Colleges with the lowest debt-to-earnings ratio
Four-year colleges ranked by how small graduates' median federal debt is next to a year of former students' median earnings.
Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition · Source: College Scorecard and IPEDS, latest data · 886 colleges · Last updated November 15, 2026 · Next check November 16, 2026
Ranked first
5%
California Institute of Technology CalTech (California), debt as a share of a year's earnings.
College Scorecard, latest data
Key findings
- Median qualifying college
- 33%
- Debt as a share of a year's earnings.
- Colleges that qualify
- 886
- The top 50 are listed below.
- States
- 50
- 308 public and 578 private nonprofit colleges.
886 four-year colleges in 50 states meet every criterion on this page.
California Institute of Technology CalTech (California) ranks first, with debt equal to 5% of a year's earnings.
The median qualifying college has debt equal to 33% of a year's earnings.
308 qualifying colleges are public and 578 private nonprofit.
College by college
The ranking
Ranked by debt as a share of a year's earnings, lowest first. Select a column heading to sort.
| California Institute of Technology CalTechCalifornia · Private nonprofit | 1 | 5% | $7,500 | $166,642 | 90% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States Merchant Marine AcademyNew York · Public | 2 | 5% | $5,500 | $103,283 | 78% |
| Williams CollegeMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | 3 | 8% | $8,000 | $95,954 | 95% |
| Stanford UniversityCalifornia · Private nonprofit | 4 | 9% | $10,750 | $125,340 | 92% |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology MITMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | 5 | 9% | $14,000 | $152,553 | 96% |
| Princeton UniversityNew Jersey · Private nonprofit | 6 | 9% | $12,400 | $133,523 | 97% |
| Yale UniversityConnecticut · Private nonprofit | 7 | 10% | $11,982 | $118,356 | 96% |
| Claremont McKenna College CMCCalifornia · Private nonprofit | 8 | 11% | $13,450 | $127,532 | 90% |
| Cornell University-New YorkNew York · Private nonprofit | 9 | 11% | $12,000 | $113,531 | 95% |
| Wellesley CollegeMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | 10 | 11% | $9,788 | $90,458 | 91% |
| Berea CollegeKentucky · Private nonprofit | 11 | 11% | $5,500 | $48,071 | 66% |
| Duke UniversityNorth Carolina · Private nonprofit | 12 | 11% | $13,000 | $113,937 | 96% |
| Smith College-MassachusettsMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | 13 | 11% | $8,000 | $69,936 | 86% |
| Johns Hopkins UniversityMaryland · Private nonprofit | 14 | 12% | $12,000 | $104,590 | 93% |
| University of ChicagoIllinois · Private nonprofit | 15 | 12% | $12,000 | $103,872 | 95% |
| Dartmouth CollegeNew Hampshire · Private nonprofit | 16 | 12% | $13,000 | $111,162 | 95% |
| Grinnell CollegeIowa · Private nonprofit | 17 | 12% | $8,750 | $72,106 | 86% |
| University of Pennsylvania UPENNPennsylvania · Private nonprofit | 18 | 12% | $15,000 | $121,687 | 97% |
| University of California-Berkeley CALCalifornia · Public | 19 | 12% | $12,416 | $100,212 | 94% |
| Bates CollegeMaine · Private nonprofit | 20 | 13% | $12,250 | $98,373 | 88% |
| Colgate UniversityNew York · Private nonprofit | 21 | 13% | $12,000 | $96,328 | 89% |
| Emory University-Main CampusGeorgia · Private nonprofit | 22 | 13% | $12,000 | $93,897 | 91% |
| Georgetown University-DCDistrict of Columbia · Private nonprofit | 23 | 13% | $14,746 | $110,516 | 94% |
| University of California-San Diego UCSDCalifornia · Public | 24 | 14% | $13,000 | $96,197 | 86% |
| Lafayette CollegePennsylvania · Private nonprofit | 25 | 14% | $14,000 | $102,336 | 85% |
| University of California-DavisCalifornia · Public | 26 | 14% | $12,038 | $86,999 | 86% |
| Amherst CollegeMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | 27 | 14% | $13,250 | $95,161 | 93% |
| Rice UniversityTexas · Private nonprofit | 28 | 14% | $13,000 | $90,773 | 95% |
| University of California-Santa Barbara UCSBCalifornia · Public | 29 | 14% | $11,776 | $82,568 | 84% |
| Harvard UniversityMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | 30 | 14% | $17,559 | $121,957 | 97% |
| Brown UniversityRhode Island · Private nonprofit | 31 | 15% | $14,567 | $99,974 | 96% |
| CUNY Bernard M Baruch CollegeNew York · Public | 32 | 15% | $12,500 | $83,742 | 70% |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Main CampusNorth Carolina · Public | 33 | 15% | $12,086 | $81,094 | 91% |
| Vanderbilt UniversityTennessee · Private nonprofit | 34 | 15% | $15,000 | $99,080 | 93% |
| Carnegie Mellon UniversityPennsylvania · Private nonprofit | 35 | 15% | $19,000 | $125,257 | 94% |
| Harvey Mudd CollegeCalifornia · Private nonprofit | 36 | 15% | $25,000 | $164,248 | 93% |
| Barnard CollegeNew York · Private nonprofit | 37 | 15% | $15,000 | $98,280 | 92% |
| Brigham Young University-Provo BYU UtahUtah · Private nonprofit | 38 | 15% | $12,250 | $80,228 | 81% |
| CUNY Queens CollegeNew York · Public | 39 | 15% | $10,500 | $68,324 | 53% |
| University of California-Irvine UCICalifornia · Public | 40 | 15% | $12,821 | $83,432 | 87% |
| University of California-Los Angeles UCLACalifornia · Public | 41 | 16% | $13,750 | $88,581 | 93% |
| University of Virginia-Main Campus UVAVirginia · Public | 42 | 16% | $15,000 | $96,468 | 94% |
| CUNY John Jay College of Criminal JusticeNew York · Public | 43 | 16% | $10,500 | $65,870 | 54% |
| Scripps CollegeCalifornia · Private nonprofit | 44 | 16% | $13,500 | $84,025 | 84% |
| Wesleyan University-ConnecticutConnecticut · Private nonprofit | 45 | 16% | $14,000 | $86,811 | 90% |
| Western Governors UniversityUtah · Private nonprofit | 46 | 16% | $12,500 | $76,999 | 50% |
| Northwestern University-IllinoisIllinois · Private nonprofit | 47 | 16% | $17,017 | $104,255 | 96% |
| University of Southern California USCCalifornia · Private nonprofit | 48 | 16% | $17,000 | $103,420 | 90% |
| Bowdoin CollegeMaine · Private nonprofit | 49 | 17% | $15,000 | $90,153 | 93% |
| Pomona CollegeCalifornia · Private nonprofit | 50 | 17% | $14,000 | $84,281 | 92% |
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 graduate at least 50% of students, then ranks them by debt as a share of a year's earnings. 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 graduate at least 50% of students, and ranks them by debt as a share of a year's earnings, lowest first. 886 colleges qualify; the top 50 are shown and the CSV holds the same rows.
Which college ranks first?
California Institute of Technology CalTech (California, private nonprofit), with debt as a share of a year's earnings of 5%. The median qualifying college reports 33%.
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.