Best-value US colleges by ROI signal

Among the 167 major US colleges we track, the top by roi signal (earn ÷ net) are Princeton University, University of Florida, California State University-Fullerton. Ranked by our ROI signal — median 10-year earnings divided by average annual net price. A high ratio means graduates earn many times what one year of college costs them. It is a simple, transparent value gauge, not a financial return.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Data as of June 2026.

Full ranking

Rank	School	State	Type	ROI signal (earn ÷ net)
#1	Princeton University	NJ	Private (nonprofit)	18.0×
#2	University of Florida	FL	Public	10.9×
#3	California State University-Fullerton	CA	Public	9.6×
#4	Stanford University	CA	Private (nonprofit)	9.0×
#5	Utah Valley University	UT	Public	8.7×
#6	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus	GA	Public	8.5×
#7	California Institute of Technology	CA	Private (nonprofit)	8.0×
#8	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	MA	Private (nonprofit)	7.1×
#9	University of California-Berkeley	CA	Public	6.9×
#10	University of California-San Diego	CA	Public	6.8×
#11	Rice University	TX	Private (nonprofit)	6.7×
#12	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	Public	6.6×
#13	Florida International University	FL	Public	6.5×
#14	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	MI	Public	6.4×
#15	University of Illinois Chicago	IL	Public	6.3×
#16	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	NC	Public	6.2×
#17	University of Chicago	IL	Private (nonprofit)	6.2×
#18	California State University-Long Beach	CA	Public	6.2×
#19	University of South Florida	FL	Public	5.9×
#20	Vanderbilt University	TN	Private (nonprofit)	5.8×
#21	San Jose State University	CA	Public	5.7×
#22	University of California-Irvine	CA	Public	5.7×
#23	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	Public	5.6×
#24	University of Central Florida	FL	Public	5.6×
#25	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	WA	Public	5.6×
#26	San Francisco State University	CA	Public	5.5×
#27	University of California-Davis	CA	Public	5.5×
#28	Florida State University	FL	Public	5.5×
#29	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	CA	Public	5.4×
#30	Harvard University	MA	Private (nonprofit)	5.3×
#31	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	Public	5.3×
#32	University of Maryland-College Park	MD	Public	5.3×
#33	The University of Texas at San Antonio	TX	Public	5.3×
#34	Williams College	MA	Private (nonprofit)	5.0×
#35	Purdue University-Main Campus	IN	Public	5.0×
#36	University of Georgia	GA	Public	4.9×
#37	Brigham Young University	UT	Private (nonprofit)	4.9×
#38	Columbia University in the City of New York	NY	Private (nonprofit)	4.7×
#39	University of California-Riverside	CA	Public	4.7×
#40	Colby College	ME	Private (nonprofit)	4.7×
#41	Johns Hopkins University	MD	Private (nonprofit)	4.7×
#42	University of California-Santa Barbara	CA	Public	4.7×
#43	Washington State University	WA	Public	4.6×
#44	University of Houston	TX	Public	4.4×
#45	George Mason University	VA	Public	4.3×
#46	University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	Public	4.3×
#47	Yale University	CT	Private (nonprofit)	4.2×
#48	San Diego State University	CA	Public	4.2×
#49	Arizona State University Campus Immersion	AZ	Public	4.2×
#50	University of Utah	UT	Public	4.1×
#51	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus	OK	Public	4.1×
#52	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	Public	4.1×
#53	University of Delaware	DE	Public	4.1×
#54	University of Virginia-Main Campus	VA	Public	4.0×
#55	North Carolina State University at Raleigh	NC	Public	4.0×
#56	Stony Brook University	NY	Public	4.0×
#57	Washington University in St Louis	MO	Private (nonprofit)	4.0×
#58	Montclair State University	NJ	Public	3.9×
#59	Indiana University-Bloomington	IN	Public	3.9×
#60	University of Pennsylvania	PA	Private (nonprofit)	3.9×
#61	Harvey Mudd College	CA	Private (nonprofit)	3.9×
#62	Northern Arizona University	AZ	Public	3.8×
#63	University of Mississippi	MS	Public	3.8×
#64	Kennesaw State University	GA	Public	3.8×
#65	University of California-Santa Cruz	CA	Public	3.8×
#66	The University of Texas at Austin	TX	Public	3.8×
#67	Old Dominion University	VA	Public	3.8×
#68	The University of Texas at Dallas	TX	Public	3.7×
#69	University of Notre Dame	IN	Private (nonprofit)	3.7×
#70	Brown University	RI	Private (nonprofit)	3.7×
#71	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	NC	Public	3.7×
#72	University of North Texas	TX	Public	3.6×
#73	Cornell University	NY	Private (nonprofit)	3.6×
#74	Utah State University	UT	Public	3.6×
#75	University of Arizona	AZ	Public	3.6×
#76	Carnegie Mellon University	PA	Private (nonprofit)	3.6×
#77	West Virginia University	WV	Public	3.6×
#78	Emory University	GA	Private (nonprofit)	3.5×
#79	East Carolina University	NC	Public	3.5×
#80	Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	Public	3.5×
#81	Grand Valley State University	MI	Public	3.4×
#82	University of Kansas	KS	Public	3.4×
#83	Michigan State University	MI	Public	3.4×
#84	Boston University	MA	Private (nonprofit)	3.4×
#85	Iowa State University	IA	Public	3.4×
#86	Colorado School of Mines	CO	Public	3.4×
#87	Texas State University	TX	Public	3.4×
#88	Texas A&M University-College Station	TX	Public	3.4×
#89	University at Buffalo	NY	Public	3.4×
#90	Wellesley College	MA	Private (nonprofit)	3.3×
#91	Sam Houston State University	TX	Public	3.3×
#92	Duke University	NC	Private (nonprofit)	3.3×
#93	Dartmouth College	NH	Private (nonprofit)	3.3×
#94	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	OK	Public	3.3×
#95	Texas Tech University	TX	Public	3.3×
#96	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	VA	Public	3.3×
#97	Oregon State University	OR	Public	3.3×
#98	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University	FL	Public	3.2×
#99	Clemson University	SC	Public	3.2×
#100	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	NE	Public	3.2×
#101	Illinois State University	IL	Public	3.2×
#102	University of Massachusetts-Amherst	MA	Public	3.2×
#103	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College	LA	Public	3.2×
#104	University of Arkansas	AR	Public	3.2×
#105	Bentley University	MA	Private (nonprofit)	3.2×
#106	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	Public	3.2×
#107	University of Kentucky	KY	Public	3.1×
#108	University of Missouri-Columbia	MO	Public	3.1×
#109	Appalachian State University	NC	Public	3.1×
#110	Northwestern University	IL	Private (nonprofit)	3.1×
#111	Babson College	MA	Private (nonprofit)	3.1×
#112	Trinity University	TX	Private (nonprofit)	3.1×
#113	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	Public	3.1×
#114	James Madison University	VA	Public	3.0×
#115	Northeastern University	MA	Private (nonprofit)	3.0×
#116	Georgia State University	GA	Public	3.0×
#117	Carleton College	MN	Private (nonprofit)	3.0×
#118	Colgate University	NY	Private (nonprofit)	3.0×
#119	University of Connecticut	CT	Public	2.9×
#120	Mississippi State University	MS	Public	2.9×
#121	University of New Mexico-Main Campus	NM	Public	2.9×
#122	University of Iowa	IA	Public	2.9×
#123	Lehigh University	PA	Private (nonprofit)	2.9×
#124	Colorado State University-Fort Collins	CO	Public	2.8×
#125	University of Southern California	CA	Private (nonprofit)	2.8×
#126	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	NY	Private (nonprofit)	2.8×
#127	Barnard College	NY	Private (nonprofit)	2.8×
#128	University of Oregon	OR	Public	2.8×
#129	University of Colorado Boulder	CO	Public	2.8×
#130	University of South Carolina-Columbia	SC	Public	2.7×
#131	Wake Forest University	NC	Private (nonprofit)	2.7×
#132	Hamilton College	NY	Private (nonprofit)	2.7×
#133	Auburn University	AL	Public	2.7×
#134	The University of Alabama	AL	Public	2.6×
#135	Stevens Institute of Technology	NJ	Private (nonprofit)	2.6×
#136	Georgetown University	DC	Private (nonprofit)	2.5×
#137	Boston College	MA	Private (nonprofit)	2.5×
#138	Virginia Commonwealth University	VA	Public	2.5×
#139	Wesleyan University	CT	Private (nonprofit)	2.4×
#140	University of Richmond	VA	Private (nonprofit)	2.4×
#141	Middlebury College	VT	Private (nonprofit)	2.4×
#142	Worcester Polytechnic Institute	MA	Private (nonprofit)	2.4×
#143	Boise State University	ID	Public	2.4×
#144	Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology	IN	Private (nonprofit)	2.4×
#145	College of the Holy Cross	MA	Private (nonprofit)	2.3×
#146	Smith College	MA	Private (nonprofit)	2.3×
#147	Bucknell University	PA	Private (nonprofit)	2.3×
#148	Villanova University	PA	Private (nonprofit)	2.3×
#149	Temple University	PA	Public	2.3×
#150	New York University	NY	Private (nonprofit)	2.2×
#151	Kent State University at Kent	OH	Public	2.2×
#152	Santa Clara University	CA	Private (nonprofit)	2.2×
#153	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus	PA	Public	2.2×
#154	Skidmore College	NY	Private (nonprofit)	2.1×
#155	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	OH	Public	2.1×
#156	Tufts University	MA	Private (nonprofit)	2.1×
#157	University of Miami	FL	Private (nonprofit)	2.0×
#158	Macalester College	MN	Private (nonprofit)	2.0×
#159	Colorado College	CO	Private (nonprofit)	2.0×
#160	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	PA	Public	1.9×
#161	Grand Canyon University	AZ	Private (nonprofit)	1.9×
#162	Vassar College	NY	Private (nonprofit)	1.8×
#163	Denison University	OH	Private (nonprofit)	1.7×
#164	Tulane University of Louisiana	LA	Private (nonprofit)	1.6×
#165	Spelman College	GA	Private (nonprofit)	1.5×
#166	Liberty University	VA	Private (nonprofit)	1.5×
#167	Rhode Island School of Design	RI	Private (nonprofit)	1.3×

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Data as of June 2026.

Showing all 167 schools with a reported value. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Public domain (U.S. Government work)), snapshot June 2026. ROI signal and derived figures are explained on the methodology page. Estimates — verify before relying on them.

Frequently asked questions

How is the ROI signal calculated?

ROI signal = median 10-year earnings ÷ average annual net price. For example, a school with $90,000 median earnings and a $15,000 net price scores 6.0×. It rewards both strong earnings and low cost. It is not an investment return percentage and ignores total years enrolled and loan interest.

Why do some public flagships top the ROI ranking?

Public schools often combine low in-state net prices with solid earnings, producing a high earnings-to-cost ratio. Some elite privates also rank high because generous aid pulls their net price down while earnings stay high.

Other rankings

Last updated: 2026-06-20