Best Value Colleges in Michigan
We estimate how many years the earnings premium over a typical Michigan high school graduate would take to repay four years of net price. Across the 37 public and private nonprofit colleges that qualify, the estimate runs from 0.9 years at the fastest to 10.8 years at the slowest.
The median college needs 2.5 years to repay its net price, 0.7 years faster than the national median of 3.2 years. Public colleges (16) have a median payback of 1.5 years against 3.5 years for the 21 private nonprofit colleges, so public options tend to repay faster here.
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and University of Michigan-Dearborn share first place at 0.9 years, with University of Michigan-Flint next at 0.9 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 Michigan
- 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; Michigan has 37
- 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 37 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI Public · 4-year | 0.9 years | $13,138 | $96,159 | $19,500 | 93% |
| 2 | University of Michigan-Dearborn Dearborn, MI Public · 4-year | 0.9 years | $9,492 | $77,294 | $22,500 | 57% |
| 3 | University of Michigan-Flint Flint, MI Public · 4-year | 0.9 years | $7,007 | $65,600 | $25,000 | 42% |
| 4 | Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI Public · 4-year | 1.1 years | $9,120 | $68,708 | $22,750 | 57% |
| 5 | Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI Public · 4-year | 1.1 years | $14,182 | $84,560 | $24,990 | 68% |
| 6 | Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI Public · 4-year | 1.2 years | $8,624 | $64,721 | $21,000 | 47% |
| 7 | University of Detroit Mercy Detroit, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.4 years | $15,232 | $78,953 | $23,250 | 68% |
| 8 | Alpena Community College Alpena, MI Public · 4-year | 1.4 years | $3,320 | $44,378 | $9,024 | 51% |
| 9 | Wayne State University Detroit, MI Public · 4-year | 1.5 years | $12,766 | $68,551 | $21,250 | 58% |
| 10 | Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI Public · 4-year | 1.5 years | $10,775 | $63,454 | $25,000 | 51% |
| 11 | Michigan State University East Lansing, MI Public · 4-year | 2.0 years | $19,680 | $74,093 | $23,250 | 81% |
| 12 | Andrews University Berrien Springs, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.0 years | $12,547 | $60,517 | $26,000 | 69% |
| 13 | Davenport University Grand Rapids, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.1 years | $17,707 | $69,009 | $26,000 | 53% |
| 14 | Kettering University Flint, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.1 years | $34,660 | $99,943 | $27,000 | 71% |
| 15 | Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI Public · 4-year | 2.2 years | $15,273 | $62,885 | $26,188 | 58% |
| 16 | Lake Superior State University Sault Ste Marie, MI Public · 4-year | 2.3 years | $12,822 | $56,687 | $23,250 | 54% |
| 17 | Lawrence Technological University Southfield, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.4 years | $32,918 | $90,760 | $27,000 | 62% |
| 18 | Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI Public · 4-year | 2.5 years | $16,317 | $60,491 | $24,500 | 68% |
| 19 | Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI Public · 4-year | 2.5 years | $15,407 | $59,616 | $25,000 | 46% |
| 20 | Siena Heights University Adrian, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.5 years | $17,124 | $62,131 | $18,750 | 45% |
| 21 | Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI Public · 4-year | 2.7 years | $17,597 | $61,298 | $27,000 | 60% |
| 22 | Madonna University Livonia, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.7 years | $17,755 | $61,516 | $23,000 | 59% |
| 23 | Cleary University Howell, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.7 years | $22,143 | $67,914 | $19,500 | 41% |
| 24 | Albion College Albion, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.8 years | $14,301 | $55,297 | $27,000 | 59% |
| 25 | Northern Michigan University Marquette, MI Public · 4-year | 3.2 years | $14,085 | $52,624 | $21,474 | 52% |
| 26 | Northwood University Midland, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.3 years | $27,232 | $67,409 | $20,842 | 62% |
| 27 | Calvin University Grand Rapids, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.5 years | $22,992 | $60,889 | $23,250 | 76% |
| 28 | Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.7 years | $19,072 | $55,566 | $26,077 | 79% |
| 29 | Spring Arbor University Spring Arbor, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.8 years | $19,353 | $55,203 | $26,375 | 61% |
| 30 | Aquinas College Grand Rapids, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.0 years | $16,626 | $51,578 | $23,000 | 64% |
| 31 | Alma College Alma, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.1 years | $20,694 | $55,040 | $27,000 | 63% |
| 32 | Hope College Holland, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.2 years | $27,182 | $60,573 | $26,800 | 81% |
| 33 | Cornerstone University Grand Rapids, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.5 years | $20,301 | $53,010 | $25,000 | 62% |
| 34 | Adrian College Adrian, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 5.0 years | $25,368 | $55,233 | $27,000 | 52% |
| 35 | Grace Christian University Wyoming, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 5.5 years | $12,404 | $43,821 | $24,375 | 46% |
| 36 | Rochester Christian University Rochester Hills, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 5.6 years | $21,456 | $50,000 | $24,475 | 43% |
| 37 | College for Creative Studies Detroit, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 10.8 years | $34,617 | $47,659 | $26,000 | 70% |
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
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Same list in nearby states
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All 70 colleges in Michigan See the national version of this ranking