Best ROI: Public Universities

Public universities with the strongest financial outcomes. State schools that punch above their weight on ROI.

50 schools ranked

#SchoolROI
1University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
97
2Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
Atlanta, GA
97
3California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA
96
4University of California-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
96
5University of California-San Diego
La Jolla, CA
96
6University of California-Davis
Davis, CA
95
7University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI
95
8University of Virginia-Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA
95
9University of California-Irvine
Irvine, CA
94
10Colorado School of Mines
Golden, CO
94
11University of Maryland-College Park
College Park, MD
94
12University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC
94
13University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA
94
14University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL
93
15United States Merchant Marine Academy
Kings Point, NY
93
16University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
92
17Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Buzzards Bay, MA
92
18New Jersey Institute of Technology
Newark, NJ
92
19CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
New York, NY
92
20San Jose State University
San Jose, CA
91
21SUNY Maritime College
Throggs Neck, NY
91
22William & Mary
Williamsburg, VA
91
23University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI
91
24Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN
91
25University of Washington-Bothell Campus
Bothell, WA
91
26University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
Tacoma, WA
91
27University of Florida-Online
Gainesville, FL
91
28University of California-Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA
90
29California State University Maritime Academy
Vallejo, CA
90
30Missouri University of Science and Technology
Rolla, MO
90
31The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
90
32California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
Pomona, CA
89
33Michigan Technological University
Houghton, MI
89
34New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Socorro, NM
89
35Binghamton University
Vestal, NY
89
36Texas A&M University-College Station
College Station, TX
89
37Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, VA
89
38California State University-Fullerton
Fullerton, CA
88
39University of Georgia
Athens, GA
88
40University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN
88
41Virginia Military Institute
Lexington, VA
88
42Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY
87
43North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Raleigh, NC
87
44University of Connecticut-Avery Point
Groton, CT
87
45University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus
Hartford, CT
87
46California State University-Long Beach
Long Beach, CA
86
47University of Delaware
Newark, DE
86
48Clemson University
Clemson, SC
86
49George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
86
50University of California-Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA
85

How We Rank

Rankings are based on our ROI score (0-100), which weights five quantifiable factors: Earnings Premium (30%), Payback Period (25%), Debt-to-Earnings (20%), Completion Rate (15%), and Loan Repayment (10%). All data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. No subjective criteria are used.

Full methodology →