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Northwest Missouri State University: Rankings, Cost & Majors

41 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
86% Acceptance Rate

Northwest Missouri State University is a public institution in Maryville, Missouri enrolling 4,378 undergraduates. It accepts 86% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 54%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #866 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 17%), 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 Northwest Missouri State University Ranked?

Northwest Missouri State University ranks #866 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 17%.

#866 Best Colleges in Nation
#20 Best Colleges in MO
Northwest Missouri State University ranking badge

2027 Rankings

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.

Northwest Missouri State University was awarded 41 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, Northwest is ranked #866 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 20% of all schools in the nation.

Northwest also holds the #20 spot on the Best Colleges in Missouri ranking.

See all of the rankings for Northwest Missouri State University.

Is It Hard to Get Into Northwest Missouri State University?

86% Acceptance Rate
87% Of Accepted Are Women
2% Submit SAT Scores

Acceptance Rate

With an acceptance rate of 86%, Northwest Missouri State University 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.

Average Test Scores

About 2% of students accepted to Northwest submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 478 and 593. Math scores were between 498 and 600.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Northwest Missouri State University  ( 478 to 593 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Northwest Missouri State University  ( 498 to 600 )
200
800

Northwest received ACT scores from 66% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 19 and 24.

ACT Composite Scores for Northwest Missouri State University  ( 19 to 24 )
1
36

Learn more about Northwest Missouri State University admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at Northwest Missouri State University?

16 to 1 Student to Faculty
80% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

With a student to faculty ratio of 16 to 1, Northwest Missouri State 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.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

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 Northwest Missouri State University is 80%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  80 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at Northwest Missouri State University?

74% Freshmen Retention
54% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

Northwest Missouri State University has a freshmen retention rate of 74%. 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  74 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 Northwest for first-time, full-time students is 54%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  54 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Northwest Missouri State University.

How Diverse Is Northwest Missouri State University?

4,378 Undergraduate Students
16.5% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
61.5% Percent Women

In the current academic year, there are 4,378 undergraduates at Northwest.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Northwest Missouri State University.

How Much Does Northwest Missouri State University Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
42% Take Out Loans
$40,200 Total Student Loans

The typical net cost at Northwest 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 Northwest

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$13,176 $13,447 $13,959 $17,423 $20,796

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

Student Loan Debt

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 Northwest, approximately 42% of students took out student loans averaging $10,050 a year. That adds up to $40,200 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 7.8%. 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 Northwest Missouri State University.

How Much Do Northwest Missouri State U Graduates Earn?

$47,885 Avg Salary of Grads
Average Earnings Boost

Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Northwest Missouri State University make around $47,885 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. Average Salary for Northwest Missouri State University Graduates

See which majors at Northwest Missouri State University make the most money.

Where Is Northwest Missouri State University Located?

Missouri State
4,378 Undergraduate Students
Town Campus Setting

Northwest Missouri State University is a public institution found in Maryville, Missouri. Maryville is a great place for students who enjoy small town life. Get more details about the location of Northwest Missouri State University.

Location of Northwest Missouri State University

Get in touch with Northwest Missouri State University are listed below.

Contact Details
Address: 800 University Drive, Maryville, MO 64468-6001
Phone: 6605621212
Website: www.nwmissouri.edu
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Missouri_State_University
Twitter: twitter.com/NWMOState

What Majors Does Northwest Missouri State University Offer?

22 Majors With Completions
6,222 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 22 majors graduated from Northwest Missouri 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 3,111 NA
Educational Administration 499 $46,680
Computer Science 296 NA
Computer Information Systems 287 $59,353
Teacher Education Subject Specific 286 $35,521
Business Administration & Management 276 $47,392
Teacher Education Grade Specific 122 $33,252
Curriculum & Instruction 104 NA
Geography & Cartography 81 $37,764
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 73 NA

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

Does Northwest Offer Online Classes?

51% Take At Least One Class Online
19% Take All Classes Online

2,234 students took at least one online class at Northwest Missouri State University.

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 Northwest Missouri State University.

Want to see how other colleges compare to Northwest? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.

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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