How is “value” calculated?

Value = median earnings of students ~10 years after entry ÷ average annual net price, both from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. A higher ratio means more post-college earnings per dollar of yearly cost. It's a transparent measure, not a proprietary ranking.

What are the limits of this ranking?

Earnings data lags ~2 years, covers all students (not your specific major), and reflects who enrolls — so a school's mix of programs and students affects it. Net price is an average across aided students; your own price may differ. Use it as a starting point, then check your personalized net price and intended major.

Best Value Colleges: Highest Earnings per Dollar of Cost — AdmitQuant

Best value colleges

Ranked by value — median 10-year earnings divided by average annual net price (College Scorecard). Higher means more post-college earnings per dollar of cost. Source-cited and transparent; model your own net price and odds at each.

#	College	Location	Value	Earnings (10 yr)	Net price	Accept.
1	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College	New York, NY	25.0×	$75,971	$3,033	48%
2	CUNY Hunter College	New York, NY	21.2×	$63,163	$2,984	54%
3	CUNY Brooklyn College	Brooklyn, NY	19.6×	$60,752	$3,103	58%
4	CUNY Lehman College	Bronx, NY	18.4×	$58,013	$3,148	57%
5	Princeton	Princeton, NJ	18.0×	$110,066	$6,128	5%
6	CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice	New York, NY	17.5×	$56,195	$3,203	57%
7	CUNY City College	New York, NY	17.5×	$66,039	$3,776	60%
8	CUNY Queens College	Queens, NY	15.0×	$62,763	$4,195	64%
9	University of Florida-Online	Gainesville, FL	14.9×	$71,588	$4,815	61%
10	United States Merchant Marine Academy	Kings Point, NY	14.7×	$90,610	$6,174	34%
11	Texas A & M International University	Laredo, TX	13.3×	$48,386	$3,637	44%
12	CUNY York College	Jamaica, NY	12.8×	$56,945	$4,456	64%
13	Florida	Gainesville, FL	10.9×	$71,588	$6,541	24%
14	Stanford	Stanford, CA	9.0×	$124,080	$13,807	4%
15	Georgia Tech	Atlanta, GA	8.5×	$102,772	$12,116	14%
16	Indiana University-Northwest	Gary, IN	8.5×	$43,361	$5,130	73%
17	Caltech	Pasadena, CA	8.0×	$128,566	$16,075	3%
18	Purdue University Northwest	Hammond, IN	7.9×	$48,318	$6,079	72%
19	New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology	Socorro, NM	7.7×	$76,489	$9,873	44%
20	University of Michigan-Flint	Flint, MI	7.6×	$53,230	$7,007	70%
21	MIT	Cambridge, MA	7.1×	$143,372	$20,111	5%
22	Berea College	Berea, KY	7.1×	$43,150	$6,106	19%
23	UC Berkeley	Berkeley, CA	6.9×	$92,446	$13,481	11%
24	College of the Ozarks	Point Lookout, MO	6.8×	$41,592	$6,100	12%
25	UC San Diego	La Jolla, CA	6.8×	$84,943	$12,470	27%
26	Louisiana State University-Shreveport	Shreveport, LA	6.8×	$47,477	$7,022	51%
27	Rice	Houston, TX	6.7×	$89,718	$13,370	8%
28	UCLA	Los Angeles, CA	6.6×	$82,511	$12,548	9%
29	Florida International University	Miami, FL	6.5×	$60,249	$9,288	55%
30	Florida Atlantic University	Boca Raton, FL	6.5×	$56,746	$8,752	66%
31	Farmingdale State College	Farmingdale, NY	6.4×	$69,781	$10,867	63%
32	Michigan	Ann Arbor, MI	6.4×	$83,648	$13,138	16%
33	University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma	Chickasha, OK	6.3×	$41,913	$6,624	66%
34	Elizabeth City State University	Elizabeth City, NC	6.3×	$40,026	$6,364	64%
35	University of Michigan-Dearborn	Dearborn, MI	6.3×	$59,649	$9,492	56%
36	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	Pomona, CA	6.2×	$71,902	$11,531	75%
37	UNC	Chapel Hill, NC	6.2×	$72,200	$11,655	15%
38	UChicago	Chicago, IL	6.2×	$91,885	$14,860	4%
39	California State University-Long Beach	Long Beach, CA	6.2×	$64,403	$10,440	46%
40	Northern Kentucky University	Highland Heights, KY	6.1×	$50,220	$8,191	68%
41	West Virginia University Institute of Technology	Beckley, WV	6.0×	$55,939	$9,337	37%
42	University of South Florida	Tampa, FL	5.9×	$57,743	$9,812	43%
43	Clayton State University	Morrow, GA	5.9×	$49,179	$8,365	68%
44	Indiana University-East	Richmond, IN	5.8×	$47,156	$8,134	67%
45	Vanderbilt	Nashville, TN	5.8×	$91,565	$15,846	6%
46	University of Minnesota-Morris	Morris, MN	5.8×	$50,919	$8,837	75%
47	Bowdoin	Brunswick, ME	5.7×	$82,735	$14,398	7%
48	UC Irvine	Irvine, CA	5.7×	$80,735	$14,251	29%
49	Illinois	Champaign, IL	5.6×	$81,054	$14,355	42%
50	Southeastern Oklahoma State University	Durant, OK	5.6×	$45,079	$8,039	76%
51	University of Central Florida	Orlando, FL	5.6×	$58,308	$10,411	40%
52	UW (Seattle)	Seattle, WA	5.6×	$78,466	$14,091	39%
53	University of North Florida	Jacksonville, FL	5.5×	$56,343	$10,154	53%
54	UC Davis	Davis, CA	5.5×	$80,838	$14,741	42%
55	Florida State University	Tallahassee, FL	5.5×	$61,675	$11,297	24%
56	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	San Luis Obispo, CA	5.4×	$90,768	$16,665	31%
57	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus	Denver, CO	5.4×	$64,270	$11,900	75%
58	Harvard	Cambridge, MA	5.3×	$101,817	$19,066	4%
59	Maryland	College Park, MD	5.3×	$82,860	$15,678	45%
60	University of West Florida	Pensacola, FL	5.2×	$49,137	$9,364	58%

Quick answers

How is “value” calculated?: Value = median earnings of students ~10 years after entry ÷ average annual net price, both from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. A higher ratio means more post-college earnings per dollar of yearly cost. It's a transparent measure, not a proprietary ranking.
What are the limits of this ranking?: Earnings data lags ~2 years, covers all students (not your specific major), and reflects who enrolls — so a school's mix of programs and students affects it. Net price is an average across aided students; your own price may differ. Use it as a starting point, then check your personalized net price and intended major.

Earnings and net price are estimates from College Scorecard and lag ~2 years; not a guarantee of individual outcomes. Rankings fill in as more schools are processed.

These outputs are estimates from a baseline model — not guarantees of admission, cost, or outcome.