Best value colleges in America

Stacker, Isabel Sepulveda | Oct 12, 20250

An aerial view of sunrise over Princeton University. — FotosForTheFuture // Shutterstock

Best value colleges in America

Once upon a time, college was a core component of the American dream. Higher education was seen as the best pathway into high-earning fields, in turn enabling graduates to achieve milestones like homeownership and starting a family.

But, in 2025, as tuition costs reach all-time highs and student debt balloons to levels that are nearly impossible to repay, opinions are changing. For many, the financial costs of a college education greatly outweigh the potential benefits. Those in this camp argue that the time and resources spent on a college degree could be better invested in gaining real-life experience in the workforce that's both useful and compensated.

Despite the cost, college remains a worthwhile investment for many, and some research supports that assertion. For example, the average full-time worker over 25 years old in the U.S. with a bachelor's degree makes 1.6 times as much money as someone with a high school diploma, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's proof education is still highly valued in today's information economy—and it's projected to become increasingly so. A 2023 study from Georgetown University's Center for Education and the Workforce found that by 2031, 57% of jobs will require a post-secondary degree.

Though there are statistics to back up both sides of the "is college really worth it?" argument, the answer is a bit more complicated. Still, there are certainly some institutions that are more rewarding than others. To that end, Stacker compiled a list of the best value colleges in America using Niche's 2026 rankings. The rankings are based on student and alumni reviews, as well as data from the Department of Education, like net price, alumni earnings, graduation rates, and student debt. (You can read the full methodology here.)

Read on for the top 50 value colleges in the U.S., which shows that schools of all kinds have figured out how to make higher education valuable for students, even in today's economy.

Students walking on campus at Farmingdale State College. — Steve Pfost/Newsday RM // Getty Images

#50. SUNY Farmingdale State College

- Location: Farmingdale, NY
- College type: Public
- Acceptance rate: 69%
- Overall Niche grade: B
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $8,224
- Typical SAT range: 1020-1200

A college lecture. — Matej Kastelic // Shutterstock

#49. Saint Elizabeth University

- Location: Morristown, NJ
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 77%
- Overall Niche grade: B
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $18,412
- Typical SAT range: 890-1100

An aerial view of Golden, Colorado and CSM. — Framalicious // Shutterstock

#48. Colorado School of Mines

- Location: Golden, CO
- College type: Public
- Acceptance rate: 60%
- Overall Niche grade: A
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $29,785
- Typical SAT range: 1320-1470

A red brick building at Bowdoin College. — EQRoy // Shutterstock

#47. Bowdoin College

- Location: Brunswick, ME
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 8%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $23,110
- Typical SAT range: 1480-1550

A modern building at Cal Poly SLO. — Claudine Van Massenhove // Shutterstock

#46. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

- Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
- College type: Public
- Acceptance rate: 30%
- Overall Niche grade: A
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $16,888
- Typical SAT range: 1220-1410

A red brick UF sign lined with palm trees. — Katherine Welles // Shutterstock

#45. University of Florida

- Location: Gainesville, FL
- College type: Public
- Acceptance rate: 24%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $11,521
- Typical SAT range: 1300-1480

Fall at Berea College. — Minh Truong // Shutterstock

#44. Berea College

- Location: Berea, KY
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 33%
- Overall Niche grade: B+
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $4,379
- Typical SAT range: 1160-1340

Students in a college class. — Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock

#43. Holy Family University

- Location: Philadelphia, PA
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 74%
- Overall Niche grade: B-
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $13,016
- Typical SAT range: 950-1140

Sayles Hall at Brown University. — iroqin // Shutterstock

#42. Brown University

- Location: Providence, RI
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 5%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $26,608
- Typical SAT range: 1500-1570

Students from the Missouri University of Science and Technology relax in their almost completed house in preparation for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. — Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post // Getty Images

#41. Missouri University of Science and Technology

- Location: Rolla, MO
- College type: Public
- Acceptance rate: 73%
- Overall Niche grade: A-
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $14,414
- Typical SAT range: 1150-1380

A young woman on a laptop. — Ground Picture // Shutterstock

#40. American Public University System

- Location: 4 Year (Online)
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 100%
- Overall Niche grade: B+
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $10,322
- Typical SAT range: not available

An abstract stone and glass library at UCSD. — tokar // Shutterstock

#39. University of California - San Diego

- Location: La Jolla, CA
- College type: Public
- Acceptance rate: 25%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $13,293
- Typical SAT range: not available

A historic red brick building with white columns at Washington and Lee. — Kristi Blokhin // Shutterstock

#38. Washington and Lee University

- Location: Lexington, VA
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 17%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $24,667
- Typical SAT range: 1410-1530

A Michigan Technological University sign. — ehrlif // Shutterstock

#37. Michigan Technological University

- Location: Houghton, MI
- College type: Public
- Acceptance rate: 88%
- Overall Niche grade: A
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $17,928
- Typical SAT range: 1120-1330

An aerial view of UC Berkeley. — Sundry Photography // Shutterstock

#36. University of California - Berkeley

- Location: Berkeley, CA
- College type: Public
- Acceptance rate: 12%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $16,997
- Typical SAT range: 1310-1530

A historic gothic building in snow at Lehigh University. — ros516 // Shutterstock

#35. Lehigh University

- Location: Bethlehem, PA
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 29%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $33,289
- Typical SAT range: 1350-1490

#34. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

- Location: Champaign, IL
- College type: Public
- Acceptance rate: 44%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $14,297
- Typical SAT range: 1270-1510

#33. Western Governors University

- Location: 4 Year (Online)
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 100%
- Overall Niche grade: B-
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $9,555
- Typical SAT range: not available

An aerial view of Cornell University. — TW Farlow Media // Shutterstock

#32. Cornell University

- Location: Ithaca, NY
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 8%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $26,455
- Typical SAT range: 1480-1560

A nursing student. — PeopleImages // Shutterstock

#31. Helene Fuld College of Nursing

- Location: New York, NY
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 24%
- Overall Niche grade: unavailable
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $37,732
- Typical SAT range: not available

A stone building with a clocktower on the Vanderbilt campus. — Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#30. Vanderbilt University

- Location: Nashville, TN
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 6%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $26,689
- Typical SAT range: 1510-1560

Flanagan Hall at Massachusetts Maritime Academy with a ship in the background. — Erik Clegg // Shutterstock

#29. Massachusetts Maritime Academy

- Location: Buzzards Bay, MA
- College type: Public
- Acceptance rate: 95%
- Overall Niche grade: B-
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $20,759
- Typical SAT range: not available

A telephone statue on campus at New Jersey Institute of Technology. — Hasan Memon // Shutterstock

#28. New Jersey Institute of Technology

- Location: Newark, NJ
- College type: Public
- Acceptance rate: 67%
- Overall Niche grade: A-
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $16,736
- Typical SAT range: 1210-1470

University of Notre Dame campus. — Chuck W Walker // Shutterstock

#27. University of Notre Dame

- Location: Notre Dame, IN
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 12%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $29,083
- Typical SAT range: 1440-1540

An aerial view of a chapel at Williams College. — K. Issa // Shutterstock

#26. Williams College

- Location: Williamstown, MA
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 10%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $16,988
- Typical SAT range: 1470-1560

A view of Northwestern from across the water. — Eugene Moerman // Shutterstock

#25. Northwestern University

- Location: Evanston, IL
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 7%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A
- Net price: $23,341
- Typical SAT range: 1490-1560

The historic stone library of Columbia University. — Popova Valeriya // Shutterstock

#24. Columbia University

- Location: New York, NY
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 4%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $20,869
- Typical SAT range: 1490-1570

A college library. — Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock

#23. Lehman College - City University of New York (CUNY)

- Location: Bronx, NY
- College type: Public
- Acceptance rate: 55%
- Overall Niche grade: B+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $4,076
- Typical SAT range: 860-1220

Wyman Quad at Johns Hopkins. — Bo Shen // Shutterstock

#22. Johns Hopkins University

- Location: Baltimore, MD
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 8%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $22,844
- Typical SAT range: 1530-1580

Colorful flowers in front of Swarthmore College. — Spiroview Inc // Shutterstock

#21. Swarthmore College

- Location: Swarthmore, PA
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 7%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $17,930
- Typical SAT range: 1460-1560

A white clocktower and American flag. — Mark Yarchoan // Shutterstock

#20. Amherst College

- Location: Amherst, MA
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 10%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $17,965
- Typical SAT range: 1360-1550

The iconic chapel at Duke University. — Wirestock Creators // Shutterstock

#19. Duke University

- Location: Durham, NC
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 7%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $23,422
- Typical SAT range: 1510-1570

A large ship at California State University Maritime Academy. — Jim Feliciano // Shutterstock

#18. California State University - Maritime Academy

- Location: Vallejo, CA
- College type: Public
- Acceptance rate: 99%
- Overall Niche grade: B-
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $16,081
- Typical SAT range: not available

#17. Washington University in St. Louis

- Location: Saint Louis, MO
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 12%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $22,440
- Typical SAT range: 1500-1570

#16. CUNY Baruch College

- Location: New York, NY
- College type: Public
- Acceptance rate: 50%
- Overall Niche grade: A-
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $3,989
- Typical SAT range: 1210-1410

Rice University on a sunny day. — Framalicious // Shutterstock

#15. Rice University

- Location: Houston, TX
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 8%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $20,587
- Typical SAT range: 1500-1570

An aerial view of Georgia Institute of Technology at sunset. — Marcus E Jones // Shutterstock

#14. Georgia Institute of Technology

- Location: Atlanta, GA
- College type: Public
- Acceptance rate: 16%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $15,901
- Typical SAT range: 1330-1530

A historic building at University of Pennsylvania. — f11photo // Shutterstock

#13. University of Pennsylvania

- Location: Philadelphia, PA
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 6%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $26,017
- Typical SAT range: 1500-1570

An aerial view of Carnegie Mellon. — photosounds // Shutterstock

#12. Carnegie Mellon University

- Location: Pittsburgh, PA
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 11%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $32,964
- Typical SAT range: 1500-1570

An aerial view of Yale. — Winston Tan // Shutterstock

#11. Yale University

- Location: New Haven, CT
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 5%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $26,044
- Typical SAT range: 1500-1580

#10. New Mexico Tech

- Location: Socorro, NM
- College type: Public
- Acceptance rate: 54%
- Overall Niche grade: A
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $9,133
- Typical SAT range: 1040-1290

Claremont Mckenna College sign. — Barbara Kalbfleisch // Shutterstock

#9. Claremont McKenna College

- Location: Claremont, CA
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 11%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $29,978
- Typical SAT range: 1450-1560

#8. Dartmouth College

- Location: Hanover, NH
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 6%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $17,322
- Typical SAT range: 1500-1570

The historic Carnegie Library at Pomona College. — Sandra Foyt // Shutterstock

#7. Pomona College

- Location: Claremont, CA
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 7%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $17,423
- Typical SAT range: 1480-1560

Princeton University covered in vines. — Oleg Kovtun Hydrobio // Shutterstock

#6. Princeton University

- Location: Princeton, NJ
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 4%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $19,811
- Typical SAT range: 1500-1580

Sever Hall at Harvard. — ARK NEYMAN // Shutterstock

#5. Harvard University

- Location: Cambridge, MA
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 3%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $17,900
- Typical SAT range: 1500-1580

An aerial view of Stanford. — Craven A // Shutterstock

#4. Stanford University

- Location: Stanford, CA
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 4%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $17,998
- Typical SAT range: 1510-1580

The great dome of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. — Leonid Andronov // Shutterstock

#3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

- Location: Cambridge, MA
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 5%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $21,519
- Typical SAT range: 1510-1580

Harvey Mudd College sign. — Jim_Brown_Photography // Shutterstock

#2. Harvey Mudd College

- Location: Claremont, CA
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 13%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $42,720
- Typical SAT range: 1480-1560

Beckman Institute at the California Institute of Technology. — Ken Wolter // Shutterstock

#1. California Institute of Technology

- Location: Pasadena, CA
- College type: Private
- Acceptance rate: 3%
- Overall Niche grade: A+
- Value grade: A+
- Net price: $23,397
- Typical SAT range: 1530-1580

Reader Comments(0)

Add your comment

Best value colleges in America