Best Value Small Colleges
Small colleges promise close faculty attention, but they rarely compete on price. This ranking asks which of them still deliver good value, by estimating how many years of earnings premium over a high school graduate are needed to repay four years of net price.
We considered 510 four-year colleges with between 500 and 1,999 undergraduates and a graduation rate of at least 40%. The best 50 are listed. The median payback is 4.1 years, the quickest is 0.3 years and the school in 50th place takes 2.2 years. North Florida College ranks first, and California has 7 entries. The median enrollment of qualifying schools is 1,164 undergraduates.
Earnings at small schools come from small groups of graduates and can swing from year to year. Treat close results as ties, and compare programs and campus fit before choosing on value alone.
If a small school appeals to you, ask about advising ratios, internship support and job placement, which numbers like these cannot capture but which often explain a school’s results.
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 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)
- No more than 1,999 undergraduate students enrolled
- 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.
- Enrollment: undergraduate students, fall 2024.
- 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 510 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | North Florida College Madison, FL Public · 4-year · Open admission | 0.3 years | $804 | $45,061 | 793 | 61% |
| 2 | United States Merchant Marine Academy Kings Point, NY Public · 4-year | 0.4 years | $6,174 | $92,950 | 962 | 81% |
| 3 | California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 0.6 years | $16,075 | $152,843 | 987 | 94% |
| 4 | New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology Socorro, NM Public · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 0.7 years | $9,873 | $85,232 | 995 | 57% |
| 5 | Florida Polytechnic University Lakeland, FL Public · 4-year | 0.9 years | $11,853 | $86,952 | 1,689 | 54% |
| 6 | Mount Carmel College of Nursing Columbus, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.0 years | $10,420 | $79,807 | 532 | 64% |
| 7 | Cal Poly Maritime Academy Vallejo, CA Public · 4-year | 1.1 years | $20,555 | $108,757 | 804 | 63% |
| 8 | Maine Maritime Academy Castine, ME Public · 4-year | 1.2 years | $23,414 | $113,298 | 942 | 60% |
| 9 | Christian Brothers University Memphis, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.2 years | $9,854 | $68,058 | 905 | 55% |
| 10 | Baptist Health Sciences University Memphis, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.2 years | $11,212 | $73,191 | 770 | 46% |
| 11 | SUNY Maritime College Throggs Neck, NY Public · 4-year | 1.3 years | $22,367 | $104,752 | 1,285 | 70% |
| 12 | University of St Francis Joliet, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.3 years | $13,006 | $75,229 | 1,223 | 66% |
| 13 | The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art New York, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.3 years | $13,269 | $75,729 | 842 | 81% |
| 14 | Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.4 years | $14,398 | $79,722 | 1,873 | 95% |
| 15 | Montana Technological University Butte, MT Public · 4-year | 1.4 years | $16,481 | $79,369 | 1,480 | 58% |
| 16 | Massachusetts Maritime Academy Buzzards Bay, MA Public · 4-year | 1.4 years | $21,582 | $103,680 | 1,395 | 77% |
| 17 | Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Winona, MN Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.4 years | $11,704 | $72,502 | 1,073 | 67% |
| 18 | Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.4 years | $35,924 | $137,100 | 921 | 93% |
| 19 | Alpena Community College Alpena, MI Public · 4-year · Open admission | 1.4 years | $3,320 | $44,378 | 732 | 51% |
| 20 | Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.5 years | $23,781 | $100,514 | 1,881 | 94% |
| 21 | SUNY Polytechnic Institute Utica, NY Public · 4-year | 1.5 years | $14,164 | $73,730 | 1,849 | 57% |
| 22 | Mississippi University for Women Columbus, MS Public · 4-year | 1.5 years | $12,411 | $62,987 | 1,605 | 42% |
| 23 | Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Wake Forest, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.5 years | $13,090 | $69,450 | 585 | 54% |
| 24 | Elizabeth City State University Elizabeth City, NC Public · 4-year · HBCU | 1.6 years | $6,364 | $50,194 | 1,975 | 46% |
| 25 | Trinity Washington University Washington, DC Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 1.6 years | $9,302 | $64,019 | 1,414 | 47% |
| 26 | Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.6 years | $28,849 | $110,798 | 1,388 | 93% |
| 27 | D'Youville University Buffalo, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.7 years | $20,433 | $84,182 | 1,258 | 62% |
| 28 | New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary New Orleans, LA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Open admission | 1.7 years | $10,829 | $59,131 | 865 | 51% |
| 29 | Ursuline College Pepper Pike, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.7 years | $16,164 | $73,605 | 670 | 61% |
| 30 | Davidson College Davidson, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.8 years | $17,379 | $72,718 | 1,867 | 91% |
| 31 | Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA Public · 4-year | 1.8 years | $17,113 | $75,027 | 1,527 | 79% |
| 32 | University of Baltimore Baltimore, MD Public · 4-year | 1.8 years | $13,868 | $67,949 | 1,133 | 43% |
| 33 | Montana State University-Northern Havre, MT Public · 4-year · Open admission | 1.8 years | $12,664 | $60,505 | 761 | 42% |
| 34 | Clarkson College Omaha, NE Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.8 years | $19,241 | $80,614 | 622 | 67% |
| 35 | Pomona College Claremont, CA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.9 years | $19,285 | $77,544 | 1,666 | 93% |
| 36 | The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences Cincinnati, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.9 years | $18,378 | $74,804 | 713 | 58% |
| 37 | University of Minnesota-Crookston Crookston, MN Public · 4-year | 2.0 years | $12,212 | $62,786 | 1,729 | 50% |
| 38 | Mount Saint Mary's University Los Angeles, CA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 2.0 years | $21,413 | $79,546 | 1,719 | 53% |
| 39 | Andrews University Berrien Springs, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.0 years | $12,547 | $60,517 | 1,224 | 69% |
| 40 | Mercy College of Ohio Toledo, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.0 years | $17,989 | $71,303 | 939 | 49% |
| 41 | Hallmark University San Antonio, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 2.0 years | $12,513 | $59,410 | 769 | 67% |
| 42 | Notre Dame of Maryland University Baltimore, MD Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.0 years | $19,169 | $75,732 | 709 | 51% |
| 43 | Good Samaritan College of Nursing and Health Science Cincinnati, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.0 years | $19,622 | $75,464 | 690 | 64% |
| 44 | Kettering College Kettering, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.0 years | $21,650 | $80,027 | 549 | 65% |
| 45 | Fresno Pacific University Fresno, CA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 2.1 years | $13,630 | $63,285 | 1,544 | 53% |
| 46 | Concordia University-Chicago River Forest, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | 2.1 years | $18,436 | $71,699 | 1,323 | 41% |
| 47 | Kettering University Flint, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.1 years | $34,660 | $99,943 | 1,205 | 71% |
| 48 | Gwynedd Mercy University Gwynedd Valley, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.1 years | $27,483 | $89,170 | 1,067 | 58% |
| 49 | Daemen University Amherst, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.2 years | $18,693 | $70,310 | 1,643 | 59% |
| 50 | William Jewell College Liberty, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.2 years | $17,562 | $66,965 | 924 | 64% |
States with schools on this list
Browse every college in these states.