Lowest-Debt Colleges

Strong-value schools where graduates borrow the least - ranked by lowest median debt. Real outcomes without the loan hangover.

50 schools ranked

Data: 2024-25 College Scorecard release

#	School	ROI	Net Price	10yr Earnings	Median Debt	Completion	Tier
1	Berea College Berea, KY	64	$6,106	$43,150	$3,591	58.2%	Fair
2	United States Merchant Marine Academy Kings Point, NY	93	$6,174	$90,610	$8,833	82.4%	Exceptional
3	Brigham Young University-Hawaii Laie, HI	62	$16,774	$52,064	$9,413	52.6%	Fair
4	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA	94	$25,496	$84,803	$10,000	91.5%	Exceptional
5	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	96	$18,809	$87,555	$10,250	93.8%	Exceptional
6	CUNY Queens College Queens, NY	81	$4,195	$62,763	$10,298	53.3%	Strong
7	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	94	$6,128	$110,066	$10,320	97.6%	Exceptional
8	CUNY New York City College of Technology Brooklyn, NY	64	$5,127	$49,365	$10,533	21.5%	Fair
9	CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY	78	$3,148	$58,013	$10,950	51.3%	Strong
10	Rice University Houston, TX	98	$13,370	$89,718	$11,000	94.6%	Exceptional
11	CUNY Hunter College New York, NY	83	$2,984	$63,163	$11,000	56.9%	Strong
12	CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY	81	$3,103	$60,752	$11,000	53.9%	Strong
13	CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY	78	$3,203	$56,195	$11,000	55.8%	Strong
14	CUNY York College Jamaica, NY	72	$4,456	$56,945	$11,000	32.3%	Fair
15	SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Syracuse, NY	71	$18,952	$55,763	$11,000	66.3%	Fair
16	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	94	$15,564	$75,790	$11,069	81.0%	Exceptional
17	Western Governors University Salt Lake City, UT	75	$12,548	$60,615	$11,116	46.2%	Strong
18	Brown University Providence, RI	96	$25,184	$93,487	$11,428	95.7%	Exceptional
19	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY	92	$3,033	$75,971	$11,512	72.1%	Exceptional
20	Pomona College Claremont, CA	90	$19,285	$77,779	$11,782	93.2%	Exceptional
21	CUNY City College New York, NY	82	$3,776	$66,039	$11,990	56.8%	Strong
22	Stanford University Stanford, CA	99	$13,807	$124,080	$12,000	91.9%	Exceptional
23	California State University-Monterey Bay Seaside, CA	76	$13,663	$59,247	$12,750	59.1%	Strong
24	Williams College Williamstown, MA	96	$17,716	$88,665	$12,761	93.6%	Exceptional
25	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX	69	$4,831	$49,620	$12,950	50.9%	Fair
26	Yale University New Haven, CT	97	$23,777	$100,533	$12,975	95.7%	Exceptional
27	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	97	$13,481	$92,446	$13,000	92.8%	Exceptional
28	Duke University Durham, NC	96	$29,612	$97,800	$13,000	96.8%	Exceptional
29	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	95	$14,741	$80,838	$13,000	85.7%	Exceptional
30	California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	80	$3,967	$59,211	$13,000	53.0%	Strong
31	Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA	92	$28,849	$104,736	$13,500	91.4%	Exceptional
32	Scripps College Claremont, CA	78	$36,294	$77,539	$13,500	82.5%	Strong
33	California State University-Stanislaus Turlock, CA	82	$6,067	$63,188	$13,540	53.4%	Strong
34	Haverford College Haverford, PA	87	$25,314	$79,966	$13,621	89.6%	Strong
35	Amherst College Amherst, MA	90	$23,367	$77,644	$13,740	93.9%	Exceptional
36	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA	88	$6,555	$62,951	$13,750	70.2%	Strong
37	California State University-Dominguez Hills Carson, CA	71	$8,615	$57,162	$13,807	42.8%	Fair
38	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT	86	$31,483	$76,310	$13,857	91.4%	Strong
39	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	80	$7,021	$59,115	$13,872	57.0%	Strong
40	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	90	$16,109	$74,915	$13,993	83.0%	Exceptional
41	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	97	$15,846	$91,565	$14,000	93.5%	Exceptional
42	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	96	$28,690	$104,043	$14,000	95.4%	Exceptional
43	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	96	$19,066	$101,817	$14,000	97.6%	Exceptional
44	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	96	$12,548	$82,511	$14,000	92.6%	Exceptional
45	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	94	$11,655	$72,200	$14,000	91.2%	Exceptional
46	Bates College Lewiston, ME	82	$29,351	$69,498	$14,275	89.7%	Strong
47	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	86	$10,440	$64,403	$14,289	68.9%	Strong
48	College of Staten Island CUNY Staten Island, NY	67	$5,579	$53,501	$14,350	33.9%	Fair
49	University of Hawaii-West Oahu Kapolei, HI	67	$10,327	$52,075	$14,500	49.5%	Fair
50	California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA	81	$7,000	$61,244	$14,505	57.0%	Strong

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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 →

Common Questions

What is the best college for lowest graduate debt?

Stanford University tops this list at 99/100 on our ROI scale, the highest among the 50 schools ranked here. Rankings weigh net price against median graduate earnings from U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data - no prestige guesswork.

Which school on this list has the highest graduate earnings?

Stanford University reports the highest median earnings here, about $124,080 ten years after enrollment. In our view higher earnings alone don't make the best value, since what you pay matters just as much - which is why the ranking weighs cost too.

What is the most affordable school on this list?

CUNY Hunter College carries the lowest net price among the ranked schools, about $2,984 a year after grants and scholarships. Net price is what students actually pay, not the published sticker price.

How are these schools ranked?

We score every school 0 to 100 on five quantifiable factors: earnings premium (30%), payback period (25%), debt-to-earnings (20%), completion rate (15%), and loan repayment (10%). All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, with no subjective reputation scoring. Of the 50 schools here, 50 earn an ROI score of 60 or higher.