Hidden gem colleges: easy admission, high earnings, lower price
Four-year colleges that admit most applicants and whose former students earn over $75,000 ten years after entry, cheapest average net price first.
Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition · Source: College Scorecard and IPEDS, latest data · 99 colleges · Last updated November 15, 2026 · Next check November 16, 2026
Ranked first
$4,336
University of Florida-Online (Florida), average net price.
College Scorecard, latest data
Key findings
- Median qualifying college
- $27,308
- Average net price.
- Colleges that qualify
- 99
- The top 50 are listed below.
- States
- 30
- 26 public and 73 private nonprofit colleges.
99 four-year colleges in 30 states meet every criterion on this page.
University of Florida-Online (Florida) ranks first, with an average net price of $4,336.
The median qualifying college has an average net price of $27,308.
26 qualifying colleges are public and 73 private nonprofit.
College by college
The ranking
Ranked by average net price, lowest first. Select a column heading to sort.
| University of Florida-OnlineFlorida · Public | 1 | $4,336 | 61% | $78,456 | 83% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farmingdale State CollegeNew York · Public | 2 | $6,146 | 63% | $75,278 | 49% |
| California State Polytechnic University-PomonaCalifornia · Public | 3 | $9,404 | 75% | $77,464 | 68% |
| University of Washington-Tacoma CampusWashington · Public | 4 | $11,900 | 83% | $83,105 | 60% |
| Brigham Young University-Provo BYU UtahUtah · Private nonprofit | 5 | $13,397 | 68% | $80,228 | 81% |
| Michigan Technological UniversityMichigan · Public | 6 | $13,446 | 92% | $84,681 | 70% |
| University of Washington-Bothell CampusWashington · Public | 7 | $13,802 | 91% | $83,105 | 68% |
| San Jose State UniversityCalifornia · Public | 8 | $14,241 | 85% | $83,493 | 68% |
| George Mason UniversityVirginia · Public | 9 | $14,697 | 87% | $79,923 | 66% |
| Virginia Military InstituteVirginia · Public | 10 | $15,585 | 71% | $85,178 | 72% |
| Rutgers University-CamdenNew Jersey · Public | 11 | $15,732 | 66% | $80,490 | 61% |
| Missouri University of Science and TechnologyMissouri · Public | 12 | $15,772 | 73% | $85,917 | 67% |
| Rutgers University-NewarkNew Jersey · Public | 13 | $16,013 | 71% | $80,490 | 65% |
| University of DelawareDelaware · Public | 14 | $16,337 | 71% | $83,800 | 78% |
| University of Massachusetts-LowellMassachusetts · Public | 15 | $17,362 | 83% | $77,989 | 69% |
| Oregon Institute of TechnologyOregon · Public | 16 | $17,499 | 95% | $78,398 | 46% |
| Colorado State University GlobalColorado · Public | 17 | $17,732 | 98% | $82,047 | 26% |
| California State University Maritime AcademyCalifornia · Public | 18 | $17,793 | 95% | $105,475 | 58% |
| Regis University-ColoradoColorado · Private nonprofit | 19 | $18,133 | 86% | $79,971 | 55% |
| New Jersey Institute of TechnologyNew Jersey · Public | 20 | $18,783 | 65% | $90,769 | 72% |
| South Dakota School of Mines and TechnologySouth Dakota · Public | 21 | $20,827 | 80% | $78,487 | 52% |
| Washington & Jefferson CollegePennsylvania · Private nonprofit | 22 | $21,629 | 81% | $75,646 | 66% |
| University at BuffaloNew York · Public | 23 | $21,775 | 74% | $75,679 | 73% |
| Bradley UniversityIllinois · Private nonprofit | 24 | $22,469 | 77% | $76,013 | 73% |
| New York Institute of TechnologyNew York · Private nonprofit | 25 | $22,613 | 81% | $77,833 | 59% |
| SUNY Maritime CollegeNew York · Public | 26 | $22,888 | 72% | $100,966 | 54% |
| Simmons UniversityMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | 27 | $23,444 | 70% | $79,784 | 77% |
| James Madison UniversityVirginia · Public | 28 | $23,550 | 72% | $75,482 | 80% |
| University of Colorado Boulder Main CampusColorado · Public | 29 | $23,708 | 78% | $77,574 | 74% |
| Massachusetts Maritime AcademyMassachusetts · Public | 30 | $23,759 | 95% | $104,098 | 73% |
| Ohio Northern UniversityOhio · Private nonprofit | 31 | $23,969 | 74% | $82,743 | 71% |
| University of the PacificCalifornia · Private nonprofit | 32 | $24,186 | 71% | $88,053 | 73% |
| St. John's University-New YorkNew York · Private nonprofit | 33 | $24,508 | 83% | $77,281 | 69% |
| Linfield College-McMinnville CampusOregon · Private nonprofit | 34 | $24,882 | 85% | $81,101 | 62% |
| Manhattan CollegeNew York · Private nonprofit | 35 | $25,074 | 79% | $92,904 | 68% |
| Muhlenberg CollegePennsylvania · Private nonprofit | 36 | $25,253 | 72% | $76,444 | 83% |
| Thomas Jefferson UniversityPennsylvania · Private nonprofit | 37 | $25,555 | 81% | $78,311 | 71% |
| Wilkes University-PennsylvaniaPennsylvania · Private nonprofit | 38 | $25,799 | 91% | $75,038 | 59% |
| Widener UniversityPennsylvania · Private nonprofit | 39 | $26,151 | 71% | $76,782 | 67% |
| Iona CollegeNew York · Private nonprofit | 40 | $26,250 | 87% | $76,994 | 59% |
| California Lutheran UniversityCalifornia · Private nonprofit | 41 | $26,445 | 76% | $77,620 | 69% |
| Adelphi UniversityNew York · Private nonprofit | 42 | $26,646 | 66% | $80,969 | 71% |
| Norwich UniversityVermont · Private nonprofit | 43 | $26,676 | 74% | $78,407 | 61% |
| Mount Saint Mary College-New YorkNew York · Private nonprofit | 44 | $26,680 | 89% | $75,320 | 55% |
| Molloy CollegeNew York · Private nonprofit | 45 | $26,735 | 82% | $86,212 | 69% |
| Saint Johns University-MinnesotaMinnesota · Private nonprofit | 46 | $26,748 | 91% | $79,644 | 71% |
| The College of New JerseyNew Jersey · Public | 47 | $26,752 | 62% | $79,651 | 85% |
| Western New England UniversityMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | 48 | $27,077 | 83% | $81,107 | 64% |
| Mount Saint Mary's University-CaliforniaCalifornia · Private nonprofit | 49 | $27,235 | 73% | $78,572 | 56% |
| DePaul University-IllinoisIllinois · Private nonprofit | 50 | $27,308 | 76% | $75,602 | 67% |
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Use this for your family
These are medians. Your price and payback depend on your income, your state and the college, so run the numbers for the colleges on your list.
Methodology
- Colleges counted
- Every college published on CollegesRef that is public or private nonprofit, in a four-year Carnegie class (doctoral, master's or baccalaureate), in the 50 states or D.C., with at least 500 undergraduates and both figures reported in the College Scorecard.
- Criteria
- This list keeps four-year colleges that admit more than 60% of applicants and whose former students' median earnings are above $75,000, then ranks them by average net price. Closed colleges are left out.
3 more notes: exclusions, definitions, what it leaves out
- Exclusions
- For-profit colleges, two-year colleges, special-focus institutions, colleges with fewer undergraduates than the minimum, U.S. territories and colleges missing either figure are left out. Earnings figures without a federal reporting year are excluded.
- Definitions
- Median earnings are former students' earnings ten years after entry (College Scorecard MD_EARN_WNE_P10). Average net price is cost of attendance minus average grants for aided first-time, full-time students (NPT4). Median debt is federal loan debt at graduation (GRAD_DEBT_MDN). Graduation rate is the IPEDS rate reported in the Scorecard.
- What it leaves out
- A ranking on federal figures says nothing about teaching, fit or programs. Earnings are before tax and not specific to a major; prices are averages, so your family's price depends on its income and the college's aid.
Read the CollegesRef methodology for how college data is checked, or browse all data stories.
Sources
- Data
- U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports these figures from the IPEDS surveys and federal student aid records; Carnegie classes from IPEDS.
- Edition
- 2026–27, data verified Nov 2026
- Source data
- Latest College Scorecard release
- Last updated
- November 15, 2026
- Next check
- November 16, 2026. The figures are recomputed weekly and change only when the federal data does.
- License
- Federal data is a U.S. government work in the public domain. CollegesRef's tables, charts and CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page.
- Downloads
- CSVMarkdown (for AI tools)
Frequently asked questions
Short answers about how the numbers work.
How is this list ranked?
CollegesRef keeps four-year colleges that admit more than 60% of applicants and whose former students' median earnings are above $75,000, and ranks them by average net price, lowest first. 99 colleges qualify; the top 50 are shown and the CSV holds the same rows.
Which college ranks first?
University of Florida-Online (Florida, public), with average net price of $4,336. The median qualifying college reports $27,308.
Where does the data come from?
The U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (latest data), which reports IPEDS cost and graduation figures and federal earnings and debt records. CollegesRef recomputes the list weekly from the latest snapshot.
How to cite
Credit CollegesRef and link to this story; the CSV above carries every figure on this page. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a visible link to this page. Questions go to Data and press.
Related guides and tools
Step-by-step explanations of the figures, written from the same federal data.