TuitionScope
Menu
ES

Theme

Best Value Colleges in Louisiana

We estimate how many years the earnings premium over a typical Louisiana high school graduate would take to repay four years of net price. Across the 17 public and private nonprofit colleges that qualify, the estimate runs from 1.7 years at the fastest to 6.3 years at the slowest.

The median college needs 2.7 years to repay its net price, 0.5 years faster than the national median of 3.2 years. Public colleges (9) have a median payback of 2.4 years against 4.3 years for the 8 private nonprofit colleges, so public options tend to repay faster here.

Louisiana Tech University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary share first place at 1.7 years, with University of Louisiana at Lafayette next at 2.2 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 Louisiana
  • 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; Louisiana has 17
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.

Read the full methodology

Showing all 17 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.

Table: Best Value Colleges in Louisiana
1 Louisiana Tech University
Ruston, LA
Public · 4-year
 1.7 years$11,864$61,520$22,13561%
2 New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
New Orleans, LA
Private nonprofit · 4-year
 1.7 years$10,829$59,131—51%
3 University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Lafayette, LA
Public · 4-year
 2.2 years$13,530$58,638$22,90252%
4 University of New Orleans
New Orleans, LA
Public · 4-year
 2.3 years$12,384$56,037$18,75040%
5 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
Baton Rouge, LA
Public · 4-year
 2.4 years$19,151$66,893$20,50070%
6 Northwestern State University of Louisiana
Natchitoches, LA
Public · 4-year
 2.4 years$13,606$56,762$25,00044%
7 Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University
Baton Rouge, LA
Private nonprofit · 4-year
 2.5 years$18,552$63,699$27,67249%
8 McNeese State University
Lake Charles, LA
Public · 4-year
 2.6 years$12,493$53,563$23,00049%
9 Louisiana Christian University
Pineville, LA
Private nonprofit · 4-year
 2.7 years$13,113$53,861$21,87542%
10 University of Louisiana at Monroe
Monroe, LA
Public · 4-year
 2.8 years$13,466$53,715$21,50052%
11 Nicholls State University
Thibodaux, LA
Public · 4-year
 3.0 years$12,947$51,767$22,67554%
12 Southeastern Louisiana University
Hammond, LA
Public · 4-year
 3.3 years$13,154$50,215$22,11345%
13 Tulane University of Louisiana
New Orleans, LA
Private nonprofit · 4-year
 4.0 years$39,949$73,816$20,50088%
14 Xavier University of Louisiana
New Orleans, LA
Private nonprofit · 4-year
 4.6 years$17,127$49,328$24,05349%
15 Loyola University New Orleans
New Orleans, LA
Private nonprofit · 4-year
 5.2 years$23,696$52,459$26,00063%
16 Centenary College of Louisiana
Shreveport, LA
Private nonprofit · 4-year
 6.2 years$23,624$49,479$27,00058%
17 Dillard University
New Orleans, LA
Private nonprofit · 4-year
 6.3 years$22,094$48,421$31,00044%

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.

Guides worth reading first

More lists for Louisiana

Same list in nearby states

All 31 colleges in Louisiana See the national version of this ranking