Skip to content
College Ledger

Statement · Evanston, IL

Northwestern University

Private nonprofit4-year · Bachelor's degreesCompare with other schools →

  1. Families earning under $30k paid $1,764 a year after grants and aid, against a published cost of $91,250.

  2. Students who received federal aid earned a median $89,363 ten years after entering, the 95th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years.

  3. 95% of students finish within 150% of normal time.

Founded
1851
Enrollment, 2023
26,993
Motto
“Quaecumque sunt vera”
Campus of Northwestern University

Rdsmith4 · CC BY-SA 2.5

AboutUniversity in Evanston, Illinois, US. Wikipedia ↗

Read the Wikipedia extract

Northwestern University (NU) is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851, it is the oldest chartered university in Illinois. Northwestern was initially affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church but later became non-sectarian. By 1900, the university was the third-largest university in the United States, after Michigan and Harvard. Northwestern became a founding member of the Big Ten Conference in 1896 and joined the Association of American Universities in 1917.

From the Wikipedia article “Northwestern University”, revision 1360686016, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.

What it costs

The published sticker cost is $91,250 a year; after grants, families who received aid paid between $1,764 and $48,777 a year depending on income at Northwestern University.

Statement of cost · Northwestern University

Family income (per year)
Sticker costPublished yearly cost of attendance, all students
$91,250
What families earning under $30k paidYearly net price after grants, for students receiving federal aid
$1,764
Average net price, all incomesAided students, all family incomes
$29,167
In-state tuition & feesLatest reported, 2024
$68,322

Each figure is reported separately; none is computed from another.

Net price by family income

Pick an income bracket above; the marked point follows. Dollars are what aided families paid each year after grants.

Yearly net price by family income, in dollars

under $30k: $1,764; $30–48k: $6,099; $48–75k: $7,898; $75–110k: $18,282; over $110k: $48,777. Shaded band: middle half of private nonprofit 4-years, from $17,360 to $28,210; dotted line at the median, $22,313.
  • Shaded: the middle half of private nonprofit 4-years (all incomes), $17,360 to $28,210. Dotted line: the median, $22,313.
Table of the same numbers
Average yearly net price by family income bracket
Family incomePaid per year
Under $30k$1,764
$30k–$48k$6,099
$48k–$75k$7,898
$75k–$110k$18,282
Over $110k$48,777

College Scorecard, 2023–24 aid cohort (students who received federal aid)

What graduates earn and owe

Ten years after entry, the median federally aided student here earns $89,363; the median graduate who borrowed owes $15,000.

Statement, continued

Earnings, 6 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
$76,844
Earnings, 8 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
$83,487
Median earnings 10 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
95th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years
$89,363
Median debt, graduatesStudents who finished and borrowed federal loans.
10th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years
$15,000
Median debt, all who borrowedEveryone who borrowed, whether or not they finished.
$14,000

Earnings and debt come from federal aid records, so students who never received federal aid are not counted.

Earnings after entry

The shaded band is the middle half of private nonprofit 4-years at 10 years: $43,845 to $62,830.

6 yrs after entry: $76,844; 8 yrs after entry: $83,487; 10 yrs after entry: $89,363. Median graduate debt: $15,000. Shaded band: middle half of private nonprofit 4-years at 10 years, from $43,845 to $62,830; dotted line at the median, $52,889.
  • Shaded: middle half of private nonprofit 4-years, 10 years out ($43,845 to $62,830); dotted line is the median.
  • Dashed: median graduate debt, $15,000.

Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only. Hollow marks are rungs with no reported value, not zero.

Table of the same numbers
Earnings after entry and graduate debt
MeasureDollars
Median earnings, 6 yrs after entry$76,844
Median earnings, 8 yrs after entry$83,487
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry$89,363
Median graduate debt$15,000

College Scorecard, federal tax and aid records

What programs pay

Median earnings five years after completing, by field of study. Small programs are privacy-suppressed and shown as not reported, never zero.

What programs pay at Northwestern University
ProgramCredentialGraduatesEarnings, 5 yrsMedian debt
Management Sciences and Quantitative MethodsMaster's Degree2,055$162,247not reported
Radio, Television, and Digital CommunicationMaster's Degree414not reportednot reported
EconomicsBachelor's Degree373$125,639$16,227
Clinical, Counseling and Applied PsychologyMaster's Degree372$56,897not reported
Finance and Financial Management ServicesMaster's Degree309not reportednot reported
LawFirst Professional Degree304$256,851not reported
Radio, Television, and Digital CommunicationBachelor's Degree247$50,861$15,500
Legal Research and Advanced Professional StudiesMaster's Degree234not reportednot reported
MarketingMaster's Degree222not reportednot reported
Psychology, GeneralBachelor's Degree211$71,228$14,500
Computer ScienceMaster's Degree181not reportednot reported
Business Administration, Management and OperationsMaster's Degree173$227,307not reported
Show all 24 programs
Remaining programs
ProgramCredentialGraduatesEarnings, 5 yrsMedian debt
MedicineFirst Professional Degree163$132,646not reported
Biology, GeneralBachelor's Degree135$76,013$14,800
Computer ScienceBachelor's Degree127$156,137$14,600
Neurobiology and NeurosciencesBachelor's Degree113not reported$16,948
Legal Professions and Studies, OtherMaster's Degree107not reportednot reported
Political Science and GovernmentBachelor's Degree106$76,128$16,834
Business/Commerce, GeneralMaster's Degree101$235,876not reported
Engineering, OtherMaster's Degree97$232,652not reported
Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical StudiesMaster's Degree37$260,814not reported
Community Organization and AdvocacyMaster's Degree0$158,814not reported
Information Science/StudiesBachelor's Degree88not reported$12,000
Legal Research and Advanced Professional StudiesFirst Professional Degreenot reported$177,387not reported

Source: College Scorecard field-of-study data.

Who goes here

Northwestern University: 9,201 undergraduates; 19% of students receive Pell grants; 8% of applicants are admitted.

Admission rate

8%

2nd percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

Undergraduates

9,201

98th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

Pell share

19%

of undergraduates receive Pell grants

18th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

Completion

95%

finish within 150% of normal time

97th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

First-generation

15%

parents did not attend college

Median family income

$58,836

70th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

Students by family income

Share of students in each family-income bracket, for students who received federal aid.

  • Under $30k22%
  • $30k–$48k15%
  • $48k–$75k15%
  • $75k–$110knot reported
  • Over $110knot reported
Show as a table
Students by family income
Family incomeShare of students
Under $30k22%
$30k–$48k15%
$48k–$75k15%
$75k–$110knot reported
Over $110knot reported

Who Wikipedia remembers

Wikidata records 7,023 people who studied at Northwestern University, most often in science & academia (49%). That is the archive's memory, not a census.

What the recorded alumni are remembered for

Share of recorded people by field, in a fixed order so schools compare.

Fields of the people the archive recorded for this school, in a fixed order: science & academia 49% (3,228 people); medicine 2.2% (145 people); law 2.3% (152 people); politics & gov 4.1% (274 people); business 3.5% (235 people); engineering & tech 3.1% (206 people); writing & journalism 9.5% (627 people); film & stage 6.3% (418 people); music 4.3% (288 people); visual arts 1.5% (97 people); sports 13% (848 people); religion 0.7% (46 people); military 0.9% (60 people). These are shares of people recorded in Wikidata, the archive's memory, not a census of alumni.
Table of the same numbers
Fields of the people the archive recorded for this school (the archive's memory, not a census)
FieldPeople recordedShare
science & academia3,22848.7%
medicine1452.2%
law1522.3%
politics & gov2744.1%
business2353.5%
engineering & tech2063.1%
writing & journalism6279.5%
film & stage4186.3%
music2884.3%
visual arts971.5%
sports84812.8%
religion460.7%
military600.9%

Source: Wikidata, via the archive's memory (not a census).

most recorded occupationsresearcher (1,784) · university teacher (732) · basketball player (503) · writer (294) · journalist (258) · politician (240) · economist (229) · actor (221)

Women among recorded alumni, by birth decade

Counts reflect who the archive records, not a census.

Share of women among recorded alumni, from 38% for the 1840s to 28% for the 2000s. Decades with fewer than 5 recorded people are not drawn, and 3 decades are marked not reported for women. The line breaks at every decade not drawn.

Counts only people the archive records with a gender. Hollow marks are decades with no women reported or fewer than 5 recorded, not zero.

Table of the same numbers
Recorded alumni by birth decade
BornWomenMenShare women
1800snot reported1not reported
1810snot reported1not reported
1830snot reported2not reported
1840s3538%
1850s41620%
1860s141942%
1870s113325%
1880s194231%
1890s197121%
1900s4611828%
1910s5018022%
1920s5926218%
1930s7526222%
1940s10330425%
1950s10227527%
1960s12623635%
1970s9716637%
1980s7314933%
1990s307928%
2000s194828%

Source: Wikidata, via the archive's memory (not a census).

Wikipedia attention, by month

Wikipedia attention

monthly views

Monthly Wikipedia article views from 2015-07 to 2026-06; peak 181,273 in 2018-05.
Table of the same numbers
Wikipedia article views by month
MonthViews
2026-0638,519
2026-0548,793
2026-0444,365
2026-0350,016
2026-0240,628
2026-0146,039
2025-1250,272
2025-1155,195
2025-1055,768
2025-0958,650
2025-0846,947
2025-0746,735
2025-0646,129
2025-0553,725
2025-0454,250
2025-0365,460
2025-0250,042
2025-0158,476
2024-1255,532
2024-1156,913
2024-1060,602
2024-0963,669
2024-0854,220
2024-0750,823
2024-0645,935
2024-0554,658
2024-0453,156
2024-0366,676
2024-0256,297
2024-0168,784
2023-1266,777
2023-1159,432
2023-1060,846
2023-0965,058
2023-0864,100
2023-0773,691
2023-0666,705
2023-0570,839
2023-0475,538
2023-0381,719
2023-0268,060
2023-0176,650
2022-1285,412
2022-1175,531
2022-1072,421
2022-0985,708
2022-0873,186
2022-0759,655
2022-0668,776
2022-0564,905
2022-0463,315
2022-0363,698
2022-0262,212
2022-0170,253
2021-1259,261
2021-1157,853
2021-1063,158
2021-0963,943
2021-0862,970
2021-0760,031
2021-0645,388
2021-0553,838
2021-0457,261
2021-0378,031
2021-0251,079
2021-0173,674
2020-1282,629
2020-1181,343
2020-1062,158
2020-0951,788
2020-0851,937
2020-0747,811
2020-0644,361
2020-0563,283
2020-0466,683
2020-0355,347
2020-0257,765
2020-0173,162
2019-1263,231
2019-1166,259
2019-1071,973
2019-0970,038
2019-0859,970
2019-0755,222
2019-0650,306
2019-0563,940
2019-0458,876
2019-0363,554
2019-0252,510
2019-0173,489
2018-12104,969
2018-1185,721
2018-1087,658
2018-0974,006
2018-0859,163
2018-0752,997
2018-0651,666
2018-05181,273
2018-0468,827
2018-0366,574
2018-0250,586
2018-0163,899
2017-1293,768
2017-11103,599
2017-1065,595
2017-0964,115
2017-0855,923
2017-0748,042
2017-0645,155
2017-0551,606
2017-0453,882
2017-03111,927
2017-0252,670
2017-0159,723
2016-1269,150
2016-1173,233
2016-1067,618
2016-0961,060
2016-0847,131
2016-0747,231
2016-0643,459
2016-0546,525
2016-0447,814
2016-0351,298
2016-0245,088
2016-0156,281
2015-1252,327
2015-1151,527
2015-1061,906
2015-0963,283
2015-0846,860
2015-0743,588

Source: Wikimedia pageviews.

Nobel laureates who studied here

  • Saul Bellow Literature 1976
  • Val Logsdon Fitch Physics 1980
  • George Stigler Economics 1982
  • Robert F. Furchgott Medicine 1998
  • Peter Howitt Economics 2025

The portrait wall

Ordered by Wikipedia footprint (language editions).

Show all 14 portraits

Also recorded: Sidney Sheldon.

Similar schools

These are the nearest neighbors in the same sector. The list is not an ordering.

Sources & caveats

Figures come from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Built 2026-07-17.

not reported
Not reported: suppressed for privacy or never collected. It is not zero, and nothing has been filled in.
Percentiles
A percentile compares this school with others in its own sector (for example, public 4-year schools). It describes position, not quality.
Earnings
Earnings cover students who received federal (Title IV) aid, measured from the year they entered. Students who never received federal aid are not included.
Provenance notes
  • U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, 2026-06 release. Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only. Suppressed values are null, never imputed.
  • Annual Scorecard files 1996-2026. A null in early years usually means the measure was not yet collected, not zero.
  • Coordinates and locale describe the campus address, not where students live.
  • Wikidata is not an alumni census: a person appears only when volunteer editors record them. Counts measure the archive's memory - access x achievement x documentation - never placement rates or institutional quality.
  • Images are from Wikimedia Commons under free licenses. Render the credit line (artist + license) with every image.

Lead text from Wikipedia (revision 1360686016), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.