Best Value Private Colleges: Earnings vs. Cost
Private colleges cost more up front, so the question is whether higher earnings pay the difference back. For each school we estimate the years needed for the earnings premium over a typical high school graduate in the same state to repay four years of net price. Among private nonprofit colleges it runs from 0.3 years to 35.7 years.
This ranking covers 741 private nonprofit four-year colleges with at least 500 undergraduates and a graduation rate of 40% or more, and shows the best 50. The median payback is 3.7 years, and the school in 50th place needs 1.8 years. Princeton University comes first. New York leads with 7 entries. The median net price of qualifying schools is $24,488.
Strong results often come from a mix of heavy aid and highly paid majors, so the figure says little about any single program. Open a profile to see program-level earnings and compare them with your intended major.
Compare the top private schools here with the best-value public colleges ranking, and note how often the public option repays its cost sooner for in-state students.
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- 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
- At least 500 undergraduate students enrolled (fall 2024)
- Graduation rate of 40% or higher
- A reported payback value (schools without one are not ranked)
- 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 the top 50 of 741 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Princeton University Princeton, NJ Private nonprofit · 4-year | 0.3 years | $6,128 | $108,590 | $10,320 | 97% |
| 2 | University of Chicago Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 0.6 years | $14,860 | $127,757 | $15,000 | 95% |
| 3 | Stanford University Stanford, CA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 0.6 years | $13,807 | $136,959 | $12,000 | 92% |
| 4 | California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 0.6 years | $16,075 | $152,843 | — | 94% |
| 5 | Rice University Houston, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | 0.7 years | $13,370 | $110,080 | $11,000 | 95% |
| 6 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 0.7 years | $20,111 | $161,961 | $14,768 | 96% |
| 7 | Harvard University Cambridge, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 0.8 years | $19,066 | $134,794 | $14,000 | 97% |
| 8 | Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD Private nonprofit · 4-year | 0.9 years | $18,809 | $117,419 | $10,250 | 94% |
| 9 | Western Governors University Salt Lake City, UT Private nonprofit · 4-year · Open admission | 1.0 years | $12,548 | $87,445 | $11,116 | 48% |
| 10 | Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.0 years | $15,846 | $101,204 | $14,000 | 93% |
| 11 | Mount Carmel College of Nursing Columbus, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.0 years | $10,420 | $79,807 | $22,082 | 64% |
| 12 | Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.1 years | $21,590 | $115,519 | $21,500 | 96% |
| 13 | Holy Family University Philadelphia, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.1 years | $13,143 | $82,892 | $25,125 | 61% |
| 14 | Christian Brothers University Memphis, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.2 years | $9,854 | $68,058 | $27,000 | 55% |
| 15 | Baptist Health Sciences University Memphis, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.2 years | $11,212 | $73,191 | $29,500 | 46% |
| 16 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.3 years | $28,699 | $124,586 | $15,715 | 97% |
| 17 | Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.3 years | $31,944 | $132,971 | $21,750 | 93% |
| 18 | Yale University New Haven, CT Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.3 years | $23,777 | $112,971 | $12,975 | 96% |
| 19 | Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.3 years | $18,425 | $91,312 | $25,000 | 74% |
| 20 | University of Tulsa Tulsa, OK Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.3 years | $15,000 | $79,396 | $21,500 | 73% |
| 21 | University of St Francis Joliet, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.3 years | $13,006 | $75,229 | $21,079 | 66% |
| 22 | The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art New York, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.3 years | $13,269 | $75,729 | $15,000 | 81% |
| 23 | Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.4 years | $21,786 | $95,899 | $17,500 | 94% |
| 24 | Saint Xavier University Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.4 years | $10,970 | $66,961 | $22,223 | 58% |
| 25 | University of Detroit Mercy Detroit, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.4 years | $15,232 | $78,953 | $23,250 | 68% |
| 26 | Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.4 years | $14,398 | $79,722 | $18,500 | 95% |
| 27 | Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Winona, MN Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.4 years | $11,704 | $72,502 | $21,500 | 67% |
| 28 | Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.4 years | $35,924 | $137,100 | $25,000 | 93% |
| 29 | Cornell University Ithaca, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.5 years | $28,690 | $113,372 | $14,000 | 95% |
| 30 | Duke University Durham, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.5 years | $29,612 | $115,722 | $13,000 | 96% |
| 31 | Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.5 years | $23,781 | $100,514 | $19,500 | 94% |
| 32 | Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Wake Forest, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.5 years | $13,090 | $69,450 | — | 54% |
| 33 | Brigham Young University Provo, UT Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.6 years | $15,564 | $77,018 | $11,069 | 82% |
| 34 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.6 years | $29,167 | $109,275 | $15,000 | 96% |
| 35 | Emory University Atlanta, GA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.6 years | $22,585 | $90,139 | $18,250 | 91% |
| 36 | Molloy University Rockville Centre, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.6 years | $24,347 | $96,058 | $27,000 | 71% |
| 37 | Trinity Washington University Washington, DC Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.6 years | $9,302 | $64,019 | $28,250 | 47% |
| 38 | Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.6 years | $28,849 | $110,798 | $13,500 | 93% |
| 39 | University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.7 years | $26,780 | $100,684 | $19,000 | 96% |
| 40 | Dartmouth College Hanover, NH Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.7 years | $29,519 | $111,883 | $17,500 | 96% |
| 41 | Milwaukee School of Engineering Milwaukee, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.7 years | $22,453 | $90,607 | $27,000 | 69% |
| 42 | Colby College Waterville, ME Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.7 years | $17,180 | $77,429 | $19,157 | 89% |
| 43 | D'Youville University Buffalo, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.7 years | $20,433 | $84,182 | $25,000 | 62% |
| 44 | New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary New Orleans, LA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Open admission | 1.7 years | $10,829 | $59,131 | — | 51% |
| 45 | Ursuline College Pepper Pike, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.7 years | $16,164 | $73,605 | $26,250 | 61% |
| 46 | Maryville University of Saint Louis Saint Louis, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.8 years | $22,066 | $84,871 | $22,000 | 69% |
| 47 | University of Mount Saint Vincent Bronx, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.8 years | $21,696 | $83,648 | $25,000 | 57% |
| 48 | Regis University Denver, CO Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.8 years | $18,397 | $81,785 | $25,000 | 61% |
| 49 | Utica University Utica, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.8 years | $19,108 | $77,491 | $22,500 | 56% |
| 50 | Saint Peter's University Jersey City, NJ Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.8 years | $12,199 | $64,352 | $20,500 | 61% |
By state
State versions of this ranking:
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