $63,969 |
| Nursing | 196 | $66,949 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 192 | $38,000 |
| Management Sciences & Methods | 157 | $45,481 |
| Computer Information Systems | 144 | NA |
| Health & Physical Education | 134 | $33,057 |
| Educational Administration | 129 | $75,332 |
7,987 students took at least one online class at Northern Illinois University.
Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.
Learn more about online learning at Northern Illinois University.
Want to see how other colleges compare to NIU? 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