College ranking

Middle-class affordability (net price)

College Scorecard + IPEDS Last updated: May 2026

Executive Summary

Every campus is sorted on net price for the $48,001–$75,000 family-income band, read from the public band for public institutions and the private band for private nonprofit and for-profit schools. Where a school does not publish that band we fall back to average net price overall, and the table labels which figure each row uses. Lower is better, and a negative net price means reported grant aid exceeded the published cost of attendance. Williams College leads this list at −$1,978 (Net Price).

Top 100 Middle-class affordability (net price)

Rank	Institution	State	Control	Enrollment	Net Price	Also see
1	Williams College	MA	Private nonprofit	2,076	−$1,978	Mid-income band · ROI $310,212
2	University of Chicago	IL	Private nonprofit	7,569	$226	Mid-income band · ROI $359,160
3	California Institute of Technology	CA	Private nonprofit	987	$431	Mid-income band · ROI $595,878
4	College of Biblical Studies-Houston	TX	Private nonprofit	419	$672	Avg net (overall) · ROI $180,061
5	Princeton University	NJ	Private nonprofit	5,709	$1,217	Mid-income band · ROI $490,486
6	Texas A&M University-Central Texas	TX	Public	1,750	$1,300	Avg net (overall) · ROI $262,564
7	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	MA	Private nonprofit	4,535	$1,480	Mid-income band · ROI $582,508
8	Harvard University	MA	Private nonprofit	7,601	$2,091	Mid-income band · ROI $408,944
9	Indiana University-Kokomo	IN	Public	2,352	$2,375	Mid-income band · ROI $210,106
10	Dartmouth College	NH	Private nonprofit	4,541	$2,695	Mid-income band · ROI $318,178
11	Pillar College	NJ	Private nonprofit	498	$3,181	Mid-income band · ROI $161,879
12	Stanford University	CA	Private nonprofit	7,554	$3,212	Mid-income band · ROI $491,118
13	University of Minnesota-Morris	MN	Public	936	$3,213	Mid-income band · ROI $193,204
14	Rice University	TX	Private nonprofit	4,776	$3,217	Mid-income band · ROI $344,734
15	Colby College	ME	Private nonprofit	2,407	$3,666	Mid-income band · ROI $260,943
16	University of Michigan-Flint	MI	Public	4,411	$3,752	Mid-income band · ROI $216,868
17	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus	OH	Public	691	$3,791	Mid-income band · ROI $228,596
18	Texas A & M International University	TX	Public	6,667	$3,840	Mid-income band · ROI $197,116
19	University of Maine at Fort Kent	ME	Public	599	$4,122	Mid-income band · ROI $242,829
20	Johns Hopkins University	MD	Private nonprofit	5,693	$4,179	Mid-income band · ROI $355,394
21	Washington and Lee University	VA	Private nonprofit	1,881	$4,497	Mid-income band · ROI $317,628
22	Vanderbilt University	TN	Private nonprofit	7,208	$4,498	Mid-income band · ROI $338,065
23	Rabbinical Seminary of America	NY	Private nonprofit	397	$4,585	Mid-income band · ROI —
24	Uta Mesivta of Kiryas Joel	NY	Private nonprofit	2,957	$4,617	Mid-income band · ROI $125,106
25	California State University-San Bernardino	CA	Public	15,023	$4,735	Mid-income band · ROI $234,415
26	New College of Florida	FL	Public	843	$4,880	Mid-income band · ROI $169,122
27	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	MI	Public	34,177	$4,895	Mid-income band · ROI $326,971
28	Caribbean University-Ponce	PR	Private nonprofit	414	$4,964	Avg net (overall) · ROI $78,882
29	California State University-Los Angeles	CA	Public	19,562	$5,002	Mid-income band · ROI $240,710
30	University of New Hampshire at Manchester	NH	Public	443	$5,018	Mid-income band · ROI $247,095
31	College of the Ozarks	MO	Private nonprofit	1,444	$5,022	Mid-income band · ROI $166,664
32	Indiana University-Northwest	IN	Public	2,661	$5,159	Mid-income band · ROI $181,454
33	University of Florida-Online	FL	Public	4,627	$5,171	Mid-income band · ROI $298,588
34	Wilberforce University	OH	Private nonprofit	822	$5,211	Mid-income band · ROI $145,411
35	Kentucky State University	KY	Public	1,309	$5,256	Mid-income band · ROI $126,803
36	Northeastern University	MA	Private nonprofit	17,326	$5,301	Mid-income band · ROI $267,478
37	Elizabeth City State University	NC	Public	1,975	$5,354	Mid-income band · ROI $151,605
38	Jarvis Christian University	TX	Private nonprofit	577	$5,364	Mid-income band · ROI $101,038
39	Washington University in St Louis	MO	Private nonprofit	7,857	$5,578	Mid-income band · ROI $300,146
40	Be'er Yaakov Talmudic Seminary	NY	Private nonprofit	765	$5,610	Mid-income band · ROI $87,270
41	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley	TX	Public	28,666	$5,665	Mid-income band · ROI $192,905
42	Duke University	NC	Private nonprofit	6,442	$5,706	Mid-income band · ROI $319,092
43	California State University-Bakersfield	CA	Public	8,577	$5,835	Mid-income band · ROI $229,018
44	Brown University	RI	Private nonprofit	7,226	$5,858	Mid-income band · ROI $301,423
45	Columbia University in the City of New York	NY	Private nonprofit	8,973	$5,866	Mid-income band · ROI $375,459
46	United States Merchant Marine Academy	NY	Public	962	$5,897	Mid-income band · ROI $443,240
47	William & Mary	VA	Public	7,055	$5,916	Mid-income band · ROI $244,636
48	California State University-Stanislaus	CA	Public	8,385	$5,947	Mid-income band · ROI $246,046
49	Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus	NM	Public	3,357	$5,960	Mid-income band · ROI $156,594
50	Louisiana State University-Shreveport	LA	Public	2,153	$5,969	Mid-income band · ROI $181,428
51	CUNY Hunter College	NY	Public	16,289	$6,003	Mid-income band · ROI $266,978
52	Dalton State College	GA	Public	4,553	$6,042	Mid-income band · ROI $169,493
53	California State University-Fullerton	CA	Public	38,546	$6,090	Mid-income band · ROI $248,396
54	Wesleyan University	CT	Private nonprofit	3,067	$6,175	Mid-income band · ROI $191,818
55	Michigan Technological University	MI	Public	5,955	$6,187	Mid-income band · ROI $302,153
56	CUNY Brooklyn College	NY	Public	10,543	$6,193	Mid-income band · ROI $251,864
57	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College	NY	Public	16,154	$6,312	Mid-income band · ROI $332,190
58	Talmudical Seminary of Bobov	NY	Private nonprofit	602	$6,547	Mid-income band · ROI $91,821
59	Smith College	MA	Private nonprofit	2,544	$6,559	Mid-income band · ROI $141,386
60	University of Maine at Presque Isle	ME	Public	1,913	$6,564	Mid-income band · ROI $151,632
61	Wellesley College	MA	Private nonprofit	2,300	$6,587	Mid-income band · ROI $243,098
62	University of Akron Wayne College	OH	Public	457	$6,663	Mid-income band · ROI $189,476
63	Mesivta Torah Vodaath Rabbinical Seminary	NY	Private nonprofit	399	$6,664	Mid-income band · ROI $68,290
64	Oakland University	MI	Public	12,351	$6,711	Mid-income band · ROI $222,628
65	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus	WA	Public	4,185	$6,748	Mid-income band · ROI $303,288
66	University of Minnesota-Rochester	MN	Public	568	$6,748	Mid-income band · ROI $248,740
67	Davidson College	NC	Private nonprofit	1,867	$6,759	Mid-income band · ROI $272,444
68	CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice	NY	Public	11,590	$6,760	Mid-income band · ROI $257,069
69	Northern Kentucky University	KY	Public	8,246	$6,761	Mid-income band · ROI $191,206
70	CUNY Queens College	NY	Public	12,550	$6,785	Mid-income band · ROI $257,028
71	Cornell University	NY	Private nonprofit	15,995	$6,796	Mid-income band · ROI $338,556
72	CUNY City College	NY	Public	12,505	$6,811	Mid-income band · ROI $260,197
73	Escuela de Artes Plasticas y Diseno de Puerto Rico	PR	Public	466	$6,821	Mid-income band · ROI $62,308
74	Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College	GA	Public	3,208	$6,824	Mid-income band · ROI $141,578
75	CUNY Lehman College	NY	Public	10,696	$6,834	Mid-income band · ROI $257,022
76	Marshall University	WV	Public	7,266	$6,837	Mid-income band · ROI $178,260
77	Purdue University Northwest	IN	Public	5,671	$7,026	Mid-income band · ROI $213,476
78	Indiana University-Southeast	IN	Public	3,170	$7,046	Mid-income band · ROI $185,113
79	Indiana University-East	IN	Public	2,589	$7,100	Mid-income band · ROI $188,272
80	University of Florida	FL	Public	35,629	$7,151	Mid-income band · ROI $289,958
81	East Central University	OK	Public	2,467	$7,155	Mid-income band · ROI $169,628
82	California State University-Fresno	CA	Public	21,605	$7,196	Mid-income band · ROI $226,732
83	University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma	OK	Public	941	$7,223	Mid-income band · ROI $158,594
84	College of Staten Island CUNY	NY	Public	9,657	$7,364	Mid-income band · ROI $205,059
85	Le Moyne-Owen College	TN	Private nonprofit	581	$7,411	Mid-income band · ROI $121,108
86	CUNY York College	NY	Public	4,345	$7,426	Mid-income band · ROI $237,312
87	University of Virginia's College at Wise	VA	Public	1,101	$7,455	Mid-income band · ROI $164,551
88	Louisiana State University at Alexandria	LA	Public	5,632	$7,524	Mid-income band · ROI $161,986
89	University of Minnesota-Crookston	MN	Public	1,729	$7,587	Mid-income band · ROI $215,674
90	Ferris State University	MI	Public	8,106	$7,638	Mid-income band · ROI $214,421
91	Wake Forest University	NC	Private nonprofit	5,485	$7,647	Mid-income band · ROI $236,251
92	Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Gurabo Campus	PR	Private nonprofit	7,868	$7,669	Mid-income band · ROI $88,900
93	University of North Texas at Dallas	TX	Public	2,878	$7,725	Mid-income band · ROI —
94	California State University-Northridge	CA	Public	32,691	$7,744	Mid-income band · ROI $223,868
95	United Talmudical Seminary	NY	Private nonprofit	2,241	$7,771	Mid-income band · ROI $79,060
96	CUNY New York City College of Technology	NY	Public	13,580	$7,886	Mid-income band · ROI $199,506
97	Northwestern University	IL	Private nonprofit	9,201	$7,898	Mid-income band · ROI $270,450
98	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	Public	36,258	$7,982	Mid-income band · ROI $295,067
99	University of Michigan-Dearborn	MI	Public	5,952	$7,997	Mid-income band · ROI $233,291
100	Andrews University	MI	Private nonprofit	1,224	$8,024	Mid-income band · ROI $185,290

Method notes

Underlying institution file: EDsmart Data processed College Scorecard extract merged to the IPEDS 2024 directory for HBCU and Carnegie fields.
Cohort applied on this page: enrollment floor of 200 undergraduates; sorted lowest first on Net Price; 1,575 campuses met every filter and the top 100 are published.
Ties on the ranked metric are broken by enrollment, then institution name, so ranks stay stable between rebuilds.
ROI column matches the processed college_roi_rankings series in this site build; see College Scorecard ROI methodology.
How the 10-year ROI figure is built: median earnings reported 6, 8, and 10 years after entry (years 7 and 9 linearly interpolated) are summed across years 6–10, then average annual net price × typical years enrolled (five for bachelor’s-predominant campuses) is subtracted. It is a nominal-dollar gap—not discounted to present value, and it does not subtract earnings foregone while enrolled or compare against a no-college baseline. Campuses reporting only one of the three earnings years are excluded from these tables.
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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Leaders: top 3

Williams College

University of Chicago

California Institute of Technology

Top 100 Middle-class affordability (net price)

Method notes

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