Our Liberal Arts colleges ranking is based purely on objective income data from the U.S. Department of Education. We rank universities by the median early-career pay of their graduates, providing valuable insight into the financial benefits of attending a particular school. Use this ranking as a starting point in your university search, and conduct further research to determine which school is the best fit for you.
| Rank | School | Early Career Pay | Average Cost | Acceptance Rate | # of Undergrads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harvey Mudd College | $112,059 | $33,467 | 17.96% | 827 |
| 2 | Franklin W Olin College of Engineering | $98,699 | $15,647 | 16.44% | 290 |
| 3 | Claremont McKenna College | $80,781 | $21,993 | 13.34% | 1,262 |
| 4 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | $79,785 | $38,975 | 76.62% | 1,969 |
| 5 | Bucknell University | $70,178 | $43,895 | 37.53% | 3,684 |
| 6 | Lafayette College | $66,921 | $32,926 | 35.57% | 2,489 |
| 7 | Washington and Lee University | $66,267 | $26,175 | 24.51% | 1,820 |
| 8 | College of the Holy Cross | $64,279 | $35,761 | 37.94% | 2,962 |
| 9 | Union College | $63,542 | $33,200 | 41.26% | 2,035 |
| 10 | Trinity College | $61,447 | $32,694 | 36.04% | 2,194 |
| 11 | University of Richmond | $61,214 | $27,050 | 30.90% | 3,304 |
| 12 | Virginia Military Institute | $60,651 | $22,025 | 59.88% | 1,698 |
| 13 | Linfield University-McMinnville Campus | $60,438 | $27,671 | 80.18% | 1,389 |
| 14 | Williams College | $59,277 | $23,497 | 15.12% | 1,917 |
| 15 | Barnard College | $58,581 | $33,122 | 13.60% | 2,744 |
| 16 | Wellesley College | $58,175 | $23,908 | 20.41% | 2,260 |
| 17 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | $57,561 | $19,919 | 85.55% | 2,043 |
| 18 | Colgate University | $57,238 | $27,775 | 27.47% | 3,032 |
| 19 | Hamilton College | $56,991 | $22,107 | 18.41% | 1,901 |
| 20 | Saint Johns University | $56,662 | $25,487 | 81.38% | 1,564 |
| 21 | Gettysburg College | $55,129 | $27,936 | 48.24% | 2,507 |
| 22 | Franklin and Marshall College | $54,904 | $30,911 | 36.50% | 2,242 |
| 23 | Amherst College | $54,333 | $21,657 | 11.83% | 1,745 |
| 24 | Saint Anselm College | $53,773 | $32,819 | 76.15% | 2,015 |
| 25 | Connecticut College | $53,562 | $30,977 | 37.72% | 1,711 |
| 26 | Muhlenberg College | $53,011 | $29,936 | 62.18% | 2,044 |
| 27 | Scripps College | $52,863 | $33,573 | 35.13% | 930 |
| 28 | Stonehill College | $52,843 | $34,102 | 68.96% | 2,421 |
| 29 | Illinois Wesleyan University | $52,371 | $34,738 | 56.93% | 1,628 |
| 30 | Hobart William Smith Colleges | $51,590 | $35,764 | 61.84% | 1,812 |
| 31 | Davidson College | $51,554 | $21,042 | 20% | 1,979 |
| 32 | Dickinson College | $51,355 | $32,250 | 51.65% | 1,899 |
| 33 | Swarthmore College | $51,200 | $20,813 | 9.06% | 1,435 |
| 34 | Bowdoin College | $51,153 | $22,840 | 9.16% | 1,776 |
| 35 | Washington & Jefferson College | $50,312 | $28,635 | 90.18% | 1,164 |
| 36 | Rhodes College | $50,078 | $25,881 | 51.36% | 1,801 |
| 37 | University of New Hampshire at Manchester | $50,047 | $13,949 | 85.28% | 694 |
| 38 | Bryn Mawr College | $49,745 | $34,118 | 38.36% | 1,298 |
| 39 | Wesleyan University | $49,408 | $28,813 | 20.90% | 2,838 |
| 40 | Emmanuel College | $49,367 | $29,816 | 75.52% | 1,785 |
| 41 | Saint Mary’s College | $49,118 | $23,625 | 81.51% | 1,412 |
| 42 | Hampden-Sydney College | $49,076 | $30,746 | 47.01% | 881 |
| 43 | University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg | $48,483 | $16,369 | 90.02% | 1,398 |
| 44 | Elizabethtown College | $48,470 | $25,069 | 85.73% | 1,649 |
| 45 | Charter Oak State College | $48,463 | $11,872 | N/A% | 1,471 |
| 46 | Carleton College | $48,030 | $28,928 | 21.18% | 1,918 |
| 47 | Wofford College | $48,020 | $27,988 | 53% | 1,760 |
| 48 | Colby College | $47,810 | $19,597 | 10.27% | 2,155 |
| 49 | College of Saint Benedict | $47,749 | $25,954 | 84.01% | 1,662 |
| 50 | Wabash College | $47,697 | $22,910 | 63.21% | 868 |
| 51 | Moravian University | $47,647 | $27,801 | 80.10% | 1,951 |
| 52 | Middlebury College | $47,424 | $26,525 | 22.04% | 2,571 |
| 53 | Gustavus Adolphus College | $47,325 | $24,696 | 70.61% | 2,230 |
| 54 | Occidental College | $47,008 | $34,032 | 40.90% | 1,835 |
| 55 | Southern California Institute of Technology | $46,919 | $27,063 | N/A% | 568 |
| 56 | DePauw University | $46,840 | $25,587 | 68.49% | 1,731 |
| 57 | Wheaton College | $46,794 | $25,692 | 86.95% | 2,228 |
| 58 | Ursinus College | $46,527 | $30,206 | 80.44% | 1,485 |
| 59 | Augustana College | $46,446 | $23,489 | 57.35% | 2,374 |
| 60 | Skidmore College | $46,423 | $28,570 | 32.17% | 2,574 |
| 61 | Washington College | $45,859 | $27,088 | 80.28% | 1,084 |
| 62 | Westmont College | $45,657 | $30,975 | 70.16% | 1,226 |
| 63 | Furman University | $45,496 | $32,563 | 65.25% | 2,341 |
| 64 | Lake Forest College | $45,449 | $23,991 | 57.61% | 1,552 |
| 65 | Denison University | $45,217 | $29,597 | 28.17% | 2,253 |
| 66 | Susquehanna University | $45,206 | $25,396 | 73.04% | 2,225 |
| 67 | Saint Norbert College | $44,901 | $26,612 | 84.25% | 1,859 |
| 68 | St Lawrence University | $44,894 | $27,003 | 47.26% | 2,256 |
| 69 | Albright College | $44,834 | $19,427 | 82.10% | 1,530 |
| 70 | Centre College | $44,830 | $21,426 | 72.08% | 1,333 |
| 71 | Wheaton College (Massachusetts) | $44,809 | $26,575 | 77.09% | 1,666 |
| 72 | Kalamazoo College | $44,781 | $22,727 | 74.33% | 1,445 |
| 73 | Bates College | $44,663 | $26,392 | 14.10% | 1,876 |
| 74 | Pomona College | $44,630 | $17,949 | 8.62% | 1,462 |
| 75 | Saint Vincent College | $44,550 | $21,573 | 72.12% | 1,432 |
| 76 | Pitzer College | $44,529 | $29,195 | 16.57% | 922 |
| 77 | Willamette University | $44,327 | $34,294 | 80.17% | 1,288 |
| 78 | Hope College | $44,047 | $26,944 | 77.83% | 2,963 |
| 79 | Smith College | $44,017 | $29,615 | 36.52% | 2,183 |
| 80 | Luther College | $44,001 | $25,538 | 64.29% | 1,794 |
| 81 | Albion College | $43,913 | $16,862 | 74.44% | 1,497 |
| 82 | Southwestern University | $43,899 | $27,013 | 49.37% | 1,505 |
| 83 | Austin College | $43,834 | $20,980 | 49.28% | 1,283 |
| 84 | St Olaf College | $43,815 | $24,052 | 50.81% | 2,928 |
| 85 | University of Arizona-Sierra Vista | $43,784 | N/A | N/A% | 349 |
| 86 | Wartburg College | $43,742 | $22,765 | 71.72% | 1,531 |
| 87 | Grinnell College | $43,599 | $25,182 | 19.25% | 1,490 |
| 88 | Vassar College | $43,438 | $27,499 | 24.54% | 2,421 |
| 89 | Randolph-Macon College | $43,415 | $25,551 | 71.31% | 1,551 |
| 90 | Simpson College | $43,356 | $19,644 | 86.62% | 1,218 |
| 91 | Concordia College at Moorhead | $43,354 | $23,189 | 58.08% | 1,873 |
| 92 | Allegheny College | $43,345 | $24,274 | 73.15% | 1,615 |
| 93 | The University of the South | $43,280 | $34,455 | 56.07% | 1,698 |
| 94 | Drew University | $43,256 | $25,776 | 73.15% | 1,541 |
| 95 | Coe College | $43,025 | $20,371 | 79.86% | 1,363 |
| 96 | University of Puget Sound | $42,979 | $33,562 | 86.85% | 1,896 |
| 97 | Haverford College | $42,959 | $25,789 | 18.23% | 1,306 |
| 98 | St. Mary’s College of Maryland | $42,860 | $19,448 | 79.03% | 1,467 |
| 99 | Saint Michael’s College | $42,782 | $29,361 | 87.81% | 1,501 |
| 100 | Whitman College | $42,773 | $35,894 | 54.13% | 1,339 |
| 101 | Kenyon College | $42,583 | $36,374 | 36.89% | 1,610 |
| 102 | Birmingham-Southern College | $42,523 | $19,808 | 60.45% | 1,129 |
| 103 | Franklin College | $42,262 | $20,535 | 76.07% | 912 |
| 104 | Colorado College | $42,259 | $24,703 | 13.60% | 2,023 |
| 105 | Juniata College | $42,248 | $21,241 | 67.46% | 1,267 |
| 106 | Whittier College | $42,157 | $26,740 | 72.33% | 1,488 |
| 107 | Roanoke College | $42,057 | $26,997 | 78.13% | 1,899 |
| 108 | Doane University | $42,038 | $23,440 | 68.80% | 1,250 |
| 109 | Bridgewater College | $41,948 | $20,457 | 76.14% | 1,552 |
| 110 | Central College | $41,571 | $21,099 | 63.68% | 1,091 |
| 111 | Hartwick College | $41,416 | $24,316 | 93.10% | 1,199 |
| 112 | Spelman College | $41,313 | $44,833 | 52.58% | 2,206 |
| 113 | Hanover College | $40,989 | $20,732 | 69.32% | 1,025 |
| 114 | Macalester College | $40,959 | $27,764 | 38.69% | 2,049 |
| 115 | Lycoming College | $40,559 | $18,554 | 65.48% | 1,054 |
| 116 | Illinois College | $40,226 | $18,271 | 75.24% | 1,150 |
| 117 | Mount Holyoke College | $40,180 | $28,724 | 52.47% | 1,912 |
| 118 | The King’s College | $40,129 | $35,422 | 39.48% | 432 |
| 119 | The College of Wooster | $40,105 | $24,249 | 65.30% | 1,924 |
| 120 | Wittenberg University | $39,995 | $21,508 | 97.43% | 1,413 |
| 121 | Presbyterian College | $39,994 | $21,460 | 70.83% | 988 |
| 122 | Ohio Wesleyan University | $39,983 | $24,720 | 68.40% | 1,422 |
| 123 | Lewis & Clark College | $39,944 | $36,638 | 79.82% | 1,814 |
| 124 | Westminster College | $39,785 | $20,603 | 76.51% | 1,094 |
| 125 | Ripon College | $39,761 | $20,741 | 74.06% | 796 |
| 126 | University of Minnesota-Morris | $39,760 | $10,529 | 64.65% | 1,243 |
| 127 | Westminster College | $39,516 | $24,139 | 97.43% | 606 |
| 128 | Centenary College of Louisiana | $39,447 | $22,672 | 63.69% | 552 |
| 129 | Meredith College | $39,277 | $24,362 | 71.62% | 1,493 |
| 130 | Morehouse College | $38,825 | $34,608 | 77.07% | 2,152 |
| 131 | Reed College | $38,708 | $33,350 | 42.34% | 1,349 |
| 132 | University of Wisconsin-Parkside | $38,442 | $11,082 | 66.31% | 3,612 |
| 133 | Millsaps College | $38,423 | $23,169 | 69.81% | 668 |
| 134 | Hendrix College | $38,321 | $19,746 | 70.54% | 1,065 |
| 135 | University of Wisconsin-Superior | $38,090 | $14,084 | 86.13% | 2,040 |
| 136 | Marymount Manhattan College | $37,945 | $38,757 | 88.18% | 1,662 |
| 137 | Bethany Lutheran College | $37,943 | $16,107 | 64.51% | 632 |
| 138 | Monmouth College | $37,902 | $17,302 | 69.43% | 847 |
| 139 | Oglethorpe University | $37,900 | $22,523 | 66.93% | 1,415 |
| 140 | Spring Hill College | $37,808 | $22,560 | 54.16% | 1,058 |
| 141 | Guilford College | $37,788 | $23,055 | 78.01% | 1,262 |
| 142 | Mansfield University of Pennsylvania | $37,752 | $11,793 | 96.02% | 1,614 |
| 143 | Ave Maria University | $37,523 | $18,264 | 91.79% | 1,048 |
| 144 | Lawrence University | $37,518 | $22,452 | 68.92% | 1,419 |
| 145 | Oberlin College | $37,507 | $34,777 | 35.36% | 2,647 |
| 146 | Knox College | $37,361 | $20,548 | 70.84% | 1,130 |
| 147 | Virginia Wesleyan University | $37,287 | $22,653 | 73.99% | 1,261 |
| 148 | Sweet Briar College | $37,213 | $23,783 | 75.95% | 356 |
| 149 | Bryn Athyn College of the New Church | $37,124 | $19,860 | 77.71% | 268 |
| 150 | Gordon College | $37,017 | $25,748 | 68.27% | 1,428 |