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Pennsylvania ranking · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges in Pennsylvania

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data retrieved March-July 2026, these operating Pennsylvania 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.

$82,918
Top earnings-price gap
97
Pennsylvania colleges ranked
$31,944
#1 avg net price

The list in one line

Among Pennsylvania colleges with enrollment of 1,000+, every school on this list clears a $18,616 earnings-minus-net-price gap. Carnegie Mellon University leads at $82,918.

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

$82,918
#1 - Carnegie Mellon University
$114,862
#1 ten-year median earnings
$18,616
#97 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania list

# School Name Median Earnings (10yr)Avg Net PriceEarnings - PriceEnrollment
1 Carnegie Mellon University $114,862 $31,944 $82,918 7,304
2 University of Pennsylvania $111,371 $28,699 $82,672 10,650
3 Lehigh University $105,584 $36,931 $68,653 5,898
4 Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia $86,881 $29,689 $57,192 4,948
5 Swarthmore College $80,257 $23,149 $57,108 1,613
6 Lafayette College $91,410 $34,433 $56,977 2,757
7 Villanova University $100,423 $43,756 $56,667 6,938
8 Haverford College $79,966 $25,314 $54,652 1,430
9 Bucknell University $93,807 $40,766 $53,041 3,876
10 Immaculata University $75,701 $24,258 $51,443 1,320
11 Holy Family University $62,235 $13,143 $49,092 2,464
12 Thomas Jefferson University $77,449 $28,928 $48,521 3,755
13 University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg $66,125 $17,945 $48,180 1,305
14 La Salle University $67,416 $19,409 $48,007 1,953
15 University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown $66,125 $18,202 $47,923 1,808
16 Drexel University $84,648 $38,509 $46,139 13,233
17 Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Abington $63,435 $18,071 $45,364 2,877
18 Widener University $70,920 $25,759 $45,161 2,951
19 Saint Joseph's University - Lancaster $86,881 $42,478 $44,403 1,280
20 Pennsylvania State University-World Campus $63,435 $19,550 $43,885 7,877
21 Bryn Mawr College $75,217 $31,759 $43,458 1,359
22 Ursinus College $73,721 $30,536 $43,185 1,491
23 Washington & Jefferson College $67,918 $25,002 $42,916 1,295
24 York College of Pennsylvania $61,012 $18,556 $42,456 3,265
25 University of Scranton $74,652 $32,568 $42,084 3,554
26 Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Altoona $63,435 $22,213 $41,222 2,367
27 Bucks County Community College $47,324 $6,389 $40,935 5,289
28 Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Brandywine $63,435 $22,585 $40,850 1,223
29 Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology $54,681 $14,104 $40,577 1,446
30 Waynesburg University $58,537 $18,235 $40,302 1,009
31 Muhlenberg College $69,107 $28,905 $40,202 1,727
32 Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg $63,435 $23,330 $40,105 4,031
33 Gettysburg College $71,517 $31,490 $40,027 2,099
34 Franklin and Marshall College $76,124 $36,425 $39,699 1,799
35 Gwynedd Mercy University $67,145 $27,483 $39,662 1,067
36 Allegheny College $62,069 $22,940 $39,129 1,156
37 Robert Morris University $62,105 $23,003 $39,102 2,896
38 Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Berks $63,435 $24,356 $39,079 1,872
39 Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College $63,435 $24,558 $38,877 3,240
40 Delaware County Community College $45,391 $6,576 $38,815 6,861
41 Albright College $58,700 $20,024 $38,676 1,217
42 Saint Francis University $62,101 $23,526 $38,575 1,557
43 Community College of Beaver County $45,090 $6,937 $38,153 1,247
44 East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania $56,148 $18,134 $38,014 4,814
45 West Chester University of Pennsylvania $61,258 $23,331 $37,927 14,164
46 Duquesne University $74,742 $37,730 $37,012 5,350
47 Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania $52,416 $15,699 $36,717 9,210
48 Saint Vincent College $59,982 $23,510 $36,472 1,259
49 King's College $59,498 $23,093 $36,405 1,484
50 Gannon University $58,845 $22,553 $36,292 2,365
51 Elizabethtown College $62,399 $26,598 $35,801 1,868
52 Wilkes University $63,454 $27,743 $35,711 1,985
53 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus $66,125 $30,434 $35,691 20,370
54 Lebanon Valley College $62,621 $26,979 $35,642 1,684
55 Temple University $63,727 $28,198 $35,529 20,970
56 Montgomery County Community College $46,108 $11,124 $34,984 7,301
57 Millersville University of Pennsylvania $55,246 $20,787 $34,459 5,728
58 Indiana University of Pennsylvania $51,019 $16,804 $34,215 6,764
59 Westminster College $53,861 $19,859 $34,002 1,041
60 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania $53,032 $19,608 $33,424 6,788
61 Lehigh Carbon Community College $42,436 $9,203 $33,233 4,148
62 Juniata College $56,918 $23,988 $32,930 1,191
63 Susquehanna University $61,723 $28,819 $32,904 2,163
64 Butler County Community College $38,891 $6,233 $32,658 1,789
65 Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania $56,351 $23,726 $32,625 4,086
66 Dickinson College $70,204 $37,607 $32,597 2,273
67 Kutztown University of Pennsylvania $53,775 $21,331 $32,444 6,180
68 Marywood University $55,817 $23,388 $32,429 1,784
69 Westmoreland County Community College $37,439 $5,167 $32,272 2,441
70 Moravian University $61,860 $30,670 $31,190 1,949
71 Luzerne County Community College $40,437 $9,433 $31,004 3,317
72 Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus $63,435 $32,875 $30,560 42,284
73 Carlow University $51,051 $20,786 $30,265 1,348
74 Neumann University $57,817 $27,804 $30,013 1,533
75 Reading Area Community College $39,082 $9,228 $29,854 3,703
76 DeSales University $61,295 $31,643 $29,652 2,128
77 Seton Hill University $51,748 $22,204 $29,544 1,492
78 Northampton County Area Community College $41,566 $12,119 $29,447 7,667
79 Pennsylvania Western University $47,295 $18,256 $29,039 7,451
80 Community College of Philadelphia $40,852 $11,911 $28,941 11,948
81 Arcadia University $58,336 $29,466 $28,870 1,948
82 Lincoln University $43,167 $14,977 $28,190 1,539
83 Mercyhurst University $47,452 $19,444 $28,008 2,191
84 Messiah University $54,064 $26,502 $27,562 2,259
85 Delaware Valley University $55,838 $28,278 $27,560 1,628
86 Harrisburg Area Community College $42,007 $14,471 $27,536 9,533
87 Pennsylvania College of Technology $52,567 $25,110 $27,457 4,464
88 Alvernia University $55,055 $28,138 $26,917 2,152
89 Misericordia University $64,313 $37,485 $26,828 1,672
90 Community College of Allegheny County $39,449 $13,970 $25,479 9,544
91 Eastern University $51,655 $26,662 $24,993 2,404
92 Geneva College $50,004 $25,890 $24,114 1,096
93 Mount Aloysius College $46,165 $22,344 $23,821 1,094
94 Chatham University $52,410 $29,954 $22,456 1,232
95 Lackawanna College $41,000 $19,951 $21,049 1,947
96 Point Park University $45,856 $25,942 $19,914 2,331
97 Lancaster Bible College $44,096 $25,480 $18,616 1,569

About This Ranking

Schools in Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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.