Colleges with high graduation rates under $15,000 a year
Four-year colleges whose average net price is $15,000 a year or less, ranked by the share of students who graduate.
Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition · Source: College Scorecard and IPEDS, latest data · 386 colleges · Last updated November 15, 2026 · Next check November 16, 2026
Ranked first
97%
Princeton University (New Jersey), graduation rate.
College Scorecard, latest data
Key findings
- Median qualifying college
- 47%
- Graduation rate.
- Colleges that qualify
- 386
- The top 50 are listed below.
- States
- 47
- 326 public and 60 private nonprofit colleges.
386 four-year colleges in 47 states meet every criterion on this page.
Princeton University (New Jersey) ranks first, with a graduation rate of 97%.
The median qualifying college has a graduation rate of 47%.
326 qualifying colleges are public and 60 private nonprofit.
College by college
The ranking
Ranked by graduation rate, highest first. Select a column heading to sort.
| Princeton UniversityNew Jersey · Private nonprofit | 1 | 97% | $7,815 | $133,523 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology MITMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | 2 | 96% | $14,815 | $152,553 |
| Yale UniversityConnecticut · Private nonprofit | 3 | 96% | $11,340 | $118,356 |
| Rice UniversityTexas · Private nonprofit | 4 | 95% | $11,164 | $90,773 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus GA TechGeorgia · Public | 5 | 94% | $12,028 | $114,210 |
| University of California-Berkeley CALCalifornia · Public | 6 | 94% | $14,538 | $100,212 |
| University of California-Los Angeles UCLACalifornia · Public | 7 | 93% | $14,659 | $88,581 |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Main CampusMichigan · Public | 8 | 93% | $14,362 | $92,832 |
| Washington University in St Louis WUSTLMissouri · Private nonprofit | 9 | 93% | $13,360 | $91,497 |
| Stanford UniversityCalifornia · Private nonprofit | 10 | 92% | $12,307 | $125,340 |
| University of FloridaFlorida · Public | 11 | 92% | $5,969 | $78,456 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Main CampusNorth Carolina · Public | 12 | 91% | $11,305 | $81,094 |
| California Institute of Technology CalTechCalifornia · Private nonprofit | 13 | 90% | $8,509 | $166,642 |
| University of GeorgiaGeorgia · Public | 14 | 89% | $13,636 | $77,246 |
| University of Maryland-College Park Main CampusMaryland · Public | 15 | 88% | $14,296 | $89,228 |
| University of California-Irvine UCICalifornia · Public | 16 | 87% | $13,866 | $83,432 |
| Florida State University-Main CampusFlorida · Public | 17 | 86% | $8,605 | $68,225 |
| University of California-DavisCalifornia · Public | 18 | 86% | $14,318 | $86,999 |
| University of California-San Diego UCSDCalifornia · Public | 19 | 86% | $14,794 | $96,197 |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Main CampusIllinois · Public | 20 | 86% | $13,042 | $87,599 |
| University of Washington-Seattle Main CampusWashington · Public | 21 | 85% | $13,663 | $83,105 |
| Purdue University-Main CampusIndiana · Public | 22 | 84% | $14,851 | $80,082 |
| University of Florida-OnlineFlorida · Public | 23 | 83% | $4,336 | $78,456 |
| Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and ArtNew York · Private nonprofit | 24 | 82% | $12,999 | $76,895 |
| Brigham Young University-Provo BYU UtahUtah · Private nonprofit | 25 | 81% | $13,397 | $80,228 |
| Florida International UniversityFlorida · Public | 26 | 78% | $11,462 | $65,722 |
| San Diego State University SDSUCalifornia · Public | 27 | 78% | $13,243 | $73,494 |
| United States Merchant Marine AcademyNew York · Public | 28 | 78% | $1,516 | $103,283 |
| University of Central FloridaFlorida · Public | 29 | 78% | $11,516 | $63,483 |
| University of South FloridaFlorida · Public | 30 | 78% | $8,648 | $63,660 |
| University of California-RiversideCalifornia · Public | 31 | 75% | $12,672 | $72,974 |
| Truman State UniversityMissouri · Public | 32 | 74% | $12,317 | $57,751 |
| University of Detroit MercyMichigan · Private nonprofit | 33 | 74% | $13,469 | $74,106 |
| Bob Jones UniversitySouth Carolina · Private nonprofit | 34 | 71% | $14,632 | $49,158 |
| CUNY Bernard M Baruch CollegeNew York · Public | 35 | 70% | $657 | $83,742 |
| California State University-Long BeachCalifornia · Public | 36 | 70% | $9,426 | $69,554 |
| Michigan Technological UniversityMichigan · Public | 37 | 70% | $13,446 | $84,681 |
| University of Mississippi Ole MissMississippi · Public | 38 | 70% | $13,752 | $59,112 |
| University of North FloridaFlorida · Public | 39 | 69% | $11,689 | $59,626 |
| University of TulsaOklahoma · Private nonprofit | 40 | 69% | $13,511 | $65,590 |
| California State Polytechnic University-PomonaCalifornia · Public | 41 | 68% | $9,404 | $77,464 |
| California State University-FullertonCalifornia · Public | 42 | 68% | $5,115 | $69,015 |
| San Jose State UniversityCalifornia · Public | 43 | 68% | $14,241 | $83,493 |
| University of California-MercedCalifornia · Public | 44 | 68% | $11,583 | $69,352 |
| University of Washington-Bothell CampusWashington · Public | 45 | 68% | $13,802 | $83,105 |
| Arizona State University Campus ImmersionArizona · Public | 46 | 67% | $14,694 | $69,111 |
| Holy Family University-PennsylvaniaPennsylvania · Private nonprofit | 47 | 67% | $12,882 | $70,924 |
| Berea CollegeKentucky · Private nonprofit | 48 | 66% | $5,836 | $48,071 |
| George Mason UniversityVirginia · Public | 49 | 66% | $14,697 | $79,923 |
| University of Houston Main CampusTexas · Public | 50 | 66% | $11,439 | $68,423 |
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 with an average net price of $15,000 a year or less, then ranks them by graduation rate. 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 with an average net price of $15,000 a year or less, and ranks them by graduation rate, highest first. 386 colleges qualify; the top 50 are shown and the CSV holds the same rows.
Which college ranks first?
Princeton University (New Jersey, private nonprofit), with graduation rate of 97%. The median qualifying college reports 47%.
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.