Best large universities by ROI
At least 15,000 undergraduates, bachelor’s-predominant, sorted by 10-year ROI.
Method notes
- Underlying institution file: EDsmart Data processed College Scorecard extract merged to IPEDS 2023 directory for HBCU and Carnegie fields.
- ROI column matches the processed college_roi_rankings series in this site build; see College Scorecard ROI methodology.
- School profile links use generated slugs; not every campus has a published profile page yet—use the Scorecard site as fallback.
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Leaderboard
| Rank | Institution | State | Control | Enrollment | Primary metric | Also see |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | GA | Public | 18,785 | $417,020 | Grad 94.0% · Net $12,116 |
| 2 | University of California-Berkeley | CA | Public | 33,068 | $353,372 | Grad 92.8% · Net $13,481 |
| 3 | Cornell University | NY | Private nonprofit | 15,995 | $338,556 | Grad 95.4% · Net $28,690 |
| 4 | CUNY Bernard M Baruch College | NY | Public | 16,154 | $332,190 | Grad 72.1% · Net $3,033 |
| 5 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | CA | Public | 21,996 | $327,034 | Grad 86.4% · Net $16,665 |
| 6 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | MI | Public | 34,177 | $326,971 | Grad 93.2% · Net $13,138 |
| 7 | University of California-San Diego | CA | Public | 34,948 | $319,354 | Grad 86.1% · Net $12,470 |
| 8 | University of Maryland-College Park | MD | Public | 30,760 | $298,522 | Grad 88.6% · Net $15,678 |
| 9 | University of California-Los Angeles | CA | Public | 33,475 | $295,349 | Grad 92.6% · Net $12,548 |
| 10 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | IL | Public | 36,258 | $295,067 | Grad 85.1% · Net $14,355 |
| 11 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | VA | Public | 17,597 | $291,320 | Grad 95.6% · Net $21,565 |
| 12 | University of Florida | FL | Public | 35,629 | $289,958 | Grad 91.1% · Net $6,541 |
| 13 | San Jose State University | CA | Public | 27,601 | $284,194 | Grad 69.2% · Net $13,760 |
| 14 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | WA | Public | 31,942 | $283,648 | Grad 85.2% · Net $14,091 |
| 15 | University of California-Davis | CA | Public | 32,253 | $277,662 | Grad 85.7% · Net $14,741 |
| 16 | Western Governors University | UT | Private nonprofit | 155,088 | $270,388 | Grad 46.2% · Net $12,548 |
| 17 | University of California-Irvine | CA | Public | 30,197 | $270,102 | Grad 86.9% · Net $14,251 |
| 18 | Northeastern University | MA | Private nonprofit | 17,326 | $267,478 | Grad 90.5% · Net $30,915 |
| 19 | CUNY Hunter College | NY | Public | 16,289 | $266,978 | Grad 56.9% · Net $2,984 |
| 20 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | NC | Public | 20,752 | $266,778 | Grad 91.2% · Net $11,655 |
| 21 | University of Southern California | CA | Private nonprofit | 20,443 | $261,940 | Grad 91.8% · Net $32,740 |
| 22 | Purdue University-Main Campus | IN | Public | 44,503 | $260,795 | Grad 83.1% · Net $14,600 |
| 23 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | CA | Public | 25,042 | $259,913 | Grad 68.4% · Net $11,531 |
| 24 | Brigham Young University | UT | Private nonprofit | 32,952 | $255,650 | Grad 81.0% · Net $15,564 |
| 25 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | WI | Public | 36,902 | $255,566 | Grad 89.5% · Net $17,354 |
| 26 | University of California-Santa Barbara | CA | Public | 23,113 | $253,290 | Grad 83.0% · Net $16,109 |
| 27 | George Mason University | VA | Public | 27,752 | $251,850 | Grad 67.8% · Net $17,915 |
| 28 | University of Illinois Chicago | IL | Public | 22,170 | $251,625 | Grad 61.6% · Net $10,974 |
| 29 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | VA | Public | 30,923 | $250,282 | Grad 86.2% · Net $24,953 |
| 30 | Boston University | MA | Private nonprofit | 18,248 | $248,652 | Grad 88.7% · Net $24,402 |
| 31 | California State University-Fullerton | CA | Public | 38,546 | $248,396 | Grad 70.2% · Net $6,555 |
| 32 | University of Delaware | DE | Public | 19,071 | $247,129 | Grad 80.5% · Net $17,799 |
| 33 | University of Georgia | GA | Public | 32,137 | $245,766 | Grad 89.7% · Net $13,936 |
| 34 | Stony Brook University | NY | Public | 18,101 | $245,567 | Grad 75.6% · Net $18,784 |
| 35 | California State University-Sacramento | CA | Public | 28,350 | $244,217 | Grad 56.3% · Net $9,338 |
| 36 | The University of Texas at Arlington | TX | Public | 32,294 | $242,396 | Grad 54.0% · Net $13,951 |
| 37 | The University of Texas at Austin | TX | Public | 42,855 | $241,848 | Grad 88.9% · Net $19,857 |
| 38 | San Francisco State University | CA | Public | 18,639 | $241,362 | Grad 50.4% · Net $12,278 |
| 39 | California State University-Los Angeles | CA | Public | 19,562 | $240,710 | Grad 53.0% · Net $3,967 |
| 40 | California State University-San Bernardino | CA | Public | 15,023 | $234,415 | Grad 54.9% · Net $4,564 |
| 41 | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | MN | Public | 31,855 | $233,570 | Grad 85.3% · Net $16,778 |
| 42 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh | NC | Public | 27,371 | $233,282 | Grad 84.8% · Net $17,303 |
| 43 | California State University-Long Beach | CA | Public | 35,924 | $233,102 | Grad 68.9% · Net $10,440 |
| 44 | Washington State University | WA | Public | 21,099 | $232,562 | Grad 60.5% · Net $14,971 |
| 45 | California State University-Fresno | CA | Public | 21,605 | $226,732 | Grad 57.0% · Net $7,000 |
| 46 | The University of Texas at Dallas | TX | Public | 21,751 | $225,335 | Grad 75.7% · Net $18,267 |
| 47 | University of Utah | UT | Public | 27,264 | $225,018 | Grad 65.0% · Net $16,200 |
| 48 | Florida International University | FL | Public | 39,508 | $224,516 | Grad 74.4% · Net $9,288 |
| 49 | California State University-Northridge | CA | Public | 32,691 | $223,868 | Grad 57.0% · Net $7,021 |
| 50 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | Public | 59,615 | $222,804 | Grad 83.9% · Net $21,315 |
| 51 | Florida State University | FL | Public | 32,212 | $222,714 | Grad 85.6% · Net $11,297 |
| 52 | University of California-Riverside | CA | Public | 22,593 | $222,026 | Grad 76.0% · Net $14,304 |
| 53 | San Diego State University | CA | Public | 35,377 | $221,714 | Grad 76.4% · Net $15,364 |
| 54 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | MA | Public | 23,671 | $219,860 | Grad 83.3% · Net $22,383 |
| 55 | University of Houston | TX | Public | 38,380 | $218,816 | Grad 64.6% · Net $14,276 |
| 56 | University of Connecticut | CT | Public | 19,835 | $218,504 | Grad 83.3% · Net $25,097 |
| 57 | University of South Florida | FL | Public | 37,207 | $218,380 | Grad 76.8% · Net $9,812 |
| 58 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | NJ | Public | 37,751 | $216,913 | Grad 83.6% · Net $24,406 |
| 59 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | Public | 64,674 | $215,990 | Grad 68.0% · Net $14,967 |
| 60 | Clemson University | SC | Public | 23,300 | $215,115 | Grad 86.6% · Net $22,253 |
| 61 | Florida Atlantic University | FL | Public | 23,757 | $213,482 | Grad 62.6% · Net $8,752 |
| 62 | Indiana University-Bloomington | IN | Public | 37,806 | $213,468 | Grad 80.2% · Net $16,264 |
| 63 | University of Central Florida | FL | Public | 59,146 | $211,954 | Grad 78.0% · Net $10,411 |
| 64 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | OK | Public | 22,734 | $210,711 | Grad 75.3% · Net $15,300 |
| 65 | Michigan State University | MI | Public | 40,922 | $210,660 | Grad 80.7% · Net $19,680 |
| 66 | Towson University | MD | Public | 16,136 | $210,653 | Grad 69.5% · Net $17,413 |
| 67 | University at Buffalo | NY | Public | 20,112 | $208,019 | Grad 75.2% · Net $20,995 |
| 68 | University of California-Santa Cruz | CA | Public | 17,940 | $206,322 | Grad 75.1% · Net $17,890 |
| 69 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | TX | Public | 30,580 | $206,258 | Grad 52.6% · Net $10,836 |
| 70 | James Madison University | VA | Public | 20,888 | $202,618 | Grad 79.7% · Net $23,322 |
| 71 | Iowa State University | IA | Public | 25,367 | $200,986 | Grad 75.3% · Net $18,589 |
| 72 | Montclair State University | NJ | Public | 18,376 | $198,638 | Grad 64.7% · Net $15,566 |
| 73 | University of Kansas | KS | Public | 21,217 | $195,436 | Grad 68.8% · Net $18,059 |
| 74 | University of Maryland Global Campus | MD | Public | 49,664 | $195,026 | Grad 33.3% · Net $22,063 |
| 75 | University of Nevada-Reno | NV | Public | 15,599 | $194,851 | Grad 61.2% · Net $15,927 |
| 76 | University of Nevada-Las Vegas | NV | Public | 24,622 | $193,850 | Grad 50.5% · Net $10,359 |
| 77 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | OH | Public | 45,638 | $193,448 | Grad 87.7% · Net $17,339 |
| 78 | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | TX | Public | 28,666 | $192,905 | Grad 50.9% · Net $4,831 |
| 79 | Texas Tech University | TX | Public | 32,394 | $192,353 | Grad 68.7% · Net $19,070 |
| 80 | University of Arizona | AZ | Public | 42,537 | $190,028 | Grad 67.5% · Net $16,674 |
| 81 | University of Colorado Boulder | CO | Public | 31,939 | $189,536 | Grad 74.2% · Net $25,346 |
| 82 | University of Missouri-Columbia | MO | Public | 23,929 | $189,324 | Grad 74.9% · Net $20,268 |
| 83 | Oregon State University | OR | Public | 30,743 | $188,680 | Grad 70.1% · Net $19,604 |
| 84 | Kennesaw State University | GA | Public | 41,254 | $187,954 | Grad 52.2% · Net $15,048 |
| 85 | New York University | NY | Private nonprofit | 28,663 | $187,398 | Grad 87.6% · Net $37,050 |
| 86 | Illinois State University | IL | Public | 19,057 | $186,636 | Grad 64.5% · Net $19,398 |
| 87 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | NC | Public | 24,453 | $186,392 | Grad 69.0% · Net $15,435 |
| 88 | University of North Georgia | GA | Public | 16,146 | $185,713 | Grad 37.3% · Net $9,823 |
| 89 | Wayne State University | MI | Public | 15,587 | $184,988 | Grad 58.4% · Net $12,766 |
| 90 | Northern Arizona University | AZ | Public | 22,903 | $184,290 | Grad 61.3% · Net $14,158 |
| 91 | University of Iowa | IA | Public | 22,264 | $184,174 | Grad 74.6% · Net $22,531 |
| 92 | Old Dominion University | VA | Public | 17,514 | $182,755 | Grad 46.3% · Net $14,638 |
| 93 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | HI | Public | 15,029 | $181,918 | Grad 64.3% · Net $15,664 |
| 94 | Auburn University | AL | Public | 26,816 | $181,146 | Grad 82.0% · Net $24,323 |
| 95 | University of North Texas | TX | Public | 34,341 | $180,506 | Grad 60.7% · Net $15,649 |
| 96 | University of Arkansas | AR | Public | 28,677 | $179,436 | Grad 70.5% · Net $18,209 |
| 97 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | LA | Public | 30,594 | $179,190 | Grad 68.8% · Net $19,151 |
| 98 | West Virginia University | WV | Public | 17,385 | $178,622 | Grad 64.7% · Net $15,634 |
| 99 | Grand Valley State University | MI | Public | 18,854 | $177,776 | Grad 67.0% · Net $16,317 |
| 100 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | WI | Public | 16,758 | $177,770 | Grad 49.3% · Net $15,014 |