Skip to content
Best College Rankings

Private nonprofit · Town campus · verified rankings · federal data

Monmouth College

Students comparing Monmouth College on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

CompareOfficial site
Monmouth, Illinois702 undergraduatesMean consensus percentile 55Private nonprofitSmall enrollmentResearch university

The short answer

Monmouth College: U.S. News ranks it #147 on National Liberal Arts Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #910 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); Niche ranks it #923 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026). It enrolls 702 undergraduates, admits 90.9% of applicants, and posts a 64.6% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $44,922; aid recipients pay $17,133 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $51,110.

The six numbers that matter most

Acceptance rate
90.9%

Above the dataset median of 76%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Average net price
$17,133

70% below the $56,720 published price

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardAverage for full-time first-time aid recipients, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median earnings, 10 yrs
$51,110

Below the dataset median of $54,053

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian earnings 10 years after entry, working and not enrolled, College Scorecard June 2026 release

6-year graduation rate
64.6%

Above the dataset median of 56%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent six-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median debt at graduation
$27,000

Below the dataset median of $23,250

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian federal loan debt of completers, College Scorecard June 2026 release

SAT middle 50%
1000–1210

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardSum of reported reading and math section percentiles for the most recent entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release. Section percentiles added together approximate, but do not exactly equal, the composite score range.

Where Monmouth ranks, and why the answers differ

Each publisher's position, the list it belongs to, and how many institutions it was drawn from.

SourceListRank
US News2026National Liberal Arts Colleges#147of 210Liberal arts colleges
Forbes2026America's Top CollegesNot ranked by this source
Washington Monthly2026Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars#910of 1,504Tuition & tax value (WM)
WSJ2026Best Colleges in the U.S.Not ranked by this source
Niche2026Best Colleges (Overall)#923of 2,605Overall (Niche)
Money2026Best Value CollegesNot ranked by this source
Princeton Review2026Best Colleges (Overall)Not ranked by this source
QS2026World University RankingsNot ranked by this source

Methodology sensitivity: Monmouth's position moves 35 percentile points depending on which published list you read. That is a wide spread, so which list you consult substantially changes the impression you get. How we compute this

Ranking positions are the editorial property of their publishers and are reproduced here with attribution for comparison and commentary. Follow each source link for its full list and methodology.

About Monmouth

Monmouth College is a private nonprofit institution in Monmouth, Illinois. Federal data show 74.4% first-year retention and a 10:1 student-faculty ratio. Figures on this page come from College Scorecard and IPEDS; publisher rankings shown here are transcribed from named sources and checked in our dataset.

Strengths and honest considerations

Strengths

  • Cost and outcome metrics on this profile come directly from federal collections, not self-reported marketing sheets.
  • Net price $17,133 reflects what aid recipients actually paid in the most recent federal reporting year.

Considerations

  • This school may not appear on every publisher list we track; an empty rankings table means no tracked publisher ranked it, not missing federal data.
  • Compare $56,720 sticker cost against $17,133 net price before ruling a school in or out on price alone.
  • Publishers we have not loaded yet, or lists that omit this school, show as “not ranked by this source” — that is expected.

Who this school genuinely fits

Students comparing Monmouth College on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

What it costs

Published price, then what families actually pay after grants and scholarships.

Tuition & fees
$44,922

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Undergraduates on Pell grants
37.1%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardShare of undergraduates, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Room & board
$11,798

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Published cost of attendance comes to roughly $56,720 a year, but the average family pays $17,133 — a 70% difference. 37.1% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, the federal marker of low family income.

Net price varies enormously by income band, so run Monmouth's net price calculator for your own household before drawing conclusions. Why net price is the only cost number that matters.

Programs and academics

Most popular majors

  1. 1Business
  2. 2Biology
  3. 3Psychology
  4. 4Computer Science
  5. 5Economics

Standout programs

    Student-faculty ratio
    10:1

    IPEDS / National Center for Education StatisticsIPEDS 2023 fall enrollment

    First-year retention
    74.4%

    U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent first-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

    Undergraduate enrollment
    702

    U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

    Monmouth: questions families ask

    Out-of-state tuition is $44,922 and on-campus room and board is $11,798, for a published total of $56,720 before aid. The average net price for first-time full-time students receiving aid is $17,133.

    The most recent federal admissions rate reported to the Department of Education is 90.9%. Test policy as reported in IPEDS: see the admissions section on this page for the institution's own category.

    Similar colleges

    Matched on institutional character, overlapping majors and comparable cross-source standing.

    Luther College

    Decorah, IAPrivate nonprofit

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    Luther College: U.S. News ranks it #108 on National Liberal Arts Colleges (2026); Forbes ranks it #489 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #853 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #286 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #341 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 4 stars. It enrolls 1,379 undergraduates, admits 71.5% of applicants, and posts a 71.1% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $52,120; aid recipients pay $23,097 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $59,850.

    Acceptance rate
    71.5%
    Average net price
    $23,097
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $59,850
    6-yr graduation rate
    71.1%
    US News · Liberal arts colleges#108 of 210Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#489 of 500Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#853 of 1,504+3 more on profile

    1,379 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 55 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Muskingum University

    New Concord, OHPrivate nonprofit

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    Muskingum University: U.S. News ranks it #43 on Regional Universities (Midwest) (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #1155 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #419 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #877 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 3 stars. It enrolls 1,376 undergraduates, admits 81.8% of applicants, and posts a 56.4% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $32,665; aid recipients pay $19,532 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $48,440.

    Acceptance rate
    81.8%
    Average net price
    $19,532
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $48,440
    6-yr graduation rate
    56.4%
    US News · Regional univ. (Midwest)#43 of 165Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#1155 of 1,504WSJ · U.S. colleges (WSJ)#419 of 500+2 more on profile

    1,376 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 55 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Saint Ambrose University

    Davenport, IAPrivate nonprofit

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    Saint Ambrose University: U.S. News ranks it #352 on National Universities (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #737 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); Niche ranks it #917 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 3.5 stars. It enrolls 1,916 undergraduates, admits 77.3% of applicants, and posts a 61.0% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $36,658; aid recipients pay $24,691 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $59,531.

    Acceptance rate
    77.3%
    Average net price
    $24,691
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $59,531
    6-yr graduation rate
    61.0%
    US News · National universities#352 of 436Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#737 of 1,504Niche · Overall (Niche)#917 of 2,605+1 more on profile

    1,916 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 55 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Compare Monmouth against these