Program ranking · CIP 52.09 bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Hospitality

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings for Hospitality (CIP 52.09) bachelor's completers. Rankings use earnings only - not prestige, selectivity, or editorial judgment - and require at least 25 completers so tiny suppressed cohorts do not dominate the list.

Compiled by PlainCollege , College outcomes data analysis

$112,289
Highest hospitality earnings: 82
Colleges ranked: $30,004
#82 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $30,004 median earnings for Hospitality bachelor's (CIP 52.09) completers. Cornell University leads at $112,289.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

$112,289
#1 - Cornell University: $30,004
#82 - the cutoff to make this list: 25+
completers required per school: 271
US schools offering this CIP

Earnings are field-of-study medians for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled; see methodology for horizon and lag details.

Cornell University

$112,289
New York University

$84,375
Boston University

$82,302
George Washington Univer…

$75,683
University of Denver

$75,118
Virginia Polytechnic Ins…

$72,817
University of Delaware

$71,102
University of Massachuse…

$70,916
San Diego State University

$70,113
Michigan State University

$69,651
Washington State Univers…

$66,874
University of New Hampsh…

$66,046
California State Univers…

$65,655
San Francisco State Univ…

$65,510
James Madison University

$65,016

What this shows Hospitality medians mix hotel, food-service, and event roles - debt still matters when tip-heavy and seasonal markets swing pay.

The full top 82

#	School Name	State	Median Earnings	Median Debt	Completers
1	Cornell University	NY	$112,289	$13,086	226
2	New York University	NY	$84,375	$17,905	30
3	Boston University	MA	$82,302	$23,250	72
4	George Washington University	DC	$75,683	$19,250	31
5	University of Denver	CO	$75,118	$21,923	27
6	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	VA	$72,817	$24,500	54
7	University of Delaware	DE	$71,102	$22,850	55
8	University of Massachusetts-Amherst	MA	$70,916	$21,500	100
9	San Diego State University	CA	$70,113	$15,000	64
10	Michigan State University	MI	$69,651	$21,815	154
11	Washington State University	WA	$66,874	$23,207	210
12	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus	NH	$66,046	$27,000	30
13	California State University-East Bay	CA	$65,655	$18,579	46
14	San Francisco State University	CA	$65,510	$14,125	53
15	James Madison University	VA	$65,016	$19,875	122
16	Arizona State University Campus Immersion	AZ	$64,315	$15,000	40
17	College of Charleston	SC	$64,154	$23,323	39
18	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	PA	$63,798	$23,455	134
19	Auburn University	AL	$63,419	$24,500	40
20	George Mason University	VA	$62,727	$20,500	46
21	Florida State University	FL	$62,673	$17,404	205
22	Colorado State University-Fort Collins	CO	$62,556	$18,500	50
23	University of Missouri-Columbia	MO	$61,441	$22,000	48
24	Endicott College	MA	$60,969	$23,250	35
25	Temple University	PA	$60,347	$24,554	57
26	University of Hawaii at Manoa	HI	$60,157	$19,261	78
27	Florida Gulf Coast University	FL	$60,011	$19,500	105
28	Georgia State University	GA	$59,089	$18,750	33
29	Purdue University-Main Campus	IN	$58,861	$18,916	86
30	Northern Arizona University	AZ	$58,857	$18,750	147
31	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	$58,854	$21,500	34
32	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	$58,719	$18,750	462
33	Grand Valley State University	MI	$58,413	$25,500	80
34	Kansas State University	KS	$58,282	$24,250	40
35	Culinary Institute of America	NY	$58,165	$26,500	225
36	California State University-Long Beach	CA	$57,927	$12,500	77
37	Roosevelt University	IL	$57,617	$18,283	27
38	Metropolitan State University of Denver	CO	$57,312	$16,858	50
39	University of North Texas	TX	$57,255	$20,551	97
40	Texas Tech University	TX	$57,221	$21,500	48
41	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	CA	$57,114	$15,000	252
42	University of South Carolina-Columbia	SC	$56,688	$21,500	166
43	Florida International University	FL	$56,667	$16,398	622
44	University of Wisconsin-Stout	WI	$56,451	$24,000	46
45	Central Michigan University	MI	$56,314	$28,937	62
46	Utah Valley University	UT	$56,252	$23,625	44
47	Kent State University at Kent	OH	$56,143	$25,000	32
48	Johnson & Wales University-Providence	RI	$55,790	$25,768	93
49	Johnson & Wales University-Online	RI	$55,790	$25,768	62
50	East Carolina University	NC	$55,541	$25,252	56
51	Iowa State University	IA	$55,491	$20,000	116
52	University of Central Florida	FL	$54,921	$18,250	671
53	Florida Atlantic University	FL	$54,635	$20,000	54
54	Texas A&M University-College Station	TX	$54,251	$15,781	122
55	Stockton University	NJ	$53,796	$17,750	56
56	Missouri State University-Springfield	MO	$53,789	$24,728	51
57	Indiana University-Indianapolis	IN	$53,784	$20,500	113
58	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	NE	$53,777	$21,412	58
59	Indiana University of Pennsylvania	PA	$53,551	$27,000	36
60	University of Houston	TX	$53,344	$19,500	216
61	The University of Alabama	AL	$53,180	$22,662	90
62	Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	$53,039	$20,500	49
63	Coastal Carolina University	SC	$50,864	$23,250	25
64	Western Kentucky University	KY	$50,712	$23,527	29
65	California State University-Northridge	CA	$50,644	$15,000	39
66	CUNY New York City College of Technology	NY	$50,492	$10,828	110
67	Ferris State University	MI	$49,983	$26,622	26
68	Western Carolina University	NC	$49,798	$25,657	34
69	Stephen F Austin State University	TX	$49,776	$23,250	25
70	Grand Canyon University	AZ	$49,703	$23,181	53
71	New Mexico State University-Main Campus	NM	$49,444	$20,973	26
72	SUNY Buffalo State University	NY	$48,267	$15,625	29
73	SUNY College of Technology at Delhi	NY	$48,006	$20,691	35
74	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	OK	$47,756	$21,122	44
75	American Public University System	WV	$46,000	$31,334	42
76	University of South Carolina Beaufort	SC	$45,953	$23,641	34
77	Northwestern State University of Louisiana	LA	$44,227	$19,500	31
78	Monroe University	NY	$43,575	$24,928	83
79	University of South Alabama	AL	$41,515	$18,125	32
80	University of Puerto Rico-Carolina	PR	$36,742	-	59
81	Universidad del Sagrado Corazon	PR	$30,051	$9,091	27
82	Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Carolina Campus	PR	$30,004	$14,141	36

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings for Hospitality (CIP 52.09) bachelor's completers. Only operating schools with at least 25 completers and a published median are included. Ties break toward larger completer cohorts. For the full program profile - including every reporting school and national distribution - see Hospitality (bachelor's). Methodology lives on our methodology page.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means highest reported median earnings for the stated CIP scope - not teaching quality, licensure pass rates, clinical placement strength, or fit for any one student. This list covers Hospitality Administration/Management (CIP 52.09) bachelor's programs - tourism-adjacent and culinary codes are ranked separately when demand warrants.

Figures cover federally aided completers only, use Treasury-linked earnings, and describe a lagged cohort. Regional pay scales and graduate-school paths both move the median without proving a causal school effect.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute academic or career advice. Earnings do not predict any individual graduate's outcome.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard field-of-study data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.