Salem State University

Salem, MA · Public · 4,291 undergrads (small, suburb) · website ↗

25% Hispanic undergrads
Test scores not considered
$50 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$10,516
$30,000 – $48,000	$13,870
$48,000 – $75,000	$13,821
$75,000 – $110,000	$17,590
Over $110,000	$23,223
All incomes (average)	$15,996

Sticker tuition and fees: $12,338 in-state, $19,531 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Salem State University's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$17,678
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$12,100
Books and supplies	$1,200
Other expenses, on campus	$1,784
Other expenses, off campus	$3,660

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (858 of them) in 2022–23; 99% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	98%	$8,241
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	48%	$5,369
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	98%	$3,543
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	69%	$5,253

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 96%
Average SAT: —
Median ACT: —
Students with Pell grants: 35%
Graduation rate (6yr): 50%
Freshman retention: 75%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $56,662
Median debt at graduation: $25,000
International undergrads: 151 (3.1%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Not considered
Application fee: $50
Students per faculty member: 12 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 100%
Open admission: No

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Not considered
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Not considered
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Considered if submitted
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Considered if submitted
Personal statement or essay	Not considered
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 4,852
Admitted: 4,637
Enrolled: 810

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Health & Nursing18%

Business17%

Psychology10%

Criminal Justice8%

Education8%

Biology & Life Sciences7%

Visual & Performing Arts5%

English & Literature4%

Computer Science4%

Communications & Media3%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (23)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	174	$79,151	$95,550national $88,910	$25,000
Psychology, General	97	$45,471	$54,717national $50,706	$23,250
Criminal Justice and Corrections	83	$52,353	$59,774national $55,378	$25,480
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	63	—	$56,509national $47,382	$20,603
Biology, General	55	$49,073	$67,551national $57,214	$23,000
Business Administration, Management and Operations	43	$54,314	$67,789national $68,257	$22,994
Social Work	42	$45,002	$60,026national $51,790	$25,605
Education, General	38	$46,530	$45,568national $49,808	$21,500
Health and Medical Administrative Services	37	$42,830	$55,323national $58,716	$24,000
English Language and Literature, General	34	$29,925	$43,621national $48,590	$25,000
History	26	—	$49,572national $50,680	$19,500
Computer and Information Sciences, General	25	$62,701	$92,380national $92,374	$26,104
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	24	$36,447	$51,362national $54,562	$20,334
Political Science and Government	16	$43,810	$58,499national $63,293	—
Geography and Cartography	13	$49,990	$58,593national $57,853	—
Sociology	11	$40,365	$51,573national $52,657	—
Communication and Media Studies	9	$40,532	$50,260national $56,359	$27,000
Fine and Studio Arts	8	$39,030	$50,397national $41,367	$17,250
Mathematics	6	—	$61,259national $69,562	—
Chemistry	4	—	$81,266national $65,120	—
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences	3	—	$59,424national $60,190	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	0	—	$55,808national $51,389	—
Visual and Performing Arts, General	—	$34,366	$32,484national $41,688	$25,000

Master's degrees (13)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Social Work	115	$64,709	$69,819national $65,123	$41,000
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	82	$54,065	$60,928national $59,916	$20,384
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	52	$62,996	$69,495national $65,184	$41,000
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	46	$60,095	$72,560national $63,707	$19,200
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	26	$70,575	$69,564national $71,416	$49,500
Student Counseling and Personnel Services	21	$59,351	$57,817national $60,111	$46,100
Business Administration, Management and Operations	20	—	$80,033national $103,485	—
Accounting and Related Services	16	$77,115	—national $95,833	—
English Language and Literature, General	11	$62,456	$69,754national $55,512	—
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	11	$110,988	$122,042national $120,193	—
Special Education and Teaching	10	$61,942	$63,889national $64,397	—
Criminal Justice and Corrections	9	$50,981	$107,339national $66,714	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	7	$53,721	$62,341national $71,685	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 63 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 352 Lafayette St, Salem, MA 01970
Phone: (978) 542-6000
Institutional accreditor: New England Commission on Higher Education

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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