Detroit, Michigan. 15,676 undergraduate students. 301 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
UNITID 172644 · OPEID 002329 · IPEDS HDVINTAGE · COLLEGE SCORECARD · 2025-05 · HISTORY 1996–2024
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
Earnings, completion, debt, and enrollment anomalies at Wayne State
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE-21%
100%-time completion
100%-time completion at Wayne State University fell 21% between 2006 and 2009 (12.8% → 10.2%).
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Wayne State University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (1.5% → 0.0%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
Wayne State earnings, debt, and completion vs. the Michigan median
Each tile compares this institution to the Michigan median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 10Y
$53,493+18% · 6→10y
Michigan median $38,167
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 6Y
$45,207
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry
COMPLETION · 150%
56.5%+73% · '02→'24
Michigan median 57.1%
MEDIAN FEDERAL DEBT
$16,597+335% · '97→'20
At program completion
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT
15,676-8% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS
RETENTION
81.5%+12% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time
ADMISSION RATE
82.0%+5% · '01→'24
latest cohort
IN-STATE TUITION
$14,297+288% · '00→'24
out-of-state $30,419
SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How Wayne State earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
ALL FEDERALLY AIDED STUDENTS · TAX-RECORD EARNINGSVINTAGE 2025-05
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings at Wayne State
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
4.1%
0%8% · GE20%+
Median federal debt $16,597 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $53,493 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Wayne State enrollment, completion, and debt over time
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
UNDERGRAD · 1996–202415,587
Undergraduate enrollment.IPEDS EF
COMPLETION 150% · 2002–202458.4%
150%-time completion rate.IPEDS GR
MEDIAN DEBT · 1997–2020$21,250
Median federal student debt at exit.SCORECARD
COMPLETION · 150% · 2002→2024+73%
Wayne State · completion · 150% rose
33.7% → 58.4%
COMPLETION · 100% · 2002→2009+40%
Wayne State · completion · 100% rose
7.2% → 10.2%
RETENTION · 2004→2024+12%
Wayne State · retention rose
74.0% → 82.7%
IN-STATE TUITION · 2000→2024+288%
Wayne State · in-state tuition rose
$3,917 → $15,190
OUT-OF-STATE TUITION · 2000→2024+273%
Wayne State · out-of-state tuition rose
$8,579 → $32,037
MEDIAN DEBT · 1997→2020+335%
Wayne State · median debt rose
$4,880 → $21,250
COHORT DEFAULT RATE · 2011→2024-100%
Wayne State · cohort default rate fell
9.5% → 0.0%
PELL SHARE · 2008→2024+37%
Wayne State · pell share rose
33.4% → 45.7%
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_10YR · 2007→2020+24%
Wayne State · earnings_median_10yr rose
$43,200 → $53,493
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_8YR · 2005→2020+25%
Wayne State · earnings_median_8yr rose
$40,400 → $50,384
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_6YR · 2003→2020+27%
Wayne State · earnings_median_6yr rose
$35,700 → $45,207
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Wayne State programs ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$1,284,548
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 8
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
Cost per year
$14,864
HS-only baseline · MI
$36,900
Years to complete
6
CIP family
52
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Institutions similar to Wayne State in Michigan
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
“Wayne State graduates earn $X” — not “Wayne State makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Wayne State caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.