The 48 colleges that score highest for Public policy on public federal data: selectivity, graduate earnings, program size, academic strength and graduate depth. It is a starting point for your research, not a judgment of quality.
48 colleges · each name links to its page, with sources · data snapshot October 2, 2026 · Updated October 2, 2026
How we rank programs · showing the top 48 of 48 core colleges ranked, those with enough graduates and earnings data · All top-programs lists
Enter your ZIP to see distances and filter by miles. It stays in your browser.
| Rank | College | State | What we measured | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford University | CA | Median earnings $124,080 (college-wide) · 15 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 2 | Princeton University | NJ | Median earnings $107,792 · 130 graduates last year · 10% of the school's degrees | |
| 3 | University of Chicago | IL | Median earnings $94,237 · 115 graduates last year · 4% of the school's degrees | |
| 4 | University of Pennsylvania | PA | Median earnings $111,371 (college-wide) · 18 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 5 | Duke University | NC | Median earnings $103,071 · 162 graduates last year · 6% of the school's degrees | |
| 6 | Vanderbilt University | TN | Median earnings $91,265 · 25 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 7 | Rice University | TX | Median earnings $89,718 (college-wide) · 33 graduates last year · 3% of the school's degrees | |
| 8 | Cornell University | NY | Median earnings $126,767 · 74 graduates last year · 2% of the school's degrees | |
| 9 | University of California-Los Angeles | CA | Median earnings $82,511 (college-wide) · 112 graduates last year · 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 10 | Northwestern University | IL | Median earnings $78,752 · 40 graduates last year · 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 11 | Pomona College | CA | Median earnings $77,779 (college-wide) · 19 graduates last year · 4% of the school's degrees | |
| 12 | Claremont McKenna College | CA | Median earnings $104,736 (college-wide) · 11 graduates last year · 2% of the school's degrees | |
| 13 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | VA | Median earnings $109,851 (field-wide) · 98 graduates last year · 2% of the school's degrees | |
| 14 | Barnard College | NY | Median earnings $80,516 (college-wide) · 36 graduates last year · 4% of the school's degrees | |
| 15 | University of Notre Dame | IN | Median earnings $99,980 (college-wide) · 11 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 16 | University of Southern California | CA | Median earnings $74,511 · 45 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 17 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | GA | Median earnings $102,772 (college-wide) · 30 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 18 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | NC | Median earnings $74,403 · 159 graduates last year · 2% of the school's degrees | |
| 19 | Hamilton College | NY | Median earnings $78,411 (college-wide) · 21 graduates last year · 3% of the school's degrees | |
| 20 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | MI | Median earnings $73,749 · 77 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 21 | University of Maryland-College Park | MD | Median earnings $82,860 (college-wide) · 101 graduates last year · 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 22 | Brandeis University | MA | Median earnings $75,580 · 91 graduates last year · 8% of the school's degrees | |
| 23 | William & Mary | VA | Median earnings $69,118 · 54 graduates last year · 3% of the school's degrees | |
| 24 | Trinity College | CT | Median earnings $82,638 · 41 graduates last year · 7% of the school's degrees | |
| 25 | Southern Methodist University | TX | Median earnings $78,354 (college-wide) · 48 graduates last year · 2% of the school's degrees | |
| 26 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | NJ | Median earnings $74,865 · 14 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 27 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | VA | Median earnings $66,177 · 48 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 28 | Gettysburg College | PA | Median earnings $71,517 (college-wide) · 24 graduates last year · 3% of the school's degrees | |
| 29 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | OH | Median earnings $65,894 · 30 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 30 | Arizona State University Digital Immersion | AZ | Median earnings $62,668 (college-wide) · 75 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 31 | University of Connecticut | CT | Median earnings $64,389 · 25 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 32 | University of California-Riverside | CA | Median earnings $58,504 · 89 graduates last year · 2% of the school's degrees | |
| 33 | University of Delaware | DE | Median earnings $65,776 · 31 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 34 | The University of Texas at Dallas | TX | Median earnings $66,209 · 21 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 35 | Empire State University | NY | Median earnings $56,863 (field-wide) · 61 graduates last year · 3% of the school's degrees | |
| 36 | Regent University | VA | Median earnings $60,776 · 25 graduates last year · 4% of the school's degrees | |
| 37 | University of Mississippi | MS | Median earnings $85,338 · 48 graduates last year · 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 38 | University at Albany | NY | Median earnings $59,886 (field-wide) · 27 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 39 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | Median earnings $71,723 · 88 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 40 | University of Denver | CO | Median earnings $71,155 (college-wide) · 17 graduates last year · 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 41 | Georgia State University | GA | Median earnings $56,842 · 30 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 42 | St. Mary's College of Maryland | MD | Median earnings $69,232 · 11 graduates last year · 3% of the school's degrees | |
| 43 | Oregon State University | OR | Median earnings $64,010 (college-wide) · 11 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 44 | University of Illinois Chicago | IL | Median earnings $68,740 (college-wide) · 27 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 45 | Duquesne University | PA | Median earnings $74,742 (college-wide) · 11 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 46 | University of Rhode Island | RI | Median earnings $51,697 · 21 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 47 | Michigan State University | MI | Median earnings $58,535 · 16 graduates last year · under 1% of the school's degrees | |
| 48 | Dallas Baptist University | TX | Median earnings $56,807 (college-wide) · 11 graduates last year · 2% of the school's degrees |
Coming soon
Match by GPA, budget, AP scores and intended major, and track every deadline. Leave your email and we’ll tell you at launch.