Best Colleges For Middle-Income Families
These colleges earn the highest College Investor grades for families earning $48,000 to $110,000. 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 | Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $6,152 a year | $152,553 | 96% |
| 2 | Princeton UniversityPrinceton, NJ · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $3,054 a year | $133,523 | 97% |
| 3 | Stanford UniversityStanford, CA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $6,603 a year | $125,340 | 92% |
| 4 | Harvard UniversityCambridge, MA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $7,060 a year | $121,957 | 97% |
| 5 | Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $4,341 a year | $118,356 | 96% |
| 6 | Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore, MD · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $8,092 a year | $104,590 | 93% |
| 7 | University of ChicagoChicago, IL · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $5,272 a year | $103,872 | 95% |
| 8 | Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, TN · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $8,468 a year | $99,080 | 93% |
| 9 | Williams CollegeWilliamstown, MA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $3,001 a year | $95,954 | 95% |
| 10 | Rice UniversityHouston, TX · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $9,971 a year | $90,773 | 95% |
| 11 | University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel Hill, NC · Public | A | Average $9,822 a year | $81,094 | 91% |
| 12 | Dartmouth CollegeHanover, NH · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $6,660 a year | $111,162 | 95% |
| 13 | Duke UniversityDurham, NC · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $10,710 a year | $113,937 | 96% |
| 14 | Washington and Lee UniversityLexington, VA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $6,825 a year | $102,966 | 96% |
| 15 | University of WashingtonSeattle, WA · Public | A | Average $10,006 a year | $83,105 | 85% |
| 16 | Wesleyan UniversityMiddletown, CT · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $10,760 a year | $86,811 | 90% |
| 17 | Cornell UniversityIthaca, NY · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $10,110 a year | $113,531 | 95% |
| 18 | Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew York, NY · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $6,880 a year | $109,430 | 95% |
| 19 | Emory UniversityAtlanta, GA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $11,268 a year | $93,897 | 91% |
| 20 | University of FloridaGainesville, FL · Public | A | Average $7,728 a year | $78,456 | 92% |
| 21 | Pomona CollegeClaremont, CA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $11,128 a year | $84,281 | 92% |
| 22 | Wellesley CollegeWellesley, MA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $8,794 a year | $90,458 | 91% |
| 23 | Colby CollegeWaterville, ME · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $6,941 a year | $88,776 | 87% |
| 24 | Washington University in St LouisSt. Louis, MO · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $11,498 a year | $91,497 | 93% |
| 25 | Davidson CollegeDavidson, NC · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $11,806 a year | $89,297 | 90% |
| 26 | Bowdoin CollegeBrunswick, ME · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $12,456 a year | $90,153 | 93% |
| 27 | Georgia Institute of TechnologyAtlanta, GA · Public | A | Average $12,113 a year | $114,210 | 94% |
| 28 | UC BerkeleyBerkeley, CA · Public | A | Average $12,835 a year | $100,212 | 94% |
| 29 | Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $6,898 a year | $99,371 | 91% |
| 30 | University of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI · Public | A | Average $9,828 a year | $92,832 | 93% |
| 31 | UC IrvineIrvine, CA · Public | A | Average $12,278 a year | $83,432 | 87% |
| 32 | William & MaryWilliamsburg, VA · Public | A | Average $10,305 a year | $83,488 | 88% |
| 33 | University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignChampaign, IL · Public | A | Average $8,938 a year | $87,599 | 86% |
| 34 | UCLALos Angeles, CA · Public | A | Average $13,012 a year | $88,581 | 93% |
| 35 | UC DavisDavis, CA · Public | A | Average $13,604 a year | $86,999 | 86% |
| 36 | University of Wisconsin-MadisonMadison, WI · Public | A | Average $10,932 a year | $80,330 | 90% |
| 37 | Brigham Young UniversityProvo, UT · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $11,092 a year | $80,228 | 81% |
| 38 | Northwestern UniversityEvanston, IL · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $13,882 a year | $104,255 | 96% |
| 39 | University of MarylandCollege Park, MD · Public | A | Average $12,828 a year | $89,228 | 88% |
| 40 | Wake Forest UniversityWinston-Salem, NC · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $14,224 a year | $104,443 | 90% |
| 41 | Grinnell CollegeGrinnell, IA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $11,670 a year | $72,106 | 86% |
| 42 | Smith CollegeNorthampton, MA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $10,366 a year | $69,936 | 86% |
| 43 | Bates CollegeLewiston, ME · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $15,484 a year | $98,373 | 88% |
| 44 | Amherst CollegeAmherst, MA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $15,906 a year | $95,161 | 93% |
| 45 | UC San DiegoLa Jolla, CA · Public | A | Average $14,691 a year | $96,197 | 86% |
| 46 | University of VirginiaCharlottesville, VA · Public | A | Average $15,635 a year | $96,468 | 94% |
| 47 | Baruch CollegeNew York, NY · Public | A | Average $4,686 a year | $83,742 | 70% |
| 48 | Purdue UniversityWest Lafayette, IN · Public | A | Average $12,154 a year | $80,082 | 84% |
| 49 | Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore, PA · Private Non-Profit | A | Average $16,456 a year | $86,311 | 92% |
| 50 | University of GeorgiaAthens, GA · Public | A | Average $13,569 a year | $77,246 | 89% |
Source: The College Investor.
More College Lists
Best Colleges For Low-Income FamiliesBest Colleges For High-Income FamiliesColleges Most Likely To Give Merit AidColleges Where Students Graduate With The Least DebtColleges With The Highest Graduate EarningsLow-Cost Colleges That Pay Off For Middle-Income FamiliesLargest Colleges With Poor Return On InvestmentHow We Grade Colleges