NKU celebrated Monday for placing 29th out of 500 universities across the country by The Wall Street Journal’s 2025 report for best value – now for the second year in a row, according to a statement released by NKU.
Currently, NKU is the only public university in the region and in the commonwealth that made it onto The Wall Street Journal’s top 100 rankings. The report by the publication primarily focused on how quickly a degree from NKU pays for its cost through salaries earned by students after graduation.
The university has remained within the top 50 universities on this list by The Wall Street Journal over the past couple of years, ranking 40th as of 2023. This year, NKU moved up 11 places.
Also, within the research of the report, it was found that it only takes graduates one year and one month to pay off the net price of a degree at NKU, which is one year faster than the time it would take at the University of Kentucky, and two years and five months faster than at the University of Cincinnati.
NKU was given a cumulative score of 96.2 based on factors such as average net price, value added to graduate salary, and the years needed to pay off the net cost of attending the university. As mentioned in the report, NKU falls right below Harvard University and one above the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Additionally, the university’s graduation rates have steadily increased, and students are graduating sooner while incurring less of a financial burden within the past five years.
The Wall Street Journal also ranked NKU 337th for student experience, 327th for best salaries and 200th for social mobility which measures the extent to which a college or university educates more economically-disadvantaged students and graduates them into good-paying jobs.
As mentioned in the statement, The Wall Street Journal’s national recognition strongly reinforces the university’s reputation as a leading choice for students.
“What NKU offers is exactly what the American public has been asking for – an affordable, high-quality education that leads to prepared graduates in lucrative careers,” said NKU President Dr. Cady Short-Thompson. “The talented faculty and committed staff at NKU give students more than they pay for, and their successful outcomes are our proof point. I’m proud of what these rankings signify.”
