by our College Data Analytics TeamEmpire State University is a public institution in Saratoga Springs, New York enrolling 7,585 undergraduates. It has an on-time graduation rate of 41%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,097 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 21%), 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.
Empire State University ranks #1,097 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 21%.
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.
Empire State University was awarded 450 badges in the 2027 rankings.
SUNY Empire is ranked #1,097 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list.
SUNY Empire also holds the #108 spot on the Best Colleges in New York ranking.
See all of the rankings for Empire State University.
Learn more about Empire State University admissions.
With a student to faculty ratio of 17 to 1, Empire 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.
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 Empire State University is 22%. This is lower 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 Empire State University is 66%, 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 SUNY Empire for first-time, full-time students is 41%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Empire State University.
In the current academic year, there are 7,585 undergraduates at SUNY Empire.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Empire State University.
The average net price of SUNY Empire 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $8,989 | $10,507 | $14,812 | $16,481 | $19,679 |
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 SUNY Empire, 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 SUNY Empire, approximately 34% of students took out student loans averaging $8,775 a year. That adds up to $35,100 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 7.2%. 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 Empire State University.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Empire State University with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $54,080 in their early years. This is good news for future Empire State University graduates since it is 10% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Empire State University make the most money.
Empire State University is a public institution found in Saratoga Springs, New York. Saratoga Springs is considered a suburb and offers tranquility and safety near the excitement of a city center. Get more details about the location of Empire State University.
Contact information for Empire State University can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | Two Union Ave, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866-4391 |
| Phone: | 5185872100 |
| Website: | www.esc.edu |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/SUNYEmpireStateCollege |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/@SUNYEmpire |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 17 majors graduated from Empire 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 | 3,409 | NA |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 560 | $42,742 |
| General Psychology | 314 | $36,299 |
| Business & Commerce | 312 | $46,285 |
| Community Organization & Advocacy | 302 | $38,496 |
| Business Administration & Management | 297 | $71,395 |
| General Education | 182 | $33,185 |
| Other Physical Science | 155 | NA |
| Human Resource Management | 138 | NA |
| Nursing | 100 | $83,286 |
7,672 students took at least one online class at Empire 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 Empire State University.
Interested in comparing SUNY Empire? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
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.
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