College finder: search by cost, graduation rate and earnings
Narrow thousands of U.S. colleges by cost, graduation rate and graduate earnings, then open a profile to see the full picture.
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How the college finder works
The finder loads a compact table of main-campus colleges from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard and filters it in your browser, so results update instantly and nothing you choose is sent anywhere.
You can combine filters: for example public 4-year colleges in Ohio with a net price under $15,000 and a graduation rate above 60 percent. The count at the top shows how many schools match, and the list shows the first one hundred, with a button for more.
Net price is the average yearly price after grants and scholarships for students who received federal aid. Graduation rate is the share of students who finish within 150 percent of normal time, and earnings are the median pay of graduates four years after they finish.
How to read the results
Use the filters to build a shortlist, not a final answer. A college that tops one list can sit at the bottom of another, so look at cost, completion and earnings together.
Open admission means the school accepts most students who apply, so the acceptance rate is not shown. Colleges missing a value are hidden when you filter on that value, because we do not guess missing data.
When a few schools look promising, open each profile for net price by income, admissions and program-level earnings, then add them to the compare tray to see them side by side.
Frequently asked questions
Which colleges are included?
U.S. degree-granting colleges that participate in federal student aid and have cost data plus either admissions or earnings data in the College Scorecard. Only main campuses are listed here.
Why are some colleges missing when I filter by earnings?
The Scorecard does not report earnings for every school, mainly when too few graduates were tracked. We hide those schools rather than show a made-up number.
Is the net price for in-state students?
At public colleges, yes. Net price at public colleges reflects in-state students, so out-of-state students usually pay more.
What do HBCU and HSI mean?
HBCU stands for historically Black college or university. HSI stands for Hispanic-Serving Institution, a school where Hispanic students make up at least a quarter of full-time undergraduates. Both flags come from federal data.
How often is the data updated?
The Scorecard is refreshed by the Department of Education about once a year, and we rebuild the site after each release. See the methodology page for details.
Related guides and tools
Data: College Scorecard, June 2026