Best Colleges in Ohio by ROI

Trying to find the best value in Ohio? We ranked all 71 colleges we track here on what graduates actually earn versus what families actually pay, using U.S. Department of Education data. Ohio Northern University comes out on top at 88/100 - here's how every school compares.

71
Schools
47
Avg ROI Score
$21,143
Avg Net Price
88
Top Score

We scored all 71 Ohio colleges in our dataset from 0 to 100 on one thing: financial return. The state averages 47/100, on an average net price of $21,143 a year after grants and scholarships. The school that does best by your money is Ohio Northern University at 88/100.

Graduates of Chamberlain University-Ohio earn the most ten years out of any school in the state, a median $92,405. The lightest price tag belongs to Ohio University-Eastern Campus at $3,925 a year. The list below ranks every Ohio college we scored by ROI, so you can weigh what you'd pay against what you'd likely earn.

Top 10 Ohio Colleges by ROI Score

  1. 1Ohio Northern UniversityAda, OH · Private Nonprofit88ROI
  2. 2Mount Carmel College of NursingColumbus, OH · Private Nonprofit87ROI
  3. 3Case Western Reserve UniversityCleveland, OH · Private Nonprofit85ROI
  4. 4University of DaytonDayton, OH · Private Nonprofit83ROI
  5. 5Ohio State University-Main CampusColumbus, OH · Public77ROI
  6. 6Kettering CollegeKettering, OH · Private Nonprofit75ROI
  7. 7Kenyon CollegeGambier, OH · Private Nonprofit73ROI
  8. 8Mercy College of OhioToledo, OH · Private Nonprofit73ROI
  9. 9Chamberlain University-OhioColumbus, OH · Private For-Profit73ROI
  10. 10The Christ College of Nursing and Health SciencesCincinnati, OH · Private Nonprofit70ROI

Ohio College ROI: Common Questions

What is the best-value college in Ohio?

Ohio Northern University has the highest ROI score in Ohio at 88/100, while the lowest net price among Ohio schools we track is $3,925/year at Ohio University-Eastern Campus. Rankings are based on net price and median graduate earnings from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

How much does college cost in Ohio?

The average net price across the 71 Ohio colleges in our dataset is $21,143 per year, after grants and scholarships are applied. Actual cost varies widely by family income and institution.

Which Ohio college has the highest graduate earnings?

Chamberlain University-Ohio reports the highest median earnings among Ohio schools we scored, at $92,405 ten years after enrollment. Higher earnings do not always mean better ROI, since cost matters just as much.

How many colleges in Ohio did CampusROI analyze?

We scored 71 colleges in Ohio on return on investment. Of those, 23 earn an ROI score of 60 or higher. See our methodology for how each score is calculated.

All Ohio Schools by ROI Score

71 schools

88

Ohio Northern University

Ada, OH

Strong ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$24,478
Earnings
$80,928
Completion
75%
87

Mount Carmel College of Nursing

Columbus, OH

Strong ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$10,420
Earnings
$75,103
Completion
54%
85

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH

Strong ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$41,190
Earnings
$87,989
Completion
87%
83

University of Dayton

Dayton, OH

Strong ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$29,533
Earnings
$75,537
Completion
80%
77

Ohio State University-Main Campus

Columbus, OH

Strong ValuePublic
Net Price
$17,339
Earnings
$60,409
Completion
88%
75

Kettering College

Kettering, OH

Strong ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$21,650
Earnings
$67,492
Completion
65%
73

Kenyon College

Gambier, OH

Fair ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$38,512
Earnings
$71,830
Completion
82%
73

Mercy College of Ohio

Toledo, OH

Fair ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$17,989
Earnings
$65,409
Completion
56%
73

Chamberlain University-Ohio

Columbus, OH

Fair ValuePrivate For-Profit
Net Price
$31,544
Earnings
$92,405
Completion
29%
70

The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences

Cincinnati, OH

Fair ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$18,378
Earnings
$68,303
Completion
56%
68

Ohio State University-Lima Campus

Lima, OH

Fair ValuePublic
Net Price
$12,940
Earnings
$60,409
Completion
23%
66

Aultman College of Nursing and Health Sciences

Canton, OH

Fair ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$24,204
Earnings
$63,582
Completion
53%
65

Xavier University

Cincinnati, OH

Fair ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$32,997
Earnings
$64,873
Completion
69%
63

Miami University-Middletown

Middletown, OH

Fair ValuePublic
Net Price
$10,809
Earnings
$55,076
Completion
32%
62

Miami University-Hamilton

Hamilton, OH

Fair ValuePublic
Net Price
$11,286
Earnings
$55,076
Completion
25%
62

Ohio University-Eastern Campus

Saint Clairsville, OH

Fair ValuePublic
Net Price
$3,925
Earnings
$52,581
Completion
21%
62

Ursuline College

Pepper Pike, OH

Fair ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$16,164
Earnings
$56,878
Completion
67%
61

Cedarville University

Cedarville, OH

Fair ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$24,468
Earnings
$55,443
Completion
73%
61

John Carroll University

University Heights, OH

Fair ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$28,746
Earnings
$62,860
Completion
79%
60

Denison University

Granville, OH

Fair ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$40,007
Earnings
$67,753
Completion
79%
60

Marietta College

Marietta, OH

Fair ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$21,083
Earnings
$57,180
Completion
61%
60

Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus

Chillicothe, OH

Fair ValuePublic
Net Price
$5,755
Earnings
$52,581
Completion
14%
60

Ohio University-Zanesville Campus

Zanesville, OH

Fair ValuePublic
Net Price
$5,746
Earnings
$52,581
Completion
22%
58

Walsh University

North Canton, OH

Below Average ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$20,493
Earnings
$59,764
Completion
59%
56

The College of Wooster

Wooster, OH

Below Average ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$23,458
Earnings
$59,629
Completion
74%
55

University of Cincinnati-Main Campus

Cincinnati, OH

Below Average ValuePublic
Net Price
$25,648
Earnings
$54,810
Completion
75%
54

Miami University-Oxford

Oxford, OH

Below Average ValuePublic
Net Price
$28,384
Earnings
$55,076
Completion
80%
53

Otterbein University

Westerville, OH

Below Average ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$19,237
Earnings
$53,313
Completion
68%
52

Cleveland State University

Cleveland, OH

Below Average ValuePublic
Net Price
$14,764
Earnings
$52,131
Completion
51%
52

The University of Findlay

Findlay, OH

Below Average ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$27,221
Earnings
$56,996
Completion
58%
52

Wittenberg University

Springfield, OH

Below Average ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$18,649
Earnings
$54,947
Completion
53%
51

Ohio Wesleyan University

Delaware, OH

Below Average ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$20,897
Earnings
$55,624
Completion
59%
48

University of Akron Wayne College

Orrville, OH

Below Average ValuePublic
Net Price
$6,032
Earnings
$46,600
Completion
19%
48

Ohio University-Main Campus

Athens, OH

Below Average ValuePublic
Net Price
$21,637
Earnings
$52,581
Completion
65%
48

University of Toledo

Toledo, OH

Below Average ValuePublic
Net Price
$17,249
Earnings
$50,632
Completion
57%
48

Wright State University-Lake Campus

Celina, OH

Below Average ValuePublic
Net Price
$11,081
Earnings
$49,500
Completion
41%
47

Ashland University

Ashland, OH

Below Average ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$21,988
Earnings
$52,928
Completion
61%
46

Franciscan University of Steubenville

Steubenville, OH

Below Average ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$23,589
Earnings
$50,030
Completion
75%
45

Oberlin College

Oberlin, OH

Below Average ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$38,645
Earnings
$58,343
Completion
81%
44

Baldwin Wallace University

Berea, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$27,603
Earnings
$54,122
Completion
67%
44

Capital University

Columbus, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$22,576
Earnings
$54,143
Completion
60%
44

Hiram College

Hiram, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$21,058
Earnings
$54,311
Completion
55%
44

University of Mount Union

Alliance, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$23,280
Earnings
$53,217
Completion
59%
44

Mount St. Joseph University

Cincinnati, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$16,530
Earnings
$51,509
Completion
56%
42

Mount Vernon Nazarene University

Mount Vernon, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$22,421
Earnings
$49,555
Completion
68%
41

Wright State University-Main Campus

Dayton, OH

Poor ValuePublic
Net Price
$15,415
Earnings
$49,500
Completion
42%
39

Muskingum University

New Concord, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$19,532
Earnings
$48,440
Completion
56%
38

University of Akron Main Campus

Akron, OH

Poor ValuePublic
Net Price
$13,946
Earnings
$46,600
Completion
52%
37

Bluffton University

Bluffton, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$19,943
Earnings
$49,547
Completion
53%
37

Franklin University

Columbus, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$25,243
Earnings
$51,892
Completion
11%
37

Malone University

Canton, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$20,948
Earnings
$48,909
Completion
45%
35

Ohio Dominican University

Columbus, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$20,079
Earnings
$51,748
Completion
41%
33

Heidelberg University

Tiffin, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$20,556
Earnings
$48,466
Completion
52%
32

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus

Bowling Green, OH

Poor ValuePublic
Net Price
$24,022
Earnings
$47,896
Completion
64%
32

Lake Erie College

Painesville, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$20,961
Earnings
$50,417
Completion
38%
30

Kent State University at Kent

Kent, OH

Poor ValuePublic
Net Price
$20,787
Earnings
$45,388
Completion
64%
30

Wilmington College

Wilmington, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$24,153
Earnings
$48,491
Completion
47%
29

Allegheny Wesleyan College

Salem, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$5,355
Earnings
$37,453
Completion
46%
24

Youngstown State University

Youngstown, OH

Poor ValuePublic
Net Price
$12,767
Earnings
$41,544
Completion
50%
23

Cleveland Institute of Art

Cleveland, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$29,208
Earnings
$42,509
Completion
58%
23

Lourdes University

Sylvania, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$23,206
Earnings
$48,150
Completion
32%
23

DeVry University-Ohio

Columbus, OH

Poor ValuePrivate For-Profit
Net Price
$25,001
Earnings
$45,987
Completion
39%
22

Defiance College

Defiance, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$26,337
Earnings
$49,351
Completion
31%
20

Cleveland Institute of Music

Cleveland, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$28,226
Earnings
$32,641
Completion
72%
19

Columbus College of Art & Design

Columbus, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$29,439
Earnings
$40,664
Completion
56%
18

Shawnee State University

Portsmouth, OH

Poor ValuePublic
Net Price
$14,381
Earnings
$39,596
Completion
48%
14

Tiffin University

Tiffin, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$26,500
Earnings
$35,942
Completion
40%
14

Wilberforce University

Wilberforce, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$5,567
Earnings
$38,298
Completion
12%
11

Ohio Christian University

Circleville, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$20,607
Earnings
$39,813
Completion
34%
9

Art Academy of Cincinnati

Cincinnati, OH

Poor ValuePrivate Nonprofit
Net Price
$34,253
Earnings
$34,368
Completion
41%
4

Central State University

Wilberforce, OH

Poor ValuePublic
Net Price
$13,096
Earnings
$33,267
Completion
23%

Data: 2024-25 College Scorecard release