PlainCollege

National ranking · College Scorecard 2026

Top 100 Best-Value Colleges

According to the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, updated September 2024, these 100 colleges rank highest for return on investment among 6,197 US colleges - median graduate earnings ten years after enrollment, drawn from U.S. Treasury tax records matched to federal financial-aid data, minus average net price, across all 50 states.

$123,261
Top value score
100
Colleges ranked
$143,372
#1 median earnings

The list in one line

These 100 colleges return the most earnings per dollar of net price. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads the country - graduates earn a median $143,372 against an average net price of just $20,111 a year.

$123,261
#1 value score - Massachusetts Institute of
$143,372
#1 — 10-yr median earnings
$20,111
#1 — average net price / yr
$60,545
#100 — value-score cutoff

Value score = median 10-yr earnings minus average net price; see the methodology for cohort and year details.

Top 15 colleges by value score (earnings − net price)

Live data rendered from the portal database at request time

USD
Source U.S. Department of Education As of 2024
Rank School Name State Median Earnings Net Price Value Score
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA $143,372 $20,111 $123,261
2 California Institute of Technology CA $128,566 $16,075 $112,491
3 Stanford University CA $124,080 $13,807 $110,273
4 University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis MO $137,047 $31,817 $105,230
5 Franklin W Olin College of Engineering MA $129,455 $25,171 $104,284
6 Princeton University NJ $110,066 $6,128 $103,938
7 Harvey Mudd College CA $138,687 $35,924 $102,763
8 Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences NY $131,426 $29,882 $101,544
9 Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus GA $102,772 $12,116 $90,656
10 MCPHS University MA $125,557 $39,545 $86,012
11 United States Merchant Marine Academy NY $90,610 $6,174 $84,436
12 Babson College MA $123,938 $40,514 $83,424
13 Bentley University MA $120,959 $37,930 $83,029
14 Carnegie Mellon University PA $114,862 $31,944 $82,918
15 Harvard University MA $101,817 $19,066 $82,751
16 University of Pennsylvania PA $111,371 $28,699 $82,672
17 Columbia University in the City of New York NY $102,491 $21,590 $80,901
18 University of California-Berkeley CA $92,446 $13,481 $78,965
19 Yeshiva Shaarei Torah of Rockland NY $89,548 $10,753 $78,795
20 St Paul's School of Nursing-Queens NY $104,403 $26,315 $78,088
21 University of Chicago IL $91,885 $14,860 $77,025
22 Yale University CT $100,533 $23,777 $76,756
23 West Coast University-Texas TX $102,672 $25,992 $76,680
24 Rice University TX $89,718 $13,370 $76,348
25 Chamberlain University-Indiana IN $92,405 $16,149 $76,256
26 Claremont McKenna College CA $104,736 $28,849 $75,887
27 Vanderbilt University TN $91,565 $15,846 $75,719
28 Cornell University NY $104,043 $28,690 $75,353
29 California State University Maritime Academy CA $94,784 $20,555 $74,229
30 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo CA $90,768 $16,665 $74,103
31 SUNY Maritime College NY $95,951 $22,367 $73,584
32 University of Notre Dame IN $99,980 $26,780 $73,200
33 CUNY Bernard M Baruch College NY $75,971 $3,033 $72,938
34 University of California-San Diego CA $84,943 $12,470 $72,473
35 Washington and Lee University VA $94,810 $23,781 $71,029
36 Williams College MA $88,665 $17,716 $70,949
37 The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art NY $83,847 $13,269 $70,578
38 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI $83,648 $13,138 $70,510
39 West Coast University-Miami FL $102,672 $32,539 $70,133
40 University of California-Los Angeles CA $82,511 $12,548 $69,963
41 West Coast University-Orange County CA $102,672 $32,879 $69,793
42 Unitek College CA $87,877 $19,130 $68,747
43 Johns Hopkins University MD $87,555 $18,809 $68,746
44 Lehigh University PA $105,584 $36,931 $68,653
45 Colorado School of Mines CO $97,335 $28,690 $68,645
46 Bowdoin College ME $82,735 $14,398 $68,337
47 Brown University RI $93,487 $25,184 $68,303
48 University of Washington-Tacoma Campus WA $78,466 $10,163 $68,303
49 Duke University NC $97,800 $29,612 $68,188
50 Dartmouth College NH $97,434 $29,519 $67,915
51 New Jersey Institute of Technology NJ $84,276 $16,504 $67,772
52 Stevens Institute of Technology NJ $108,772 $41,346 $67,426
53 Northeastern University Oakland CA $92,538 $25,181 $67,357
54 University of Maryland-College Park MD $82,860 $15,678 $67,182
55 University of Florida-Online FL $71,588 $4,815 $66,773
56 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign IL $81,054 $14,355 $66,699
57 Missouri University of Science and Technology MO $82,957 $16,298 $66,659
58 Milwaukee School of Engineering WI $89,070 $22,453 $66,617
59 New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology NM $76,489 $9,873 $66,616
60 Maine Maritime Academy ME $89,964 $23,414 $66,550
61 Belanger School of Nursing NY $79,677 $13,185 $66,492
62 University of California-Irvine CA $80,735 $14,251 $66,484
63 University of Washington-Bothell Campus WA $78,466 $12,319 $66,147
64 University of California-Davis CA $80,838 $14,741 $66,097
65 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute NY $102,051 $36,228 $65,823
66 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide FL $84,131 $18,725 $65,406
67 Chamberlain University-Nevada NV $92,405 $27,073 $65,332
68 Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital School of Nursing MA $88,084 $22,761 $65,323
69 University of Virginia-Main Campus VA $86,863 $21,565 $65,298
70 San Jose State University CA $78,988 $13,760 $65,228
71 University of Florida FL $71,588 $6,541 $65,047
72 Mount Carmel College of Nursing OH $75,103 $10,420 $64,683
73 Washington University in St Louis MO $86,182 $21,786 $64,396
74 University of Washington-Seattle Campus WA $78,466 $14,091 $64,375
75 Chamberlain University-Michigan MI $92,405 $28,045 $64,360
76 Unitek College CA $87,877 $23,676 $64,201
77 Illinois Institute of Technology IL $82,592 $18,425 $64,167
78 Davidson College NC $81,400 $17,379 $64,021
79 Michigan Technological University MI $78,198 $14,182 $64,016
80 Helene Fuld College of Nursing NY $111,027 $47,181 $63,846
81 Colby College ME $80,490 $17,180 $63,310
82 HCA Florida Mercy Hospital School of Practical Nursing FL $72,275 $9,109 $63,166
83 University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus CT $73,997 $10,875 $63,122
84 Capitol Technology University MD $85,035 $22,102 $62,933
85 Gnomon CA $114,785 $51,949 $62,836
86 Georgetown University DC $103,494 $40,815 $62,679
87 Neumont College of Computer Science UT $97,827 $35,205 $62,622
88 CUNY City College NY $66,039 $3,776 $62,263
89 Boston College MA $103,937 $41,704 $62,233
90 California State University-East Bay CA $71,401 $9,320 $62,081
91 Trinity Health System School of Nursing OH $71,660 $9,825 $61,835
92 Chamberlain University-Missouri MO $92,405 $30,716 $61,689
93 Northeastern University MA $92,538 $30,915 $61,623
94 Chamberlain University-Louisiana LA $92,405 $30,791 $61,614
95 Baptist Health Sciences University TN $72,529 $11,212 $61,317
96 Chamberlain University-Florida FL $92,405 $31,269 $61,136
97 Chamberlain University-Ohio OH $92,405 $31,544 $60,861
98 Massachusetts Maritime Academy MA $82,392 $21,582 $60,810
99 Chamberlain University-Illinois IL $92,405 $31,837 $60,568
100 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill NC $72,200 $11,655 $60,545

About This Ranking

The value score is calculated as median earnings (10yr) minus average net price. Higher scores indicate a better return on investment. Only schools with both earnings and net price data are included. All data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. See our methodology for how earnings are matched to U.S. Treasury tax records and how net price is derived.