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New York ranking · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges in New York

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data retrieved March-July 2026, these operating New York colleges (undergraduate enrollment 1,000+) rank highest on value: median earnings ten years after enrollment minus average net price. That single gap is the sort key - not prestige, selectivity, or a composite score.

$80,901
Top earnings-price gap
100
New York colleges ranked
$21,590
#1 avg net price

The list in one line

Among New York colleges with enrollment of 1,000+, every school on this list clears a $31,444 earnings-minus-net-price gap. Columbia University in the City of New York leads at $80,901.

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

$80,901
#1 - Columbia University in
$102,491
#1 ten-year median earnings
$31,444
#100 cutoff gap
1,000+
undergraduate enrollment floor

Value = 10-year median earnings - average net price for federal-aid students. See methodology for cohort and lag details.

Top 15 New York colleges by earnings-price gap

Higher gap = more earnings relative to average net price

earnings - net price

What this shows Specialized health and career schools can rank highly when program mix lifts earnings; compare completion rates and debt on each school profile before reading value as overall quality.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard As of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

The full New York list

# School Name Median Earnings (10yr)Avg Net PriceEarnings - PriceEnrollment
1 Columbia University in the City of New York $102,491 $21,590 $80,901 8,973
2 St Paul's School of Nursing-Queens $104,403 $26,315 $78,088 1,056
3 Cornell University $104,043 $28,690 $75,353 15,995
4 SUNY Maritime College $95,951 $22,367 $73,584 1,285
5 CUNY Bernard M Baruch College $75,971 $3,033 $72,938 16,154
6 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute $102,051 $36,228 $65,823 5,714
7 CUNY City College $66,039 $3,776 $62,263 12,505
8 CUNY Hunter College $63,163 $2,984 $60,179 16,289
9 Clarkson University $89,696 $30,305 $59,391 2,196
10 Manhattan University $86,316 $27,256 $59,060 2,744
11 Binghamton University $80,596 $21,620 $58,976 14,655
12 Farmingdale State College $69,781 $10,867 $58,914 9,552
13 CUNY Queens College $62,763 $4,195 $58,568 12,550
14 CUNY Brooklyn College $60,752 $3,103 $57,649 10,543
15 Colgate University $85,139 $28,786 $56,353 3,180
16 Stony Brook University $74,502 $18,784 $55,718 18,101
17 CUNY Lehman College $58,013 $3,148 $54,865 10,696
18 Union College $88,604 $34,561 $54,043 2,046
19 Molloy University $77,789 $24,347 $53,442 3,162
20 CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice $56,195 $3,203 $52,992 11,590
21 CUNY York College $56,945 $4,456 $52,489 4,345
22 Barnard College $80,516 $28,800 $51,716 3,264
23 University at Albany $67,979 $17,167 $50,812 12,564
24 SUNY Polytechnic Institute $64,355 $14,164 $50,191 1,849
25 University at Buffalo $70,814 $20,995 $49,819 20,112
26 University of Rochester $79,042 $29,278 $49,764 6,331
27 Hamilton College $78,411 $28,985 $49,426 2,030
28 SUNY College at Geneseo $67,316 $18,211 $49,105 3,869
29 College of Staten Island CUNY $53,501 $5,579 $47,922 9,657
30 New York Institute of Technology $70,080 $22,443 $47,637 3,440
31 SUNY Old Westbury $58,526 $11,282 $47,244 4,162
32 D'Youville University $66,942 $20,433 $46,509 1,258
33 Wagner College $74,360 $28,241 $46,119 1,651
34 New York University $82,509 $37,050 $45,459 28,663
35 St. Joseph's University-New York $63,905 $19,035 $44,870 3,144
36 Adelphi University $75,482 $30,783 $44,699 5,276
37 Suffolk County Community College $49,907 $5,258 $44,649 14,218
38 Iona University $73,595 $29,188 $44,407 2,951
39 CUNY New York City College of Technology $49,365 $5,127 $44,238 13,580
40 Utica University $63,277 $19,108 $44,169 2,278
41 University of Mount Saint Vincent $65,756 $21,696 $44,060 2,692
42 Fashion Institute of Technology $62,696 $19,095 $43,601 7,637
43 Daemen University $61,808 $18,693 $43,115 1,643
44 Canisius University $60,681 $17,940 $42,741 1,685
45 Empire State University $54,080 $11,676 $42,404 7,585
46 Siena University $76,079 $33,733 $42,346 3,409
47 Mount Saint Mary College $67,705 $25,522 $42,183 1,148
48 Rochester Institute of Technology $76,571 $34,906 $41,665 13,215
49 State University of New York at Oswego $57,566 $16,236 $41,330 5,473
50 Fordham University $85,569 $44,338 $41,231 10,512
51 SUNY Oneonta $60,386 $19,158 $41,228 4,643
52 Nassau Community College $48,248 $7,095 $41,153 10,630
53 SUNY Buffalo State University $52,334 $11,346 $40,988 5,097
54 CUNY Medgar Evers College $46,498 $5,718 $40,780 3,233
55 Le Moyne College $62,731 $22,277 $40,454 2,439
56 Syracuse University $79,164 $38,793 $40,371 15,477
57 St. Francis College $58,099 $18,129 $39,970 1,684
58 CUNY Queensborough Community College $44,214 $4,458 $39,756 8,940
59 St. John's University-New York $69,571 $29,999 $39,572 9,477
60 Pace University $70,378 $30,892 $39,486 7,665
61 State University of New York at New Paltz $58,073 $18,809 $39,264 6,086
62 State University of New York at Plattsburgh $56,403 $17,156 $39,247 3,769
63 Rockland Community College $50,243 $11,282 $38,961 3,834
64 Niagara University $56,196 $17,248 $38,948 2,653
65 St Lawrence University $67,258 $28,651 $38,607 1,918
66 SUNY at Fredonia $54,247 $15,897 $38,350 2,755
67 SUNY Brockport $54,496 $16,353 $38,143 5,784
68 St. John Fisher University $66,944 $28,945 $37,999 2,565
69 Mercy University $52,055 $14,072 $37,983 5,735
70 State University of New York at Cortland $60,236 $22,345 $37,891 5,901
71 Manhattanville University $58,832 $20,991 $37,841 1,362
72 SUNY Westchester Community College $46,822 $9,373 $37,449 8,078
73 CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College $42,306 $4,976 $37,330 18,623
74 Orange County Community College $44,117 $6,794 $37,323 3,989
75 Hobart William Smith Colleges $68,831 $31,563 $37,268 1,786
76 Skidmore College $69,363 $32,297 $37,066 2,694
77 CUNY Kingsborough Community College $42,621 $5,606 $37,015 7,670
78 Hudson Valley Community College $45,460 $8,501 $36,959 6,499
79 Ulster County Community College $41,896 $5,035 $36,861 1,341
80 CUNY Bronx Community College $41,307 $4,462 $36,845 5,964
81 SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry $55,763 $18,952 $36,811 1,839
82 Marist University $77,819 $41,544 $36,275 5,182
83 CUNY LaGuardia Community College $41,653 $6,120 $35,533 11,254
84 SUNY College of Technology at Alfred $50,445 $15,016 $35,429 3,563
85 Niagara County Community College $42,285 $6,876 $35,409 3,084
86 Russell Sage College $58,316 $22,917 $35,399 1,244
87 CUNY Hostos Community College $40,485 $5,297 $35,188 4,900
88 Hofstra University $69,039 $34,176 $34,863 6,488
89 SUNY College of Technology at Delhi $51,629 $17,225 $34,404 2,843
90 SUNY College at Potsdam $47,866 $13,624 $34,242 1,823
91 Dutchess Community College $43,929 $10,065 $33,864 3,824
92 Monroe Community College $40,174 $6,353 $33,821 7,623
93 Erie Community College $41,228 $7,765 $33,463 6,099
94 Fulton-Montgomery Community College $39,535 $6,696 $32,839 1,001
95 Onondaga Community College $41,190 $8,562 $32,628 4,456
96 SUNY College of Technology at Canton $47,860 $15,268 $32,592 2,741
97 Vassar College $71,366 $39,343 $32,023 2,444
98 Schenectady County Community College $40,902 $8,947 $31,955 1,507
99 Roberts Wesleyan University $55,031 $23,130 $31,901 1,149
100 SUNY Corning Community College $38,817 $7,373 $31,444 1,138

About This Ranking

Schools in New York are ranked by the same value metric as the national best-value list: 10-year median earnings minus average net price. Only operating schools with at least 1,000 undergraduates and both figures published are included. Ties break toward larger enrollment. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. See methodology.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means the largest earnings-minus-price gap among eligible New York schools - not teaching quality, campus life, or the right fit for any applicant. Program mix (for example nursing or engineering) can lift institution-level earnings without proving a stronger undergraduate experience.

Earnings cover federally aided students only and describe a lagged cohort. Net price averages aided students and will not match every family's bill. Always open the school profile for completion, debt, and program detail.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or admissions advice.

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 and IPEDS 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.