Best Value Colleges in Virginia
We estimate how many years the earnings premium over a typical Virginia high school graduate would take to repay four years of net price. Across the 33 public and private nonprofit colleges that qualify, the estimate runs from 1.5 years at the fastest to 11.1 years at the slowest.
The median college needs 3.6 years to repay its net price, 0.4 years longer than the national median of 3.2 years. Public colleges (14) have a median payback of 2.7 years against 4.0 years for the 19 private nonprofit colleges, so public options tend to repay faster here.
Washington and Lee University ranks first at 1.5 years, ahead of University of Virginia-Main Campus (1.6 years) and George Mason University (1.7 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 Virginia
- 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; Virginia has 33
- 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 33 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.5 years | $23,781 | $100,514 | $19,500 | 94% |
| 2 | University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA Public · 4-year | 1.6 years | $21,565 | $91,448 | $17,500 | 95% |
| 3 | George Mason University Fairfax, VA Public · 4-year | 1.7 years | $17,915 | $78,425 | $19,500 | 69% |
| 4 | William & Mary Williamsburg, VA Public · 4-year | 1.7 years | $19,096 | $80,445 | $18,500 | 90% |
| 5 | Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA Public · 4-year | 1.8 years | $17,113 | $75,027 | $22,996 | 79% |
| 6 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA Public · 4-year | 2.0 years | $24,953 | $85,647 | $21,500 | 86% |
| 7 | Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA Public · 4-year | 2.1 years | $14,638 | $64,472 | $24,000 | 45% |
| 8 | University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.6 years | $31,309 | $84,260 | $21,000 | 86% |
| 9 | Hampden-Sydney College Hampden-Sydney, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.6 years | $22,400 | $71,699 | $26,000 | 64% |
| 10 | James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA Public · 4-year | 2.7 years | $23,322 | $70,627 | $20,093 | 80% |
| 11 | Radford University Radford, VA Public · 4-year | 2.7 years | $14,578 | $57,832 | $24,000 | 49% |
| 12 | Marymount University Arlington, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.1 years | $29,137 | $74,242 | $25,000 | 56% |
| 13 | Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA Public · 4-year | 3.3 years | $23,433 | $64,703 | $21,500 | 64% |
| 14 | University of Virginia's College at Wise Wise, VA Public · 4-year | 3.3 years | $9,210 | $47,686 | $16,750 | 48% |
| 15 | Mary Baldwin University Staunton, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.5 years | $12,756 | $51,402 | $26,586 | 43% |
| 16 | Christopher Newport University Newport News, VA Public · 4-year | 3.6 years | $23,015 | $62,140 | $25,000 | 73% |
| 17 | University of Mary Washington Fredericksburg, VA Public · 4-year | 3.6 years | $20,667 | $59,661 | $20,500 | 67% |
| 18 | University of Lynchburg Lynchburg, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.7 years | $22,235 | $60,701 | $27,000 | 60% |
| 19 | Bridgewater College Bridgewater, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.7 years | $17,800 | $55,722 | $26,000 | 51% |
| 20 | Averett University Danville, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.9 years | $22,925 | $59,911 | $25,000 | 46% |
| 21 | Regent University Virginia Beach, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.0 years | $19,923 | $56,558 | $24,534 | 56% |
| 22 | Hampton University Hampton, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.0 years | $25,319 | $61,865 | $25,442 | 56% |
| 23 | Virginia State University Petersburg, VA Public · 4-year | 4.2 years | $15,840 | $51,739 | $26,500 | 40% |
| 24 | Shenandoah University Winchester, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.2 years | $30,298 | $65,784 | $25,000 | 69% |
| 25 | Eastern Mennonite University Harrisonburg, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.2 years | $24,588 | $60,150 | $24,813 | 57% |
| 26 | Longwood University Farmville, VA Public · 4-year | 4.4 years | $19,066 | $54,005 | $25,000 | 61% |
| 27 | Randolph-Macon College Ashland, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.4 years | $27,866 | $61,824 | $27,000 | 72% |
| 28 | Randolph College Lynchburg, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.5 years | $15,921 | $50,675 | $26,950 | 49% |
| 29 | Roanoke College Salem, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.8 years | $24,503 | $56,840 | $27,000 | 67% |
| 30 | Liberty University Lynchburg, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 5.6 years | $29,357 | $57,700 | $24,500 | 64% |
| 31 | Virginia Wesleyan University Virginia Beach, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 5.8 years | $19,676 | $50,183 | $27,000 | 46% |
| 32 | Emory & Henry University Emory, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 7.3 years | $19,061 | $47,079 | $26,332 | 55% |
| 33 | Hollins University Roanoke, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 11.1 years | $20,896 | $44,151 | $27,000 | 67% |
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 60 colleges in Virginia See the national version of this ranking