Colleges in Virginia With the Highest Graduate Earnings
Median earnings four years after graduation at the 40 four-year colleges we rank in Virginia run from $100,514 at the top to $35,696 at the bottom, a spread of $64,818.
The median college sits at $58,747, within a few percent of the national median of $59,403. Private nonprofit colleges (23) have a median of $56,840 and public colleges (15) a median of $64,472, and the typical net price across the list is $21,231.
Washington and Lee University ranks first at $100,514, ahead of University of Virginia-Main Campus ($91,448) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University ($85,647).
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- All 4-year colleges (public, private nonprofit and for-profit)
- Ranked by earnings after 4 years, highest 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)
- A reported earnings after 4 years value (schools without one are not ranked)
- This page is published only when at least 15 schools qualify; Virginia has 40
- Data period
- Earnings: median earnings four years after completing, measured in 2022 and 2023 for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 cohorts, in 2024 dollars.
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- 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.
- Enrollment: undergraduate students, fall 2024.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing all 40 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $100,514 | $23,781 | $19,500 | 94% | 1,881 |
| 2 | University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA Public · 4-year | $91,448 | $21,565 | $17,500 | 95% | 17,597 |
| 3 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA Public · 4-year | $85,647 | $24,953 | $21,500 | 86% | 30,923 |
| 4 | University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $84,260 | $31,309 | $21,000 | 86% | 2,980 |
| 5 | William & Mary Williamsburg, VA Public · 4-year | $80,445 | $19,096 | $18,500 | 90% | 7,055 |
| 6 | George Mason University Fairfax, VA Public · 4-year | $78,425 | $17,915 | $19,500 | 69% | 27,752 |
| 7 | Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA Public · 4-year | $75,027 | $17,113 | $22,996 | 79% | 1,527 |
| 8 | Marymount University Arlington, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $74,242 | $29,137 | $25,000 | 56% | 1,810 |
| 9 | Hampden-Sydney College Hampden-Sydney, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $71,699 | $22,400 | $26,000 | 64% | 946 |
| 10 | James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA Public · 4-year | $70,627 | $23,322 | $20,093 | 80% | 20,888 |
| 11 | Shenandoah University Winchester, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $65,784 | $30,298 | $25,000 | 69% | 2,116 |
| 12 | Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA Public · 4-year | $64,703 | $23,433 | $21,500 | 64% | 20,753 |
| 13 | Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA Public · 4-year | $64,472 | $14,638 | $24,000 | 45% | 17,514 |
| 14 | Christopher Newport University Newport News, VA Public · 4-year | $62,140 | $23,015 | $25,000 | 73% | 4,365 |
| 15 | Hampton University Hampton, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $61,865 | $25,319 | $25,442 | 56% | 3,727 |
| 16 | Randolph-Macon College Ashland, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $61,824 | $27,866 | $27,000 | 72% | 1,639 |
| 17 | University of Lynchburg Lynchburg, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $60,701 | $22,235 | $27,000 | 60% | 1,577 |
| 18 | Eastern Mennonite University Harrisonburg, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $60,150 | $24,588 | $24,813 | 57% | 754 |
| 19 | Averett University Danville, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $59,911 | $22,925 | $25,000 | 46% | 1,231 |
| 20 | University of Mary Washington Fredericksburg, VA Public · 4-year | $59,661 | $20,667 | $20,500 | 67% | 3,566 |
| 21 | Radford University Radford, VA Public · 4-year | $57,832 | $14,578 | $24,000 | 49% | 6,038 |
| 22 | Liberty University Lynchburg, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $57,700 | $29,357 | $24,500 | 64% | 50,012 |
| 23 | Roanoke College Salem, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $56,840 | $24,503 | $27,000 | 67% | 1,767 |
| 24 | Regent University Virginia Beach, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $56,558 | $19,923 | $24,534 | 56% | 4,729 |
| 25 | Bridgewater College Bridgewater, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $55,722 | $17,800 | $26,000 | 51% | 1,400 |
| 26 | ECPI University Virginia Beach, VA For-profit · 4-year | $54,409 | $22,965 | $20,000 | 44% | 12,090 |
| 27 | Longwood University Farmville, VA Public · 4-year | $54,005 | $19,066 | $25,000 | 61% | 3,015 |
| 28 | Bluefield University Bluefield, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $53,206 | $25,573 | $21,855 | 22% | 614 |
| 29 | Norfolk State University Norfolk, VA Public · 4-year | $52,371 | $15,282 | $29,000 | 36% | 5,392 |
| 30 | Virginia State University Petersburg, VA Public · 4-year | $51,739 | $15,840 | $26,500 | 40% | 5,074 |
| 31 | Mary Baldwin University Staunton, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $51,402 | $12,756 | $26,586 | 43% | 1,090 |
| 32 | Virginia Union University Richmond, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $50,840 | $13,235 | $29,000 | 39% | 1,203 |
| 33 | Randolph College Lynchburg, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $50,675 | $15,921 | $26,950 | 49% | 658 |
| 34 | Virginia Wesleyan University Virginia Beach, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $50,183 | $19,676 | $27,000 | 46% | 1,256 |
| 35 | University of Virginia's College at Wise Wise, VA Public · 4-year | $47,686 | $9,210 | $16,750 | 48% | 1,101 |
| 36 | Emory & Henry University Emory, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $47,079 | $19,061 | $26,332 | 55% | 1,078 |
| 37 | Ferrum College Ferrum, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $46,725 | $20,082 | $27,000 | 30% | 699 |
| 38 | Southern Virginia University Buena Vista, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $44,267 | $22,213 | $24,224 | 36% | 936 |
| 39 | Hollins University Roanoke, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $44,151 | $20,896 | $27,000 | 67% | 665 |
| 40 | American National University Salem, VA For-profit · 4-year | $35,696 | $18,036 | $12,814 | 31% | 630 |
How to compare these colleges
High earnings partly reflect who enrolls and what they study: engineering, nursing and business programs usually pay more than education or the arts, so a school with strong health or technical programs can top the list. Read the earnings next to net price, debt and graduation rate, because earnings count only people who finished, and four years after graduation is early in a career.
Guides worth reading first
More lists for Virginia
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Cheap colleges in Virginia for out-of-state students
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Best value colleges in Virginia
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Most affordable private colleges in Virginia
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Same list in nearby states
Highest graduate earnings in North Carolina
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Highest graduate earnings in Tennessee
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Highest graduate earnings in Kentucky
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All 60 colleges in Virginia See the national version of this ranking