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2022 Best Undergraduate Colleges in the U.S.

A list of the colleges with the highest alumni starting salaries for bachelor’s graduates across majors

Shadi Bushra

Written By: Shadi Bushra

Published: 5/24/2022

2022 Best Bachelor's Degrees Badge

Getting an undergraduate education is an increasingly expensive venture. Average college costs have been climbing for decades and continue to outpace inflation. Higher education is a significant financial investment, and we believe salary is a critical metric of a student’s return on that investment.

Our list of the best colleges for a bachelor’s degree ranks schools by Salary Score, a proprietary data point that shows how much alumni earn compared to other graduates in the same field of study. This list highlights schools whose graduates earn the highest starting salaries for their major, no matter what they studied. While other rankings highlight the most prestigious colleges with the best reputations, our list shows which schools have the best outcomes for their students. We're also the only company to rank graduate schools and online colleges based on alumni earnings by major. Read our methodology to learn more about how schools were ranked.

Jump to takeaways

Key Insights:

  • Online higher education is continuing to make inroads against on-campus colleges: Online college Thomas Edison State University is again the top public school, beating out UC Berkeley and other contenders
  • Half of the top ten colleges by Salary Score are Ivy League schools, while Columbia University, another Ivy, moved up eight spots to #11
  • Despite the negative public perception of for-profit colleges, grads from those schools reported above-average salaries when compared to public and private nonprofit school graduates

#1

Harvard University

Cambridge (MA)

No change from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$51,925

SALARY SCORE

 99.51

Harvard stayed at the top of our list largely on the strength of its humanities and social sciences programs, including history, political science, economics, and social sciences. Computer science rounded out its top five fields of study.

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#2

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge (MA)

No change from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$53,790

SALARY SCORE

 99.48

MIT also did not move from its 2021 ranking. Four of its five best programs in terms of salary outcomes are in the STEM field: computer science, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, and electrical, electronics and communications engineering. Despite its well-earned reputation as a STEM-focused school, its liberal arts and sciences program also gives its graduates much better salary outcomes than other liberal arts degree holders.

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#3

Dartmouth College

Hanover (NH)

+2 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$57,638

SALARY SCORE

 98.89

Dartmouth moved up two places from last year to land at number three for Salary Score in 2022. Several top-flight programs seem to have driven that. Dartmouth's political science, economics, and psychology degrees have some of the most competitive salary outcomes in the country, and computer science is not far behind.

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#4

Yale University

New Haven (CT)

-1 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$55,500

SALARY SCORE

 98.71

Yale dropped one spot in salary outcome rankings, but is doing fine for itself at number four. Some of its best programs by salary outcomes echo its rival, Harvard, ranked at #1. These include history, political science, and economics. Psychology was another popular major at Yale that led to exceptional salary outcomes.

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#5

Georgetown University Learn more about how we make money.">

Washington D.C.

+1 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$56,058

SALARY SCORE

 98.35

Georgetown, which moved up one spot from last year, broadly lives up to its reputation as one of the premier institutes of higher education in our nation's capital. Some of its best programs in terms of salary outcomes include political science, finance, English, and economics. Another popular field for the foreign policy-oriented university, international relations and national security, had a Salary Score of 88, keeping it out of the top 90th percentile of similar programs nationwide.

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#6

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh (PA)

+2 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$57,119

SALARY SCORE

 98.3

Carnegie Mellon moved up two places to secure the sixth spot in our salary outcome rankings this year. Its strongest programs offer the same salary outcome advantages as many of the programs at overall higher-ranked schools. These include computer science, business, and electrical, electronics and communications engineering.

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#7

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia (PA)

-3 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$57,770

SALARY SCORE

 98.15

UPenn is the last of the five Ivy Leagues in the top 10 schools by salary outcome. Though it dropped three spots, it still offers exceptional salary outcomes for popular majors such as political science, economics, like the other Ivies above, as well as finance and philosophy.

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
Business Administration, Management and Operations $75,634 99.87 0.0
Communication and Media Studies $50,120 99.87 0.0
Cognitive Science $60,724 96.78 -2.3
Urban Studies/Affairs $46,426 88.72 16.55

#8

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara (CA)

-1 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$53,634

SALARY SCORE

 97.66

Santa Clara University dropped one spot but still maintains extremely strong salary outcomes for several majors, including finance, communication, and accounting. Other popular majors with Salary Scores in the top 95th and 90th percentiles, respectively, are biology and economics.

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#9

Boston College

Chestnut Hill (MA)

+2 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$57,910

SALARY SCORE

 97.58

Boston College, which moved up two places from last year to enter the top 10, echoed Santa Clara's excellent salary outcomes in finance and communications. It also boasts strong outcomes in biology, political science, and economics.

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
Psychology, General $37,262 96.78 -1.92
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology $41,046 96.3 4.57

#10

Stanford University

Stanford (CA)

-1 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$53,529

SALARY SCORE

 96.99

Stanford dropped a spot but managed to stay in the top 10 best schools in terms of salary outcomes. A longtime recruiting ground for Silicon Valley companies, its computer science degree is among the best in the country, as is its psychology degree. Stanford's popular human biology program is also in the 95th percentile of salary outcomes.

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#11

Columbia University in the City of New York

New York (NY)

+8 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$61,788

SALARY SCORE

 96.72

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#12

Bentley University

Waltham (MA)

+3 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$51,830

SALARY SCORE

 96.67

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#13

Colgate University

Hamilton (NY)

+5 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$58,045

SALARY SCORE

 96.45

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#14

Thomas Edison State University

Trenton (NJ)

+6 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$9,856

SALARY SCORE

 95.83

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities $40,685 84.73 0.16
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing $82,105 94.66 2.89
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other $76,418 99.87 0.0
Social Sciences, General $42,906 94.62 1.46
Business Administration, Management and Operations $59,206 97.76 1.68

#15

Williams College

Williamstown (MA)

+19 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$57,280

SALARY SCORE

 95.52

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#16

Princeton University

Princeton (NJ)

-3 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$52,800

SALARY SCORE

 95.28

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#17

University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley (CA)

+5 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$44,007

SALARY SCORE

 94.25

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#18

Barnard College

New York (NY)

-6 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$57,668

SALARY SCORE

 94.23

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#19

Bucknell University

Lewisburg (PA)

+6 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$58,196

SALARY SCORE

 94.11

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#20

University of Chicago

Chicago (IL)

+12 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$60,552

SALARY SCORE

 93.65

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#21

University of San Francisco

San Francisco (CA)

+8 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$50,282

SALARY SCORE

 93.51

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#22

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame (IN)

-1 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$55,553

SALARY SCORE

 93.14

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#23

Cornell University

Ithaca (NY)

+8 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$57,222

SALARY SCORE

 92.81

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#24

Northeastern University

Burlington (MA)

-1 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$53,506

SALARY SCORE

 92.73

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
Business/Commerce, General $65,358 99.25 0.61
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing $69,253 64.02 0.71
Communication and Media Studies $48,567 99.7 -0.02
Research and Experimental Psychology $35,413 73.5 -7.58
Business Administration, Management and Operations $68,843 99.87 0.0

#25

Lehigh University

Bethlehem (PA)

+8 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$55,240

SALARY SCORE

 92.52

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#26

American Public University System

Charles Town (WV)

+16 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$7,324

SALARY SCORE

 92.15

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
Business Administration, Management and Operations $54,183 92.28 3.12
Criminal Justice and Corrections $49,354 98.64 -0.98
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management $63,468 83.74 13.89
Homeland Security $51,985 62.17 3.35
Health and Physical Education/Fitness $47,616 99.87 0.04

#27

Brown University

Providence (RI)

New to List

ANNUAL TUITION

$58,404

SALARY SCORE

 91.89

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#28

Northwestern University

Evanston (IL)

-4 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$56,691

SALARY SCORE

 91.88

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication $27,414 36.92 -43.62
Communication and Media Studies $48,590 99.7 2.69
Human Resources Management and Services $69,350 99.87 4.63
Information Science/Studies $94,536 99.87 0.17

#29

National University

La Jolla (CA)

New to List

ANNUAL TUITION

$13,320

SALARY SCORE

 91.77

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing $85,563 97.44 1.45
Business Administration, Management and Operations $54,361 92.56 6.88
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods $39,572 76.91 6.2
Psychology, General $36,571 95.53 -2.63
Criminal Justice and Corrections $53,819 99.8 0.39

#30

Capella University

Minneapolis (MN)

+5 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$14,540

SALARY SCORE

 91.76

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing $74,251 80.15 2.57
Business Administration, Management and Operations $63,636 99.41 1.39
Psychology, General $35,031 91.39 6.26
Health and Medical Administrative Services $52,610 95.22 1.63
Human Resources Management and Services $53,132 90.11 7.57

#31

Duke University

Durham (NC)

-1 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$58,031

SALARY SCORE

 91.74

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#32

Villanova University

Villanova (PA)

-5 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$55,280

SALARY SCORE

 91.59

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
Business Administration, Management and Operations $60,840 98.59 0.6
Physical Sciences

#33

University of Southern California

Los Angeles (CA)

-7 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$58,195

SALARY SCORE

 91.34

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#34

Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta (GA)

New to List

ANNUAL TUITION

$33,794

SALARY SCORE

 91.31

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#35

Stevens Institute of Technology

Hoboken (NJ)

New to List

ANNUAL TUITION

$54,014

SALARY SCORE

 91.05

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#36

Southern Methodist University

Dallas (TX)

+5 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$56,560

SALARY SCORE

 90.99

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#37

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo (CA)

+1 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$23,833

SALARY SCORE

 90.16

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#38

Wellesley College

Wellesley (MA)

+8 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$56,052

SALARY SCORE

 89.99

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#39

Adelphi University

Garden City (NY)

New to List

ANNUAL TUITION

$40,300

SALARY SCORE

 89.69

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
Business Administration, Management and Operations $43,551 57.61 -6.45
Psychology, General $22,578 9.13 -10.94
Social Sciences, General $36,942 74.47 24.31
English Language and Literature, General $20,522 7.58 -3.43

#40

Colorado State University Global Learn more about how we make money.">

Greenwood Village (CO)

+7 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$8,400

SALARY SCORE

 89.63

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
Business Administration, Management and Operations $59,425 97.89 0.4
Computer and Information Sciences, General $60,152 60.18 -2.49
Accounting and Related Services $52,075 70.44 -7.38
Human Resources Management and Services $55,055 94.11 4.97
Health and Medical Administrative Services $48,123 86.06 1.8

#41

Trinity College

Hartford (CT)

-24 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$59,050

SALARY SCORE

 89.44

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#42

College of the Holy Cross

Worcester (MA)

-14 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$54,740

SALARY SCORE

 89.4

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#43

The George Washington University

Washington D.C.

New to List

ANNUAL TUITION

$56,935

SALARY SCORE

 89.05

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing $68,769 62.25 2.69
Health and Medical Administrative Services

#44

University of Minnesota-Crookston

Crookston (MN)

New to List

ANNUAL TUITION

$12,116

SALARY SCORE

 88.86

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#45

New York University

New York (NY)

No change from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$53,308

SALARY SCORE

 88.67

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
Business/Commerce, General $77,787 99.87 0.0
Social Sciences, General $40,666 89.47 -0.02
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other $48,479 61.03 11.71
Social Sciences, Other $37,265 73.96 28.82

#46

Washington University in St. Louis

St. Louis (MO)

-7 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$55,292

SALARY SCORE

 87.84

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
Cognitive Science

#47

Lafayette College

Easton (PA)

New to List

ANNUAL TUITION

$55,752

SALARY SCORE

 87.84

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#48

Stonehill College

Easton (MA)

-8 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$44,420

SALARY SCORE

 87.57

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

#49

California State University - East Bay

Hayward (CA)

+1 from previous year

ANNUAL TUITION

$18,880

SALARY SCORE

 87.24

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
Business Administration, Management and Operations $49,638 81.51 0.05
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General $39,260 65.95 2.72
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services $39,638 99.16 0.24
Hospitality Administration/Management $42,683 82.33 1.14

#50

Linfield University

McMinnville (OR)

New to List

ANNUAL TUITION

$44,132

SALARY SCORE

 87.22

Salary Scores for Most Popular Programs
PROGRAM MEDIAN SALARY SALARY SCORE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR

View Our Salary Score Rankings:

Compare Colleges by Salary Score

Search over 2,000 colleges to see how their overall salary strength and individual program salaries compare to other colleges nationwide.

Why We Rank By Salary Outcomes, Not Prestige

The heavy financial burden of college has made choosing a school one of the most important decisions of a young adult’s life. And most make the decision before they’re even 18 years old. They may choose where they’ll go based on name recognition, prestige, or other factors that don’t affect how well the school prepares students for life and work after college.

We continue to push against a perceived lack of quantitative data on the employment and salary outcomes that colleges and majors can lead to. That data is there, and we use it regularly to best advise students on how to plot their path through school so that they get what they want — and what they pay for — out of their college experience.

To address some of these widely accepted shortcomings in college rankings, we began researching our own list of the top schools, based exclusively on student outcomes and not intangible factors such as prestige or reputation. The outcome we found students most curious about was how much they can expect to earn by studying a specific major at a certain school.

We created Salary Score, a proprietary system that ranks schools based on how much graduates earn in their first year compared to alumni across the country with the same degree. We assign each program a Salary Score which says how much alumni earn compared to graduates in the same field of study. We also assign each school a Salary Score that is the average of its programs’ Salary Scores.

At its simplest, a Salary Score of 50 means that a school or program’s alumni are making about the median salary of all alumni in their field. Any score below that is progressively less than the average of schools or programs. Any score above 50 shows that the school or program’s alumni are making more than the average. A score of 90 or more indicates alumni in the top 90th percentile among all schools or all programs.

How Do Our 2022 Rankings Compare to U.S. News?

Since 1983, U.S. News and World Report has published a list of college rankings that has become a widely used resource for administrators, educators, and students. Its decades of annual rankings have given the U.S. News lists an air of authority, supposedly answering the question of which schools will give a student the best education and future outcomes.

However, over the decades, some in the higher education world have raised valid concerns about various aspects of the U.S. News methodology. For example, over half of a school’s ranking comes from metrics that are only tangentially related to real student outcomes, such as the school’s academic reputation, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, and alumni giving rates.

Although U.S. News’ rankings remain popular, methodological misgivings have grown into an annual chorus of criticism by data experts, unranked schools, and other skeptics of their rankings technique.

In contrast, our data all comes from the median first-year salaries for graduates of a particular field at a specific college. We believe this outcomes-based, data-centric approach more accurately reflects the reality of what a college and choice of major can offer someone. Our rankings align with U.S. News’ list sometimes. But more often than not, there are changes of some significance. Similar to last year, our ranking of the top 50 schools includes more small private schools, online schools, and lesser-known schools than U.S. News' National Universities.

Schools with the Biggest Difference between our list and U.S. News' Best National Colleges list (top 50)

Rank Difference Salary Score Rank College Name US News Rank
133 39 Adelphi University 172
108 40 Colorado State University Global 148
82 21 University of San Francisco 103
48 35 Stevens Institute of Technology 83
47 8 Santa Clara University 55
27 9 Boston College 36
25 24 Northeastern University 49
24 25 Lehigh University 49
20 43 The George Washington University 63
19 6 Carnegie Mellon University 25

Before delving into the biggest quantitative differences between our rankings and U.S. News’ list, it's worth noting that there are many colleges on our list that are either unranked by U.S. News or appear only on their liberal arts lists or regional rankings, not the overall rankings.

Our rankings are inherently more inclusive in that they include entire categories of colleges that U.S. News doesn't, such as online colleges. Their exclusion from the U.S. News national list for yet another year seems unfair, especially as degrees from high quality online colleges are becoming increasingly more acceptable to students and employers.

As the pandemic also highlighted, online education can have real benefits to those with children or family care responsibilities or full- or part-time jobs. It can also be an excellent option for students who find the commute to campus to be a hardship for financial, family, or disability reasons.

Though they remain unranked by U.S. News, several online schools made our list, including Thomas Edison State University, Capella University, American Public University System, and National University.

How Do Our 2022 Salary Score Rankings Compare to Last Year’s List?

Schools That Moved Up Ten Or More Spots From 2021 to 2022

2022 Rank 2021 Rank School Change in Salary Score
15 34 Williams College 4.29
20 32 University of Chicago 1.88
26 42 American Public University System 2.61
27 62 Brown University 5.59
29 53 National University 3.81
34 61 Georgia Institute of Technology 4.96
39 57 Adelphi University 2.59
43 60 The George Washington University 2.59
44 81 University of Minnesota - Crookston 5.91
46 56 Lafayette College 0.6

This year’s list showed some churn, adding eight new schools to the top 50, including some such as Brown University (#29) and University of Minnesta-Crookston (#44) that had to jump 35 and 37 spots, respectively, to claw their way into the top 50. The Georgia Institute of Technology moved up 27 spots to rank at #34 this year.

While schools in the top 50 moved an average of 8 spots up or down the list, the top five remained nearly identical, including Harvard, MIT, Dartmouth, and Yale, while Georgetown moved up one spot to round out the top five. The University of Pennsylvania, on the other hand, fell out of the top five, from #4 last year to #7 this year.

Also worth noting, two of the schools that moved up more than 10 spots were online schools: the American Public University System moved up 16 spots to reach #26, and National University moved up 24 spots to #27.

Schools That Dropped Ten or More Spots From 2021 to 2022

2022 Rank 2021 Rank Rank Movement School Score Movement
41 17 -24 Trinity College -5.2
42 28 -14 College of the Holy Cross -3.36

Only two schools showed significant drops in Salary Score ranking this year. Trinity College slid two dozen spots and College of the Holy Cross dropped 14 spots to land right next to each other in this years rankings, at #41 and #42. It was of some interest that the only schools in this category were private non-profit schools with some religious affiliation. But there is only so much we can infer from such a small sample size.

Top States by Salary Score

Map showing states' average Salary Scores

Top Five States By Average Salary Score 2021 - 2022

State Average Salary Score 2022 Average Salary Score 2021 Difference State Cost of Living
District of Columbia 79.45 81.47 -2.02 2nd Most Expensive State
Massachusetts 74.04 74.54 -0.50 5th Most Expensive State
New Hampshire 71.78 70.21 1.58 15th Most Expensive State
Connecticut 66.50 66.32 0.18 9th Most Expensive State
Minnesota 65.85 64.94 0.91 26th Most Expensive State

Though the District of Columbia slid more than 2 points from last year’s impressive average Salary Score of 81.47, it remained at the top of the state rankings for 2022. What’s more, D.C. leads the runner-up Massachusetts by a significant margin of more than 5 Salary Score points.

This year’s bronze winner, New Hampshire, was the biggest mover on the state list, gaining 1.6 points from last year. Thanks to a drop in scores for Rhode Island, Connecticut moved up from #6 last year to #4 this year despite very minimal change in scores from last year.

Rounding out the top five is Minnesota, where a modest upward move of just under 1 point made it the second-biggest gainer in the top five. It also offers the lowest cost of living — right around the national median — of the states that lead in salary outcomes, further boosting college value for Minnesotans.

How Do Public and Private Colleges Compare by Salary Score?

Bar graph showing average Salary Scores for public, private, and for-profit schools

Private non-profit schools lost some ground, making up 79 of this year’s top 100, down from 86 last year. Average Salary Scores for both public and private non-profit schools dipped slightly, by about 1 Salary Score point or 1%.

The beneficiary of these drops were for-profit schools, which saw their average Salary Score move up just over 4%. In fact, all for-profit schools except Academy of Art University saw their Salary Scores move up from last year.

Best Public Schools by Salary Score

2022 Rank 2021 Rank Rank Movement School 2022 Salary Score Score Movement
14 20 6 Thomas Edison State University 95.83 1.63
17 22 5 University of California - Berkeley 94.25 0.45
34 61 26 Georgia Institute of Technology 91.31 4.96
37 38 1 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo 90.16 0
40 47 7 Colorado State University Global 89.63 0.73
44 81 35 University of Minnesota - Crookston 88.86 5.91
49 50 +1 California State University-East Bay 87.24 -1.12

As we can see in the numbers, almost all of the top public schools saw their Salary Scores stay stable or move up. The exception is California State University - East Bay, which dropped by over 1 point.

Still, two additions to the top public schools list mark an improvement over last year. As mentioned earlier, the Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Minnesota - Crookston both earned big increases of almost 5 and almost 6 spots, respectively.

Despite some movement here, the top two public schools did not change from last year. Thomas Edison State University and UC - Berkeley’s Salary Score gains of around 5 points nudged them both into the top 20 overall list.

These two are different in many ways – TESU is an online university designed specifically for adult learners, while Berkeley’s physical campus has been an incubator of student activism for decades. But they are both testament to the fact that public universities do have a place among the Salary Score elite.

Methodology

Our data on alumni earnings comes from College Scorecard, an annually updated resource provided by the U.S. Department of Education. The earnings data used in our Salary Score is for alumni in the first year after completing a degree. The data was released on March 14, 2022, and is for students who graduated in 2017 and 2018, with earnings measured in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and inflation-adjusted to 2020 dollars.

The data is based on the earnings of students who received federal financial aid because that is the sample for which the Department of Education has data. This excludes students who did not receive federal financial aid. Please see our "What is Salary Score?" resource for additional information.

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