Best Colleges For Low-Income Families
These colleges earn the highest College Investor grades for families earning under $48,000. The grade weighs what those families pay after financial aid, what graduates earn, how many students finish and how much student loan debt they carry.
| Rank | College | Grade | What They Pay | Median Earnings | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Princeton UniversityPrinceton, NJ · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $795 a year | $133,523 | 97% |
| 2 | Stanford UniversityStanford, CA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $1,067 a year | $125,340 | 92% |
| 3 | Harvard UniversityCambridge, MA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $2,306 a year | $121,957 | 97% |
| 4 | University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $234 a year | $121,687 | 97% |
| 5 | Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $1,062 a year | $118,356 | 96% |
| 6 | Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore, MD · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $1,954 a year | $104,590 | 93% |
| 7 | University of ChicagoChicago, IL · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $771 a year | $103,872 | 95% |
| 8 | Brown UniversityProvidence, RI · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $134 a year | $99,974 | 96% |
| 9 | Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, TN · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $2,772 a year | $99,080 | 93% |
| 10 | Bates CollegeLewiston, ME · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $4,758 a year | $98,373 | 88% |
| 11 | Williams CollegeWilliamstown, MA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $2,986 a year | $95,954 | 95% |
| 12 | Amherst CollegeAmherst, MA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $2,744 a year | $95,161 | 93% |
| 13 | Rice UniversityHouston, TX · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $3,616 a year | $90,773 | 95% |
| 14 | University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel Hill, NC · Public | A | Average $2,600 a year | $81,094 | 91% |
| 15 | Dartmouth CollegeHanover, NH · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $1,399 a year | $111,162 | 95% |
| 16 | Wesleyan UniversityMiddletown, CT · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $3,652 a year | $86,811 | 90% |
| 17 | Bowdoin CollegeBrunswick, ME · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $4,476 a year | $90,153 | 93% |
| 18 | UC BerkeleyBerkeley, CA · Public | A | Average $5,250 a year | $100,212 | 94% |
| 19 | Washington University in St LouisSt. Louis, MO · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $1,584 a year | $91,497 | 93% |
| 20 | Davidson CollegeDavidson, NC · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $2,156 a year | $89,297 | 90% |
| 21 | Washington and Lee UniversityLexington, VA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $359 a year | $102,966 | 96% |
| 22 | Pomona CollegeClaremont, CA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $5,358 a year | $84,281 | 92% |
| 23 | Northwestern UniversityEvanston, IL · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $4,482 a year | $104,255 | 96% |
| 24 | Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew York, NY · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $3,148 a year | $109,430 | 95% |
| 25 | University of FloridaGainesville, FL · Public | A | Average $1,888 a year | $78,456 | 92% |
| 26 | Colby CollegeWaterville, ME · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $3,810 a year | $88,776 | 87% |
| 27 | Duke UniversityDurham, NC · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $6,652 a year | $113,937 | 96% |
| 28 | University of MarylandCollege Park, MD · Public | A | Average $3,093 a year | $89,228 | 88% |
| 29 | Cornell UniversityIthaca, NY · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $6,262 a year | $113,531 | 95% |
| 30 | Wake Forest UniversityWinston-Salem, NC · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $6,409 a year | $104,443 | 90% |
| 31 | UC IrvineIrvine, CA · Public | A | Average $6,384 a year | $83,432 | 87% |
| 32 | Claremont McKenna CollegeClaremont, CA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $4,814 a year | $127,532 | 90% |
| 33 | William & MaryWilliamsburg, VA · Public | A | Average $3,838 a year | $83,488 | 88% |
| 34 | University of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI · Public | A | Average $3,264 a year | $92,832 | 93% |
| 35 | University of WashingtonSeattle, WA · Public | A | Average $7,361 a year | $83,105 | 85% |
| 36 | University of Wisconsin-MadisonMadison, WI · Public | A | Average $3,630 a year | $80,330 | 90% |
| 37 | University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignChampaign, IL · Public | A | Average $1,927 a year | $87,599 | 86% |
| 38 | Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore, PA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $7,472 a year | $86,311 | 92% |
| 39 | Georgia Institute of TechnologyAtlanta, GA · Public | A | Average $7,394 a year | $114,210 | 94% |
| 40 | Colgate UniversityHamilton, NY · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $8,179 a year | $96,328 | 89% |
| 41 | Wellesley CollegeWellesley, MA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $7,022 a year | $90,458 | 91% |
| 42 | Tufts UniversityMedford, MA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $7,218 a year | $89,187 | 94% |
| 43 | UCLALos Angeles, CA · Public | A | Average $8,199 a year | $88,581 | 93% |
| 44 | Smith CollegeNorthampton, MA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $4,464 a year | $69,936 | 86% |
| 45 | University of Notre DameNotre Dame, IN · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $7,734 a year | $113,124 | 95% |
| 46 | University of VirginiaCharlottesville, VA · Public | A | Average $8,841 a year | $96,468 | 94% |
| 47 | UC DavisDavis, CA · Public | A | Average $8,906 a year | $86,999 | 86% |
| 48 | Purdue UniversityWest Lafayette, IN · Public | A | Average $5,882 a year | $80,082 | 84% |
| 49 | Emory UniversityAtlanta, GA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $9,762 a year | $93,897 | 91% |
| 50 | UC Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CA · Public | A | Average $9,902 a year | $82,568 | 84% |
Source: The College Investor.
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