State profile · 30 colleges · 2024-25
Colleges in New Hampshire
Every Title IV-eligible college in New Hampshire, compared on acceptance, cost, and graduate earnings, College Scorecard and IPEDS data.
- 30
- Colleges
- $53,440
- Avg 10-yr earnings
- 80.2%
- Avg acceptance
Data updated July 2026
New Hampshire · the picture in one line
New Hampshire's 30 colleges average $53,440 in 10-year graduate earnings - 5th highest of 56 states and territories that report.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- #5
- of 56 states by avg graduate earnings
- $97,434
- top earnings - Dartmouth College
- 80.2%
- average acceptance rate
- 13 / 11 / 6
- public / nonprofit / for-profit
Best earnings-to-cost value among New Hampshire colleges with reported figures: University of New Hampshire College of Professional Studies Online.
This page aggregates every Title IV–eligible college and university with a primary campus in New Hampshire, drawing from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, IPEDS institutional reports, and de-identified IRS earnings linkage for federal-aid recipients. Coverage includes public flagships, regional comprehensives, community and technical colleges, private nonprofit institutions, and for-profit schools.
The state-aggregate statistics below include all reporting institutions in New Hampshire as a single denominator, community colleges, public universities, private nonprofits, and for-profit institutions are pooled. State averages are therefore useful for high-level framing (in-state tuition is X, average admission rate is Y, average earnings are Z) but should not be read as representative of any specific sector or institution. Drill into individual school profiles for the full picture: admissions, costs (sticker and net), federal-aid usage, completion, retention, demographics, and earnings outcomes 6 and 10 years after enrollment.
The most-recent Scorecard release is from September 2024. Tuition figures reflect institutional reports for the 2022–23 academic year and may differ from current-year prices. Earnings data has an inherent lag, the 10-year earnings horizon reflects students who enrolled approximately a decade prior to the data publication, as the IRS-matching process requires time to accumulate post-enrollment income.
Largest Colleges in New Hampshire by Enrollment
IPEDS Fall enrollment via College Scorecard.
- Southern New Hampshire U…
Southern New Hampshire University
163,164 students
- University of New Hampsh… 11,261
University of New Hampshire-Main Campus
11,261 students
- Dartmouth College 4,541
Dartmouth College
4,541 students
- Plymouth State University 3,153
Plymouth State University
3,153 students
- Keene State College 2,699
Keene State College
2,699 students
- NHTI-Concord's Community… 2,154
NHTI-Concord's Community College
2,154 students
- Saint Anselm College 2,087
Saint Anselm College
2,087 students
- Manchester Community Col… 1,587
Manchester Community College
1,587 students
- Great Bay Community Coll… 1,259
Great Bay Community College
1,259 students
- Rivier University 1,231
Rivier University
1,231 students
- University of New Hampsh… 1,157
University of New Hampshire College of Professional Studies Online
1,157 students
- Nashua Community College 1,135
Nashua Community College
1,135 students
What this shows Enrollment size reflects institutional scale, not quality or on-campus experience - a large school here can still be a small, selective program relative to its state peers.
Highest Earnings, 10-Year Median: New Hampshire
U.S. Treasury IRS earnings linkage via College Scorecard.
- Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
$97,434 USD
- Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College
$73,371 USD
- University of New Hampsh…
University of New Hampshire-Main Campus
$66,479 USD
- University of New Hampsh…
University of New Hampshire College of Professional Studies Online
$66,479 USD
- University of New Hampsh…
University of New Hampshire at Manchester
$66,479 USD
- University of New Hampsh…
University of New Hampshire-Franklin Pierce School of Law
$66,479 USD
- Plymouth State University
Plymouth State University
$57,304 USD
- Keene State College
Keene State College
$54,368 USD
- Thomas More College of L…
Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
$53,565 USD
- Franklin Pierce University
Franklin Pierce University
$53,353 USD
- Rivier University
Rivier University
$52,248 USD
- Antioch University-New E…
Antioch University-New England
$51,541 USD
What this shows Graduate earnings vary by program mix and local labor market as much as by the school itself - compare a school's program-level earnings before assuming the effect is purely institutional.
The ROI lens
New Hampshire colleges: earnings vs. cost
National context
How New Hampshire ranks among the states
New Hampshire's average graduate earnings of $53,440 place it in the 91th percentile among all 56 states and territories tracked by the College Scorecard.
New Hampshire: average graduate earnings vs. every state
State-average 10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$53,440 Top 9% higher than 91% of 56 states & territories
Each bar is a $4K-wide band; taller bars hold more states & territories. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · 2024
Each axis is this state's percentile among all states & territories on that metric (Earnings/Affordability/Options/Access) -- not a composite grade, just four independent comparisons in one shape.
School type matters
How school type shapes earnings in New Hampshire
Average 10-year graduate earnings by institution type. The pattern holds in most states: private nonprofits and public universities tend to out-earn for-profit institutions, but program mix and selectivity drive most of the gap, so read it alongside each school's own numbers below.
Average graduate earnings by school type - New Hampshire
Mean of per-school 10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
- Private nonprofit
Private nonprofit
$57,822 avg earnings
- Public
Public
$53,467 avg earnings
What this shows Comparing sector averages within one state controls for at least some of the regional cost-of-living and labor-market differences that make raw earnings hard to compare across states.
What the IPEDS Data Shows for Colleges in New Hampshire
New Hampshire has 30 Title IV-participating postsecondary institutions in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the federal directory that captures every college eligible to award federal student aid. The ownership mix is 13 public institutions, 11 private nonprofits, and 6 private for-profit schools – a structural split that drives most of the tuition variation visible in the table below. Public institutions typically report substantially lower in-state tuition because state appropriations subsidize the published price, while private nonprofits often show higher sticker prices that are partially offset by institutional aid.
Cost and selectivity signals vary widely even within a single state. The average in-state tuition across New Hampshire institutions is $21,749, and the average admission rate (weighted by institutions that report one) sits at 80.2%. Admission rates from IPEDS exclude open-enrollment institutions, which is why community colleges and many for-profits show as unreported rather than at 100 percent. Looking at the table, the acceptance-rate column is blank for schools that don’t screen applicants, a meaningful distinction when evaluating selectivity alongside earnings.
Post-graduation outcomes tie cost to return. Graduates of New Hampshire colleges earn a mean of $53,440 ten years after enrollment, based on U.S. Treasury tax records linked to federal aid applicants through the College Scorecard data file. Because earnings depend heavily on field of study and local labor markets, state-level averages should be read alongside each school’s program mix. The table sorts every institution with reported IPEDS enrollment so prospective students can compare acceptance rates, enrollment scale, and median earnings side by side rather than relying on third-party rankings.
All Schools in New Hampshire
| School Name | City | Type | Enrollment | Acceptance Rate | 10yr Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern New Hampshire University | Manchester | Private NP | 163,164 | 99.5% | $50,318 |
| University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | Durham | Public | 11,261 | 88.2% | $66,479 |
| Dartmouth College | Hanover | Private NP | 4,541 | 5.4% | $97,434 |
| Plymouth State University | Plymouth | Public | 3,153 | 87.5% | $57,304 |
| Keene State College | Keene | Public | 2,699 | 90.3% | $54,368 |
| NHTI-Concord's Community College | Concord | Public | 2,154 | - | $48,943 |
| Saint Anselm College | Manchester | Private NP | 2,087 | 78.0% | $73,371 |
| Manchester Community College | Manchester | Public | 1,587 | - | $49,063 |
| Great Bay Community College | Portsmouth | Public | 1,259 | - | $42,397 |
| Rivier University | Nashua | Private NP | 1,231 | 82.6% | $52,248 |
| University of New Hampshire College of Professional Studies Online | Manchester | Public | 1,157 | - | $66,479 |
| Nashua Community College | Nashua | Public | 1,135 | - | $46,164 |
| New England College | Henniker | Private NP | 1,022 | 92.1% | $42,092 |
| Franklin Pierce University | Rindge | Private NP | 992 | 93.5% | $53,353 |
| Colby-Sawyer College | New London | Private NP | 771 | 80.1% | $46,474 |
| River Valley Community College | Claremont | Public | 608 | - | $44,700 |
| Lakes Region Community College | Laconia | Public | 482 | - | $51,182 |
| White Mountains Community College | Berlin | Public | 450 | - | $35,037 |
| University of New Hampshire at Manchester | Manchester | Public | 443 | 80.9% | $66,479 |
| Empire Beauty School-Hooksett | Hooksett | For-Profit | 306 | - | $33,546 |
| Empire Beauty School-Somersworth | Somersworth | For-Profit | 184 | - | - |
| Harmony Health Care Institute | Merrimack | For-Profit | 153 | 84.2% | - |
| Thomas More College of Liberal Arts | Merrimack | Private NP | 97 | - | $53,565 |
| St Joseph School of Nursing | Nashua | Private NP | 93 | - | - |
| Empire Beauty School-Laconia | Laconia | For-Profit | 92 | - | $33,546 |
| Paul Mitchell the School-Portsmouth | Portsmouth | For-Profit | 73 | - | - |
| Keene Beauty Academy | Keene | For-Profit | 50 | - | - |
| University of New Hampshire-Franklin Pierce School of Law | Concord | Public | - | - | $66,479 |
| Antioch University-New England | Keene | Private NP | - | - | $51,541 |
| Upper Valley Educators Institute | Lebanon | Private NP | - | - | - |
Featured Colleges in New Hampshire
Quick picks from this state – compare two schools side by side
Explore more New Hampshire data
Guides & Resources
Is College Worth It?
A data-driven answer using earnings and cost data.
How to Compare Colleges
A framework for picking schools with data, not rankings alone.
Financial Aid & Net Price
How net price differs from sticker price and financial aid.
Understanding College Earnings Data
How Scorecard earnings figures are measured and their limits.
About This Data
According to the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, updated September 2024, PlainCollege tracks 6,243 postsecondary institutions nationwide, and this state's figures are drawn from that same federal release plus IPEDS institutional characteristics files. Enrollment, admissions, and earnings figures are the most recently available. Earnings represent median income 10 years after enrollment for students who received federal financial aid, drawn from U.S. Treasury tax records linked to federal student aid applicants.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
What this means for New Hampshire applicants
- New Hampshire has 30 Title IV-eligible colleges in the College Scorecard database, spanning community colleges, public flagships, and private institutions.
- Average reported admission rate across New Hampshire colleges is 80.2% - individual schools vary widely, check each profile for its own rate.
- State-level averages pool every reporting institution together; run a specific school's numbers before assuming the state figure applies to it.Use the ROI calculator
This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or educational advice. State-level averages pool every reporting institution and do not predict any individual school'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. State-level rollups 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. Data current as of 2024-25.