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Portland State University: Rankings, Admissions, Cost & Majors

625 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
91% Acceptance Rate

Portland State University is a public institution in Portland, Oregon enrolling 13,182 undergraduates. It accepts 91% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 53%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #792 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 15%), 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 Portland State University Ranked?

Portland State University ranks #792 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 15%.

#792 Best Colleges in Nation
#13 Best Colleges in OR
Portland 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.

Portland State University was awarded 625 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, Portland State University is ranked #792 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.

Within the state, Portland State University holds the #13 spot on the Best Colleges in Oregon ranking.

See all of the rankings for Portland State University.

Is It Hard to Get Into Portland State University?

91% Acceptance Rate
92% Of Accepted Are Women
1% Submit SAT Scores

Acceptance Rate

With an acceptance rate of 91%, Portland 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.

Learn more about Portland State University admissions.

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

17 to 1 Student to Faculty
57% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

With a student to faculty ratio of 17 to 1, Portland 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 Portland State University is 57%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  57 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at Portland State University?

76% Freshmen Retention
53% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

Portland 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.

Freshmen Retention Rate  76 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 Portland State University for first-time, full-time students is 53%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  53 out of 100
0
100

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

How Diverse Is Portland State University?

13,182 Undergraduate Students
46.7% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
56.4% Percent Women

The current enrollment includes 13,182 undergraduates at Portland State University.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Portland State University.

How Much Does Portland State University Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
32% Take Out Loans
$28,664 Total Student Loans

The average net price of Portland State University 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 Portland State University

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$7,655 $7,752 $8,981 $12,993 $19,112

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 Portland State University, 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 Portland State University, approximately 32% of students took out student loans averaging $7,166 a year. That adds up to $28,664 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 4.2%. 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 Portland State University.

How Much Do Portland State University Graduates Earn?

$57,906 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Portland State University make around $57,906 per year during the early years of their employment. That’s great news for Portland State University students since it is 18% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Average Salary for Portland State University Graduates

See which majors at Portland State University make the most money.

Where Is Portland State University Located?

Oregon State
13,182 Undergraduate Students
Large City Campus Setting

Portland State University is a public institution found in Portland, Oregon. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of Portland State University.

Location of Portland State University

Get in touch with Portland State University can be found below.

Contact Details
Address: 724 SW Harrison St., Portland, OR 97201
Phone: 5037253000
Website: www.pdx.edu
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_State_University
Facebook: www.facebook.com/portlandstatefans
Twitter: twitter.com/portland_state

What Majors Does Portland State University Offer?

26 Majors With Completions
11,844 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 26 majors graduated from Portland 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 5,922 NA
Social Work 427 $44,720
Teacher Education Grade Specific 381 $48,242
General Psychology 318 $30,278
Business Administration & Management 279 $57,383
Computer Science 243 $96,536
General Social Sciences 229 $31,905
Liberal Arts General Studies 193 $31,991
Electrical and Computer Engineering. 156 NA
Marketing 155 $36,870

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

Does Portland State University Offer Online Classes?

66% Take At Least One Class Online
21% Take All Classes Online

8,737 students took at least one online class at Portland State 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 Portland State University.

Want to see how other colleges compare to Portland State University? Compare them side by side using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.

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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