Know before you go

Northwestern State University of LouisianaTuition & Cost · 2025–26

PublicNatchitoches, Louisiana5,519 undergraduates · Fall 2024
In-state tuition & fees
$9,370
Academic year 2025–26

Tuition and fees only; living costs excluded.

About this number

Published in-state tuition and required fees. This does not include living costs. Public colleges may have separate in-district rates that are not in this package.
Source field: TUITIONFEE_IN. Source-file year: 2025-2026. Coverage: Academic year 2025–26. Official cohort note: AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

Out-of-state tuition & fees
$20,158
Academic year 2025–26

Tuition and fees only; living costs excluded.

About this number

Published out-of-state tuition and required fees, excluding living costs.
Source field: TUITIONFEE_OUT. Source-file year: 2025-2026. Coverage: Academic year 2025–26. Official cohort note: AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

Average net price
$12,842
Academic year 2024–25

After grants and scholarships; loans are not deducted. In-state, federally aided students.

About this number

Average cost after grants and scholarships for full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving Title IV aid. Public-college figures cover in-state students. Loans are not deducted. Your actual price may differ.
Source field: NPT4_PUB. Source-file year: 2025-2026. Coverage: Academic year 2024–25. Official cohort note: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

Average cost before aid
$25,426
Academic year 2024–25

Includes tuition, books and living expenses.

About this number

Average cost of attendance before grants: tuition, fees, books, supplies and living expenses for full-time, first-time students receiving Title IV aid. Living arrangements vary; this is not an individual quote.
Source field: COSTT4_A. Source-file year: 2025-2026. Coverage: Academic year 2024–25. Official cohort note: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

01 / Beyond the sticker price

Reported costs at Northwestern State University of Louisiana.

Attendance cost includes tuition and required fees, books, supplies and living expenses. Net price subtracts grants and scholarships, but not loans. Each average below has its own reporting period.

Before and after grants.

Average cost before grants

$25,426

Academic year 2024–25

Tuition, fees, books, supplies and living expenses.

Average net price after grants

$12,842

Academic year 2024–25

Costs after grants and scholarships; loans are not deducted.

Historical averages; their difference is not an aid award or a saving you can expect.

These are reported academic-year costs. Living arrangements and the students covered by each average can differ.

Definitions and source years

Net price includes tuition and fees, books and supplies, and living expenses, after grants and scholarships. Loans are not subtracted.

First-time, full-time undergraduates receiving federal financial aid (Title IV); the public-college figures use the reported in-state student population. These averages do not cover every student.

These are reported academic-year costs. Living arrangements and the students covered by each average can differ.

  • Before grants: Academic year 2024–25. Source-file year 2025–26. Source field COSTT4_A. Official cohort: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Source release: 2026-10-15.
  • After grants: Academic year 2024–25. Source-file year 2025–26. Source field NPT4_PUB. Official cohort: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Source release: 2026-10-15.

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. These are historical group averages, not a current bill, aid offer or personal estimate.

02 / Historical averages by family income

Average cost after grants, by family income.

Average total cost after grants and scholarships for each family-income group. Includes living expenses; loans are not deducted.

Academic year 2024–25

5 of 5 family-income groups have reported averages. Longer bars mean higher reported costs after grants.

Average net price after grants (U.S. dollars)
Family income
$0$10,000$20,000
Reported cost
$0–30,000$12,760
$30,001–48,000$10,038
$48,001–75,000$10,217
$75,001–110,000$14,572
$110,001+$19,044

First-time, full-time undergraduates receiving federal financial aid (Title IV); the public-college figures use the reported in-state student population.

These are reported academic-year costs. Living arrangements and the students covered by each average can differ.

What is included and where these figures come from

Net price includes tuition and fees, books and supplies, and living expenses, after grants and scholarships. Loans are not subtracted.

First-time, full-time undergraduates receiving federal financial aid (Title IV); the public-college figures use the reported in-state student population. These averages do not cover every student.

These are reported academic-year costs. Living arrangements and the students covered by each average can differ.

  • Family income $0–30,000: Academic year 2024–25. Source-file year 2025–26. Source field NPT41_PUB. Official cohort: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Source release: 2026-10-15.
  • Family income $30,001–48,000: Academic year 2024–25. Source-file year 2025–26. Source field NPT42_PUB. Official cohort: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Source release: 2026-10-15.
  • Family income $48,001–75,000: Academic year 2024–25. Source-file year 2025–26. Source field NPT43_PUB. Official cohort: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Source release: 2026-10-15.
  • Family income $75,001–110,000: Academic year 2024–25. Source-file year 2025–26. Source field NPT44_PUB. Official cohort: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Source release: 2026-10-15.
  • Family income $110,001+: Academic year 2024–25. Source-file year 2025–26. Source field NPT45_PUB. Official cohort: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Source release: 2026-10-15.

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. These are historical group averages, not a current bill, aid offer or personal estimate.

Older income-group observations

These separately dated observations are retained history. Source-file years may differ from the year costs were measured. They are not replacements for missing current groups.

Historical average net price after grants · U.S. dollars
Family incomeSource-file yearAverage net price
$0–30,0002024–25$11,693
$30,001–48,0002024–25$12,261
$48,001–75,0002024–25$12,549
$75,001–110,0002024–25$17,777
$110,001+2024–25$19,077

03 / Help paying for college

The financial aid picture.

Pell Grant recipients

37.9%

Share of undergraduates · Academic year 2024–25

About this number

Share of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants. This is not the share receiving any financial aid.
Source field: PCTPELL. Source-file year: 2025-2026. Coverage: Academic year 2024–25. Official cohort note: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

Federal loan recipients

34.8%

Share of undergraduates · Academic year 2024–25

About this number

Share of undergraduates receiving federal student loans. Loans must generally be repaid; they are not grant aid.
Source field: PCTFLOAN. Source-file year: 2025-2026. Coverage: Academic year 2024–25. Official cohort note: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

Grants lower your cost. Loans help fund it, but usually need to be repaid.

04 / What borrowers leave with

Debt, in perspective.

$24,875
Median federal debt among graduates who borrowed

Pooled FY2024 and FY2025 cohorts. Includes only borrowers who completed.

About this number

Median cumulative federal student-loan debt among borrowers who completed. This is not an average across all students. Federal debt may be reported for a group of campuses sharing a federal aid identifier.
Source field: GRAD_DEBT_MDN. Source-file year: 2024-2025. Coverage: Pooled FY2024 and FY2025 cohorts. Official cohort note: NSLDS FY2024, FY2025 pooled cohorts. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

05 / After you enroll

Finishing. Then earning.

43.6%
Completion within 150% of normal time

First-time, full-time students · Fall 2019 / academic year 2019–20 entry cohort

About this number

Share of first-time, full-time students who complete at this institution within 150% of normal program time. Typically six years for a bachelor’s degree, three for an associate’s degree; certificate lengths vary.
Source field: C150_4. Source-file year: 2025-2026. Coverage: Fall 2019 / academic year 2019–20 entry cohort. Official cohort note: Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

$51,238
Median earnings 10 years after entering college

Working and not enrolled · Measured in 2022 and 2023; 2024 dollars

About this number

Median earnings among federally aided former students who are working and not enrolled. Entry-based cohorts include both completers and noncompleters. This is an earnings measure, not a guaranteed salary.
Source field: MD_EARN_WNE_P10. Source-file year: 2022-2023. Coverage: Measured in 2022 and 2023; 2024 dollars. Official cohort note: Treasury AY2011-12, AY2012-13 pooled cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

06 / The longer view

Older tuition and net-price observations.

These are older reported observations, in U.S. dollars without inflation adjustment. The labels are source-file years; the retained snapshot does not establish a measurement year for every row.

Published in-state tuition and required fees (U.S. dollars)
Source-file year
$0$4,500$9,000
Reported cost
2015–16$7,006
2016–17$7,620
2017–18$7,921
2018–19$7,922
2019–20$8,768
2020–21$8,672
2021–22$8,672
2022–23$8,672
2023–24$8,864
2024–25$8,864
View retained tuition and net-price observations
Retained observations · U.S. dollars · Source-file years
Source-file yearIn-state tuition & feesOut-of-state tuition & feesAverage net price after grants
2015–16$7,006$17,794$9,966
2016–17$7,620$18,408$12,182
2017–18$7,921$18,710$11,295
2018–19$7,922$18,710$11,049
2019–20$8,768$19,556$12,866
2020–21$8,672$19,460$13,483
2021–22$8,672$19,460$14,657
2022–23$8,672$19,460$15,540
2023–24$8,864$19,652$13,809
2024–25$8,864$19,652$13,606

These rows are not current prices. Missing values are not zero. Net-price student groups and reporting practices can change, so these averages are not a continuous personal-cost trend.

07 / The major matters

A look at programs.

Reported median earnings four years after completing, for graduates working and not enrolled.

Program & credentialEarnings after 4 yearsMedian federal debt
Accounting and Related ServicesBachelor's Degree$60,861$29,371
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsBachelor's Degree$66,559$26,797
Biology, GeneralBachelor's Degree$55,452$26,821
Business Administration, Management and OperationsBachelor's Degree$51,927$28,750
Communication and Media StudiesBachelor's Degree$37,273$21,750
Criminal Justice and CorrectionsBachelor's Degree$44,267$31,000
Drama/Theatre Arts and StagecraftBachelor's Degree$36,229$22,250
Educational Administration and SupervisionMaster's Degree$62,268Not reported
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, GeneralBachelor's Degree$42,434$43,158
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, GeneralBachelor's Degree$67,765$42,605
HistoryBachelor's Degree$55,115Not reported
Homeland SecurityMaster's Degree$81,715Not reported
Hospitality Administration/ManagementBachelor's Degree$44,227$20,500
Industrial Production Technologies/TechniciansBachelor's Degree$74,209$25,625
Information Science/StudiesBachelor's Degree$63,928$29,000
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssociate's Degree$43,417$23,735
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesBachelor's Degree$47,652$31,000
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied ProfessionsBachelor's Degree$42,065$27,000
MusicBachelor's Degree$39,223$22,885
Psychology, GeneralBachelor's Degree$44,492$26,959
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssociate's Degree$76,710$31,250
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingBachelor's Degree$86,608$25,638
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingMaster's Degree$111,536Not reported
Social WorkBachelor's Degree$47,296$28,875
Special Education and TeachingMaster's Degree$58,603Not reported
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/FitnessBachelor's Degree$51,722$24,000
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/FitnessMaster's Degree$53,469Not reported
Student Counseling and Personnel ServicesMaster's Degree$50,650Not reported
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and MethodsBachelor's Degree$53,800$23,662
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and MethodsMaster's Degree$52,689Not reported
About these program numbers

Up to 30 programs with reported four-year earnings, in alphabetical order. A program is identified by institution, CIP field and credential. Debt is median Stafford and Grad PLUS debt disbursed at all institutions for program completers who borrowed. Figures are drawn from the June 10, 2026 field-of-study snapshot. The existing package does not preserve exact program cohort years, so none are inferred and these figures are excluded from cross-college comparison.

Other options to explore.

Colleges in Louisiana.