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.

Compiled by PlainCollege , College outcomes data analysis

$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.

Carnegie Mellon University

$82,918
University of Pennsylvania

$82,672
Lehigh University

$68,653
Saint Joseph's Universit…

$57,192
Swarthmore College

$57,108
Lafayette College

$56,977
Villanova University

$56,667
Haverford College

$54,652
Bucknell University

$53,041
Immaculata University

$51,443
Holy Family University

$49,092
Thomas Jefferson Univers…

$48,521
University of Pittsburgh…

$48,180
La Salle University

$48,007
University of Pittsburgh…

$47,923

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.

The full Pennsylvania list

#	School Name	Median Earnings (10yr)	Avg Net Price	Earnings - Price	Enrollment
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.