Best colleges for accounting, ranked by value
University of Florida ranks first of 408 colleges for accounting value; its graduates' median earnings 4 years after the bachelor's degree are $94,941 (College Scorecard field-of-study data, 2025).
Accounting bachelor's programs ranked by value: what graduates earn on the way to a CPA against debt, net price and completion.
Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition · Source: College Scorecard field of study, reporting year 2025 · 408 colleges ranked · Updated November 4, 2026
#1 for accounting
Gainesville, FL
- Earnings
- $94,941
- 4 yrs after
- Net price
- $5,969
- per year
- Grad rate
- 92%
- six years
At a glance
- Colleges ranked
- 408
- Of 1,046 with a accounting bachelor's program in the data.
- Median graduate earnings
- $76,108
- 4 years after the bachelor's degree, at the median ranked college.
- Median federal debt
- $20,500
- Borrowed at the college by accounting graduates.
- Median average net price
- $17,285
- What aided first-year students pay a year after grants.
What the data shows
Key findings
408 colleges qualify. At the median one, accounting graduates earn $76,108 4 years after graduating, and the average net price is $17,285 a year.
University of Florida ranks first with a value score of 93.2: graduates earn $94,941 and the average net price is $5,969.
The highest earnings are at Georgetown University-DC ($141,931), which ranks #22 once cost, debt and graduation rate are counted.
Public colleges hold 20 of the top 25 places.
How the value score is weighted
- Graduate earnings40%
- Average net price25%
- Debt-to-earnings20%
- Graduation rate15%
Each part is a percentile among ranked colleges, so a score of 80 means better than 80% of them on that measure. Full methodology
Top 25 by value score
The ranking
Every figure behind each rank is shown. Filter by state, public or private, and net price; ranks stay national.
Top 25 of 408 ranked colleges.
- Rank 1
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL · Public · Accounting and Related Services
93.2Value score- Earnings
- $94,941
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $10,259
- Net price
- $5,969
- per year
- Grad rate
- 92%
- Graduates
- 145
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 85.5
- Net price
- 97.3
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 99.2
- Graduation
- 99.0
- Rank 2
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL · Public · Accounting and Related Services
89.2Value score- Earnings
- $101,098
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $15,500
- Net price
- $13,042
- per year
- Grad rate
- 86%
- Graduates
- 264
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 91.4
- Net price
- 77.1
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 95.2
- Graduation
- 95.3
- Rank 3
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL · Public · Accounting and Related Services
89.0Value score- Earnings
- $91,056
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $13,750
- Net price
- $8,605
- per year
- Grad rate
- 86%
- Graduates
- 148
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 80.6
- Net price
- 93.6
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 95.9
- Graduation
- 94.8
- Rank 4
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
New York, NY · Public · Accounting and Related Services
87.0Value score- Earnings
- $90,104
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $10,062
- Net price
- $657
- per year
- Grad rate
- 70%
- Graduates
- 513
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 79.1
- Net price
- 99.8
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 99.0
- Graduation
- 70.8
- Rank 5
Brigham Young University-Provo
Provo, UT · Private nonprofit · Accounting and Related Services
86.9Value score- Earnings
- $96,632
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $9,684
- Net price
- $13,397
- per year
- Grad rate
- 81%
- Graduates
- 46
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 87.5
- Net price
- 75.2
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 100.0
- Graduation
- 87.0
- Rank 6
University of Maryland-College Park
College Park, MD · Public · Accounting and Related Services
86.2Value score- Earnings
- $97,314
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $15,000
- Net price
- $14,296
- per year
- Grad rate
- 88%
- Graduates
- 139
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 88.2
- Net price
- 69.3
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 94.8
- Graduation
- 97.8
- Earnings
- $93,260
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $16,933
- Net price
- $13,636
- per year
- Grad rate
- 89%
- Graduates
- 161
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 84.0
- Net price
- 74.7
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 88.5
- Graduation
- 98.0
- Rank 8
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI · Public · Accounting and Related Services
82.1Value score- Earnings
- $101,390
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $19,500
- Net price
- $16,600
- per year
- Grad rate
- 90%
- Graduates
- 123
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 91.6
- Net price
- 55.0
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 84.6
- Graduation
- 98.5
- Rank 9
University of Washington-Seattle
Seattle, WA · Public · Accounting and Related Services
81.6Value score- Earnings
- $88,393
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $14,798
- Net price
- $13,663
- per year
- Grad rate
- 85%
- Graduates
- 136
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 76.7
- Net price
- 74.0
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 92.2
- Graduation
- 93.4
- Rank 10
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX · Public · Accounting and Related Services
81.3Value score- Earnings
- $105,143
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $19,000
- Net price
- $18,554
- per year
- Grad rate
- 89%
- Graduates
- 143
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 94.6
- Net price
- 43.5
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 89.0
- Graduation
- 98.3
- Earnings
- $106,323
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $14,250
- Net price
- $20,907
- per year
- Grad rate
- 82%
- Graduates
- 121
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 95.6
- Net price
- 35.9
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 98.2
- Graduation
- 89.2
- Rank 12
California State University-Northridge
Northridge, CA · Public · Accounting and Related Services
79.5Value score- Earnings
- $92,329
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $18,646
- Net price
- $6,346
- per year
- Grad rate
- 57%
- Graduates
- 245
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 83.0
- Net price
- 96.6
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 80.6
- Graduation
- 40.5
- Rank 13
University of Notre Dame-South Bend
Notre Dame, IN · Private nonprofit · Accounting and Related Services
79.0Value score- Earnings
- $115,909
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $17,500
- Net price
- $25,339
- per year
- Grad rate
- 95%
- Graduates
- 61
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 98.0
- Net price
- 22.6
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 95.9
- Graduation
- 99.8
- Rank 14
Washington and Lee University
Lexington, VA · Private nonprofit · Accounting and Related Services
78.9Value score- Earnings
- $118,946
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $19,500
- Net price
- $25,279
- per year
- Grad rate
- 96%
- Graduates
- 48
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 98.5
- Net price
- 22.9
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 93.8
- Graduation
- 100.0
- Rank 15
Texas A & M University-College Station
College Station, TX · Public · Accounting and Related Services
78.9Value score- Earnings
- $103,662
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $14,812
- Net price
- $21,527
- per year
- Grad rate
- 85%
- Graduates
- 273
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 93.9
- Net price
- 32.2
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 97.5
- Graduation
- 92.1
- Rank 16
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA · Private nonprofit · Accounting and Related Services
78.5Value score- Earnings
- $125,874
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $19,000
- Net price
- $25,272
- per year
- Grad rate
- 85%
- Graduates
- 56
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 99.0
- Net price
- 23.1
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 95.9
- Graduation
- 93.0
- Rank 17
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN · Public · Accounting and Related Services
78.1Value score- Earnings
- $96,109
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $18,250
- Net price
- $17,330
- per year
- Grad rate
- 85%
- Graduates
- 116
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 87.0
- Net price
- 49.4
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 85.2
- Graduation
- 93.0
- Rank 18
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL · Public · Accounting and Related Services
78.0Value score- Earnings
- $86,088
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $15,500
- Net price
- $9,540
- per year
- Grad rate
- 61%
- Graduates
- 207
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 72.7
- Net price
- 91.4
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 89.6
- Graduation
- 54.2
- Rank 19
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN · Public · Accounting and Related Services
77.4Value score- Earnings
- $90,119
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $19,500
- Net price
- $14,851
- per year
- Grad rate
- 84%
- Graduates
- 166
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 79.4
- Net price
- 66.3
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 76.3
- Graduation
- 91.9
- Rank 20
University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
Tacoma, WA · Public · Accounting and Related Services
77.3Value score- Earnings
- $88,393
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $14,798
- Net price
- $11,900
- per year
- Grad rate
- 60%
- Graduates
- 73
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 76.7
- Net price
- 82.6
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 92.2
- Graduation
- 50.1
- Rank 21
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL · Public · Accounting and Related Services
77.3Value score- Earnings
- $78,918
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $13,133
- Net price
- $8,648
- per year
- Grad rate
- 78%
- Graduates
- 255
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 57.2
- Net price
- 93.4
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 93.0
- Graduation
- 83.0
- Rank 22
Georgetown University-DC
Washington, DC · Private nonprofit · Accounting and Related Services
77.0Value score- Earnings
- $141,931
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $16,035
- Net price
- $33,661
- per year
- Grad rate
- 94%
- Graduates
- 41
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 100.0
- Net price
- 9.3
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 98.7
- Graduation
- 99.5
- Rank 23
University of Washington-Bothell Campus
Bothell, WA · Public · Accounting and Related Services
77.0Value score- Earnings
- $88,393
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $14,798
- Net price
- $13,802
- per year
- Grad rate
- 68%
- Graduates
- 64
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 76.7
- Net price
- 71.7
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 92.2
- Graduation
- 66.6
- Earnings
- $87,050
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $12,500
- Net price
- $12,644
- per year
- Grad rate
- 60%
- Graduates
- 98
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 75.4
- Net price
- 78.9
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 97.0
- Graduation
- 49.6
- Rank 25
University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT · Public · Accounting and Related Services
76.6Value score- Earnings
- $106,959
- 4 yrs after
- Median debt
- $18,500
- Net price
- $24,342
- per year
- Grad rate
- 84%
- Graduates
- 104
- latest year
Percentile among ranked colleges
- Earnings
- 95.8
- Net price
- 25.6
- Debt (Debt-to-earnings)
- 91.2
- Graduation
- 91.2
383 more matching colleges are in the CSV download.
Earnings against net price
Each dot is a ranked college. Higher means graduates earn more; further left means a year costs less after grants. The best value sits top left.
- Top 25
- Other ranked colleges
Scatter plot of 408 colleges. The ranked list above gives every figure.
Methodology
- Programs counted
- Bachelor's degrees reported under CIP 52.03 at public and private nonprofit colleges published on CollegesRef. When a college reports more than one qualifying program, its largest one is used.
- Eligibility
- A college needs at least 20 graduates in the latest award year, reported median earnings 4 years after graduation, and a published average net price and graduation rate. A field is published only when at least 50 colleges qualify.
- Value score
- Each figure is turned into a 0–100 percentile among ranked colleges (100 is best: highest earnings or graduation rate, lowest net price or debt-to-earnings). The value score is the weighted average: graduate earnings 40%, average net price 25%, debt-to-earnings 20%, graduation rate 15%. If a college reports no debt figure, that weight is shared among the other three.
- Earnings and debt
- Median annual earnings 4 years after completing the bachelor's degree, for graduates who received federal aid and were working. Debt is the median federal loan amount borrowed at the college by those graduates (College Scorecard field of study).
- Cost and completion
- Average net price is what aided first-year students pay after grants, for the whole college rather than the major. Graduation rate is the college-wide share finishing within six years (150% of normal time).
Limits
- Value, not prestige
- The score rewards high earnings at a low cost. It does not measure research strength, faculty, selectivity or reputation, so famous programs can rank below less-known ones.
- Earnings lag
- Earnings describe students who graduated several years ago and were measured years later. Today's job market and starting salaries can differ.
- Suppressed small programs
- The Department of Education withholds figures for small groups of graduates to protect privacy, so many small programs cannot be ranked at all.
- Federal aid recipients only
- Earnings and debt cover graduates who received federal grants or loans; students who paid without federal aid are not included.
Definitions: average net price. Read the CollegesRef methodology for how college data is checked. Methodology version 1; 634 colleges had too few graduates or suppressed earnings and 4 lacked a net price or graduation rate.
Sources
- Data
- U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study, cost and completion data.
- Edition
- 2026–27, data verified Nov 2026
- Source reporting year
- 2025
- Snapshot
- November 4, 2026
Questions about this ranking
See rankings for other majors, compare any two colleges side by side with Compare, or check a family's price with the cost calculator.
What is the best college for accounting?
On value, University of Florida ranks first in this ranking: accounting graduates earn a median of $94,941 4 years after graduating, and the average net price is $5,969 a year. "Best" depends on what you need; this ranking weighs earnings against cost, debt and graduation rate.
What do accounting graduates go on to do?
Most graduates start in public accounting, audit or corporate finance; the CPA exam usually needs 150 credit hours. The earnings here are medians for graduates who received federal aid, 4 years after the bachelor's degree.
Why are some well-known accounting programs ranked low or missing?
The ranking measures value, not prestige. A college with high earnings but a high net price can rank below a cheaper college with slightly lower earnings. Programs are missing when federal data suppresses their earnings, when they have fewer graduates than the threshold, or when they are reported under a CIP code this ranking does not count.
Can I see colleges in my state only?
Yes. Use the state filter above the list; ranks stay national so you can see where each college stands overall. You can also filter by public or private and by a maximum net price, or download the full CSV.
Does the net price shown apply to accounting students?
No. Average net price is reported for the whole college, not by major. Your own price depends on your family's finances; each college's net price calculator gives a personal estimate.