Best Value Hispanic-Serving Institutions
Hispanic-Serving Institutions enroll a large share of Latino students and are a major route into the middle class. This ranking looks at four-year HSIs and estimates how many years of earnings premium it takes to repay four years of net price. A smaller number means better value.
We evaluated 188 four-year HSIs with at least 500 undergraduates and a graduation rate of 40% or more, and list the best 50. The median payback is 2.3 years, the quickest is 0.3 years, and the 50th school takes 1.6 years. CUNY Hunter College ranks first, and California has the most entries with 21. The median Pell share is 41%, so many students here rely on need-based aid.
The HSI label is a federal designation based on enrollment, not a measure of quality. Check graduation rates and program earnings on each profile, and read the guide on Hispanic-Serving Institutions for how the designation works.
Many HSIs are community-oriented and commuter-friendly, so pay attention to the net price columns and check whether bilingual advising and transfer pathways are available.
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- 4-year Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)
- 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.
- Pell share: undergraduates receiving Pell Grants, academic year 2023-24.
- 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 188 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | CUNY Hunter College New York, NY Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 0.3 years | $2,984 | $73,236 | 56% | 59% |
| 2 | CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 0.3 years | $3,033 | $82,748 | 57% | 72% |
| 3 | Skyline College San Bruno, CA Public · 4-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | 0.3 years | $1,738 | $59,341 | 10% | 43% |
| 4 | CUNY Queens College Queens, NY Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 0.5 years | $4,195 | $68,713 | 47% | 56% |
| 5 | CUNY City College New York, NY Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 0.5 years | $3,776 | $67,740 | 61% | 56% |
| 6 | CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 0.5 years | $3,203 | $60,020 | 60% | 56% |
| 7 | CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 0.5 years | $3,148 | $63,353 | 60% | 50% |
| 8 | California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 0.7 years | $3,967 | $59,756 | 66% | 53% |
| 9 | Purdue University Northwest Hammond, IN Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 0.7 years | $6,079 | $73,337 | 28% | 43% |
| 10 | New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology Socorro, NM Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 0.7 years | $9,873 | $85,232 | 30% | 57% |
| 11 | Texas A & M International University Laredo, TX Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 0.9 years | $3,637 | $50,288 | 65% | 48% |
| 12 | Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus Portales, NM Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 0.9 years | $4,904 | $54,827 | 36% | 42% |
| 13 | University of North Texas at Dallas Dallas, TX Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 0.9 years | $6,420 | $62,574 | 54% | 43% |
| 14 | California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.0 years | $6,555 | $63,753 | 48% | 70% |
| 15 | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.0 years | $4,831 | $53,888 | 65% | 50% |
| 16 | San Jose State University San Jose, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.0 years | $13,760 | $89,614 | 35% | 67% |
| 17 | California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.0 years | $4,564 | $55,441 | 58% | 55% |
| 18 | California State University-East Bay Hayward, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.0 years | $9,320 | $72,596 | 44% | 47% |
| 19 | California State University-Bakersfield Bakersfield, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.0 years | $5,652 | $59,109 | 61% | 50% |
| 20 | University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.1 years | $12,470 | $83,130 | 34% | 87% |
| 21 | California State University-Stanislaus Turlock, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.1 years | $6,067 | $58,952 | 55% | 56% |
| 22 | South Florida State College Avon Park, FL Public · 4-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | 1.1 years | $3,877 | $48,619 | 43% | 49% |
| 23 | University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.2 years | $12,548 | $77,677 | 28% | 93% |
| 24 | California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.2 years | $7,021 | $59,664 | 56% | 57% |
| 25 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.2 years | $10,974 | $72,839 | 49% | 61% |
| 26 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.2 years | $16,665 | $90,662 | 19% | 86% |
| 27 | California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.2 years | $7,000 | $59,992 | 57% | 56% |
| 28 | Indian River State College Fort Pierce, FL Public · 4-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | 1.2 years | $3,815 | $47,615 | 34% | 44% |
| 29 | New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, NJ Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.2 years | $16,504 | $91,874 | 40% | 73% |
| 30 | Pasco-Hernando State College New Port Richey, FL Public · 4-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | 1.2 years | $5,203 | $51,981 | 29% | 42% |
| 31 | Florida International University Miami, FL Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.3 years | $9,288 | $62,192 | 41% | 74% |
| 32 | The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.3 years | $13,951 | $79,176 | 42% | 55% |
| 33 | California State University-San Marcos San Marcos, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.3 years | $10,229 | $67,891 | 43% | 54% |
| 34 | University of St Francis Joliet, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.3 years | $13,006 | $75,229 | 39% | 66% |
| 35 | California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.4 years | $9,338 | $64,511 | 49% | 56% |
| 36 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.4 years | $11,531 | $71,138 | 46% | 68% |
| 37 | Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.4 years | $8,752 | $59,690 | 34% | 63% |
| 38 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.4 years | $11,900 | $74,059 | 26% | 47% |
| 39 | Saint Xavier University Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.4 years | $10,970 | $66,961 | 59% | 58% |
| 40 | University of Central Florida Orlando, FL Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.5 years | $10,411 | $61,355 | 32% | 77% |
| 41 | University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.5 years | $14,251 | $74,438 | 36% | 86% |
| 42 | Portland State University Portland, OR Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.5 years | $9,552 | $62,060 | 42% | 53% |
| 43 | Farmingdale State College Farmingdale, NY Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.5 years | $10,867 | $65,444 | 36% | 55% |
| 44 | California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.6 years | $10,440 | $63,140 | 50% | 69% |
| 45 | University of California-Davis Davis, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.6 years | $14,741 | $73,086 | 31% | 85% |
| 46 | University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.6 years | $10,359 | $62,637 | 40% | 50% |
| 47 | The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.6 years | $9,403 | $58,771 | 62% | 48% |
| 48 | San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.6 years | $12,278 | $67,804 | 42% | 50% |
| 49 | California State University-Dominguez Hills Carson, CA Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.6 years | $8,615 | $58,922 | 63% | 45% |
| 50 | New Mexico State University-Main Campus Las Cruces, NM Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.6 years | $8,889 | $54,874 | 38% | 54% |
States with schools on this list
Browse every college in these states.