by our College Data Analytics TeamWestern Governors University is a private not-for-profit institution in Salt Lake City, Utah enrolling 155,088 undergraduates. It has an on-time graduation rate of 46%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #405 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.
Western Governors University ranks #405 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 8%.
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.
Western Governors University was awarded 386 badges in the 2027 rankings.
WGU Western Governors is ranked #405 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.
WGU Western Governors is also ranked #3 on the Best Colleges in Utah list.
See all of the rankings for Western Governors University.
Learn more about Western Governors University admissions.
At Western Governors University, the student to faculty ratio is 42 to 1. Compared to the national average of 15 to 1, this is somewhat high. This could mean that class sizes may be larger than they are at other colleges or universities or that professors may be required to teach more classes.
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 Western Governors 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 Western Governors University is 65%, 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 WGU Western Governors for first-time, full-time students is 46%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Western Governors University.
The current enrollment includes 155,088 undergraduates at WGU Western Governors.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Western Governors University.
The typical net cost at WGU Western Governors 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $12,064 | $12,436 | $12,578 | $14,824 | $12,734 |
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 WGU Western Governors, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At WGU Western Governors, approximately 43% of students took out student loans averaging $5,947 a year. That adds up to $23,788 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 5.2%. 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 Western Governors University.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Western Governors University make about $60,615 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is good news for future Western Governors University graduates since it is 23% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Western Governors University make the most money.
Western Governors University is a private not-for-profit institution found in Salt Lake City, Utah. Salt Lake City is considered a suburb and offers tranquility and safety near the excitement of a city center. Get more details about the location of Western Governors University.
Contact information for Western Governors University are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 4001 South 700 East Suite 700, Salt Lake City, UT 84107 |
| Phone: | 8012743280 |
| Website: | www.wgu.edu |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/wgu.edu |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/wgu |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 9 majors graduated from Western Governors 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 | 59,391 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 8,683 | $66,965 |
| Nursing | 7,465 | $77,967 |
| Curriculum & Instruction | 6,352 | $54,990 |
| Information Technology | 5,067 | $99,943 |
| Health/Medical Admin Services | 3,583 | $89,288 |
| Educational Assessment | 3,277 | NA |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 3,028 | $34,615 |
| Accounting | 2,297 | $52,983 |
| Instructional Media Design | 2,262 | $56,253 |
155,088 students took at least one online class at Western Governors 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 Western Governors University.
Interested in comparing WGU Western Governors? 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.
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.