Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
EarningsPluscompares student earnings after college against a benchmark that Degreechoices adjusts based on each school’s unique mix of academic programs and the in-state/out-of-state composition of the student body.
Schools are assigned a value from 1-100, where 100 is best for students from households earning up to $30,000. This value is multiplied by the percentage of the school’s student body that received a Pell Grant, to calculate the economic mobility score. A higher score is better. Read the full explanation
The percentage of a school’s student body that has received a Pell Grant.
Payback measures how long it takes the average student to pay back the total cost of attending college with marginal earnings. Marginal earnings are the difference between what the average student would have earned before attending college and what they earn afterwards.
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
The total debt accrued by the median student at the time of graduation.
The debt-to-earnings ratio is calculated by dividing student debt upon graduation by the annual salary. A debt to earnings ratio of 1 means that annual educational debt is the same as annual earnings.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
EarningsPluscompares student earnings after college against a benchmark that Degreechoices adjusts based on each school’s unique mix of academic programs and the in-state/out-of-state composition of the student body.
Payback measures how long it takes the average student to pay back the total cost of attending college with marginal earnings. Marginal earnings are the difference between what the average student would have earned before attending college and what they earn afterwards.
Washington and Lee University ranked first and University of Virginia ranked second for the best colleges in Virginia. With close proximity to Washington, D.C., students interested in government and political science internships will find a range of opportunities. Big fan of Thomas Jefferson? Look no further, TJ's historic home, Monticello, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular destination for those interested in early American history and architecture.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$29,479
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$94,810
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate93%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$23,101
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$86,863
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate94%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$17,385
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$76,343
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate77%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$20,292
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$81,698
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate87%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$19,442
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$73,490
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate91%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$21,215
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$77,369
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate84%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$28,649
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$76,178
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate87%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$22,465
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$69,954
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate83%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$23,659
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$67,516
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate66%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$25,214
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$67,640
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate67%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$22,066
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$60,613
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate68%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$22,609
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$60,509
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate79%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$15,415
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$54,914
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate58%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$22,104
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$56,380
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate63%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$20,405
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$58,128
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate68%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$16,310
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$53,739
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate60%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$18,897
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$53,453
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate64%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$27,780
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$58,047
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate71%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$27,462
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$58,448
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate64%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$23,206
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$54,869
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate70%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
www.degreechoices.com is an advertising-supported site. Featured or trusted partner programs and all school search, finder, or match results are for schools that compensate
us. This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site.
Average income based on education level
The following figures are the average salaries in Virginia for each level of education.
Average Income
The average income of people in this state with a high-school diploma, certificate, associate degree, bachelor’s degree, or master’s degree, 10 years after enrollment, based on 2021-2022 CSC data.
HS Diploma$39,730
Certificate$40,381
Associate$40,162
Bachelor$58,207
Master$61,953
Cost of attending college in Virginia
In-state-tuition$23,498
The average in-state tuition, before financial aid, of all 4-year institutions in the state. Includes public, private, online, on-campus, non-profit, and for-profit institutions. Based on 2021-2022 CSC data.
Out-of-state-tuition$28,541
The average tuition for out-of-state students, before financial aid of all 4-year institutions in the state. Includes public, private, online, on-campus, non-profit, and for-profit institutions. Based on 2021-2022 CSC data.
Most popular degrees in Virginia
In Virginia the most popular degrees are Business Administration, General Psychology, and Registered Nursing. To create this list, we complied and analyzed data from IPEDS and College Scorecard.
They both provide information on how many graduates each program has annually. The list below is both undergraduate- and graduate-level programs.
Popular degrees
1Business Administration 8,350graduates
2General Psychology 4,612graduates
3Registered Nursing 3,603graduates
4Biology 2,971graduates
5Computer and Information Sciences 2,657graduates
6Criminal Justice 2,184graduates
7Liberal Arts and Sciences 1,987graduates
8Comms & Media Studies 1,817graduates
9Mental & Social Health Services 1,788graduates
10Education-grades & methods 1,646graduates
Fastest growing careers
Virginia job growth
10%
Nurse Practitioners
57.1%
Fitness Trainers and Aerobics Instructors
46.6%
Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers
39.7%
Occupational Therapy Assistants
37.9%
Information Security Analysts
36.8%
Statisticians
35.9%
Physical Therapist Assistants
33.4%
Orthotists and Prosthetists
33.3%
Medical and Health Services Managers
32.6%
Physician Assistants
32.3%
Best bachelor’s degrees in Virginia
These majors are most likely to pay off economically after graduation.
Higher education is supposed to act as an economic elevator that lifts students from low-income households into the middle class. But not all colleges do this: unfortunately, many of the nation’s most “prestigious” schools accept very few students from low-income backgrounds.
To determine what colleges are doing the best job at lifting students out of poverty, we have devised a Social Mobility Index (SMI).
The best colleges for social mobility in Virginia are shown below.
Bachelor's degree holders or higher
38.8%
Filters
Virginia
10%
