Best Value Colleges in Georgia
We estimate how many years the earnings premium over a typical Georgia high school graduate would take to repay four years of net price. Across the 25 public and private nonprofit colleges that qualify, the estimate runs from 0.6 years at the fastest to 14.1 years at the slowest.
The median college needs 2.8 years to repay its net price, 0.4 years faster than the national median of 3.2 years. Public colleges (11) have a median payback of 2.0 years against 5.5 years for the 14 private nonprofit colleges, so public options tend to repay faster here.
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus ranks first at 0.6 years, ahead of University of Georgia (1.4 years) and Emory University (1.6 years). Payback is an estimate, not a forecast: it assumes four years of net price and the earnings of past graduates, and it says nothing about your own major or career.
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- Public and private nonprofit 4-year colleges
- Ranked by payback, lowest first. Ties are broken by larger undergraduate enrollment, then by name.
- Main campuses only, with at least 60% of core data fields reported
- Main campus located in Georgia
- At least 500 undergraduate students enrolled (fall 2024)
- Graduation rate of 40% or higher
- A reported payback value (schools without one are not ranked)
- This page is published only when at least 15 schools qualify; Georgia has 25
- Data period
- Payback: years for the earnings premium over a high school graduate in the same state to repay four years of net price (shown only when the premium is at least $2,000).
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- Earnings: median earnings four years after completing, measured in 2022 and 2023 for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 cohorts, in 2024 dollars.
- Graduate debt: median federal loan debt of completers, pooled 2020 and 2021 cohorts.
- Graduation rate: first-time, full-time students who started in fall 2018 (4-year) or fall 2021 (2-year), finishing within 150% of normal time.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing all 25 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA Public · 4-year | 0.6 years | $12,116 | $119,180 | $21,672 | 93% |
| 2 | University of Georgia Athens, GA Public · 4-year | 1.4 years | $13,936 | $74,144 | $18,500 | 89% |
| 3 | Emory University Atlanta, GA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.6 years | $22,585 | $90,139 | $18,250 | 91% |
| 4 | Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA Public · 4-year | 1.7 years | $15,048 | $68,306 | $23,833 | 50% |
| 5 | Columbus State University Columbus, GA Public · 4-year | 1.9 years | $13,115 | $60,912 | $26,000 | 42% |
| 6 | Augusta University Augusta, GA Public · 4-year | 1.9 years | $13,787 | $62,546 | $20,500 | 49% |
| 7 | Valdosta State University Valdosta, GA Public · 4-year | 2.0 years | $10,945 | $56,067 | $24,779 | 42% |
| 8 | Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA Public · 4-year | 2.1 years | $15,267 | $62,342 | $23,250 | 53% |
| 9 | University of West Georgia Carrollton, GA Public · 4-year | 2.1 years | $12,786 | $58,022 | $23,970 | 43% |
| 10 | Georgia State University Atlanta, GA Public · 4-year | 2.5 years | $15,931 | $58,898 | $20,903 | 53% |
| 11 | Mercer University Macon, GA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.5 years | $23,847 | $71,870 | $24,199 | 72% |
| 12 | Piedmont University Demorest, GA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.6 years | $20,599 | $65,743 | $25,000 | 44% |
| 13 | Georgia College & State University Milledgeville, GA Public · 4-year | 2.8 years | $20,686 | $62,852 | $22,250 | 63% |
| 14 | LaGrange College Lagrange, GA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.9 years | $20,875 | $62,232 | $25,730 | 44% |
| 15 | Berry College Mount Berry, GA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.6 years | $22,320 | $58,750 | $23,250 | 72% |
| 16 | Fort Valley State University Fort Valley, GA Public · 4-year | 3.7 years | $10,338 | $44,844 | $31,000 | 43% |
| 17 | Oglethorpe University Atlanta, GA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.3 years | $19,509 | $52,138 | $25,000 | 54% |
| 18 | Agnes Scott College Decatur, GA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 5.2 years | $24,754 | $52,746 | $26,749 | 71% |
| 19 | Morehouse College Atlanta, GA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 5.7 years | $39,013 | $61,320 | $25,000 | 56% |
| 20 | Spelman College Atlanta, GA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 6.2 years | $38,967 | $58,897 | $25,000 | 77% |
| 21 | Covenant College Lookout Mountain, GA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 7.0 years | $26,265 | $48,802 | $22,500 | 72% |
| 22 | Young Harris College Young Harris, GA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 9.4 years | $22,034 | $43,173 | $27,000 | 44% |
| 23 | Clark Atlanta University Atlanta, GA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 11.2 years | $37,702 | $47,337 | $27,000 | 48% |
| 24 | Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah, GA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 14.0 years | $49,430 | $47,980 | $25,148 | 70% |
| 25 | Toccoa Falls College Toccoa Falls, GA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 14.1 years | $21,642 | $39,953 | $22,250 | 45% |
How to compare these colleges
Treat the payback column as a way to compare schools, not as a promise about your own future. It uses the average net price, so your own cost may be higher or lower, and it uses median earnings of former students, which depend heavily on major. Check earnings for your intended program on each college profile, and favor schools where the graduation rate is high.
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Same list in nearby states
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All 67 colleges in Georgia See the national version of this ranking