These are the colleges with the highest graduation rates in 2024
The colleges with the highest graduation rates are Princeton University, Harvard University, and Allen College.
The average total college graduation rate in the U.S. is 61.4%.
The online colleges with the best graduation rates are St. Luke’s College, Trine University, and the University of Florida Online.
You won’t get a refund on tuition if you drop out of college. Failing to graduate often means being saddled with student loans, but without the salary premium a college degree unlocks.
This could leave you in a very precarious financial position.
As such, it’s wise to choose a college with a high graduation rate – this is evidence that the university is doing all it can to ensure students pass their classes and earn a degree.
Fortunately, some colleges are doing an exceptional job at making sure students graduate – across the socio-economic spectrum.
Read on to discover the American colleges with the highest graduation rates.
What is the average college graduation rate in the U.S.?
In 2022-2023, the average college graduation rate was 61.4% (for 4-year colleges).
To get this number, we used IPEDS data; we looked at the graduation rates of 1,530 4-year institutions that mostly confer bachelor’s degrees (we excluded certain categories of narrowly specialized universities).
IPEDS is a primary source on educational outcome data compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Note that this is the total graduation rate – regardless of how long students took to finish their degree. All graduation rates cited in this article are total graduation rates.
It takes the average student 4.5 years to complete their bachelor’s degree.
It takes the average student 4.5 years to complete their bachelor’s degree.
Colleges with highest graduation rates
The colleges with the highest total graduation rate, according to IPEDS data, are listed below.
We also have a list of the colleges with the lowest graduation rates in our article about the worst colleges in the U.S.
| University/College | Graduation rate |
|---|---|
| 1. Princeton University | 98.8% |
| 2. Harvard University | 98.3% |
| 3. Allen College | 97.8% |
| 4. Yale University | 97.4% |
| 5. Stanford University | 97.3% |
| 6. Swarthmore College | 97.3% |
| 7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 96.7% |
| 8. University of Notre Dame | 96.6% |
| 9. University of Chicago | 96.4% |
| 10. Williams College | 96.3% |
| 11. University of Pennsylvania | 96.3% |
| 12. Duke University | 96.3% |
| 13. Cornell University | 96.2% |
| 14. Brown University | 96.2% |
| 15. Amherst College | 96.1% |
| 16. Dartmouth College | 95.7% |
| 17. Franklin W Olin College of Engineering | 95.4% |
| 18. Westminster College | 95.3% |
| 19. Northwestern University | 95.1% |
| 20. Bowdoin College | 94.9% |
| 21. Johns Hopkins University | 94.8% |
| 22. Rice University | 94.7% |
| 23. Washington University in St. Louis | 94.6% |
| 24. Georgetown University | 94.4% |
| 25. Pomona College | 94.4% |
| 26. Columbia University | 94.3% |
| 27. Tufts University | 94.3% |
| 28. Middlebury College | 94.2% |
Princeton University in New Jersey topped the study with the highest rate of graduation in the U.S., at 98.8%. At Princeton, 89% of students graduate in 4 years and go on to earn an average annual salary of $110,066.
Havard University in Massachusetts follows closely in second place, with a graduation rate of 98.3% and 86% of attending students graduating in 4 years at the school. Students who graduate from Havard earn an average yearly salary of $101,817.
Allen College in Iowa takes third spot, with 97.8% of its students graduating and 94.8% graduating in 4 years at the college. Allen College graduates earn an average salary of $71,261.
Yale University in Connecticut is in fourth position; 97.4% of attending students graduate, with 84.2% of graduations taking place in 4 years. Former Yale alumni secure an average of $100,533 per year.
Next on the list is Stanford University, which claims fifth place, with a graduation rate of 97.3% among students. In 4 years at the school, 74.2% of students graduate, with average future salaries of $124,080 a year.
The school with the sixth highest graduation rate is Swarthmore College, with a rate of 97.3%, and 91.5% of its students graduating in 4 years. Those previously enrolled at Swarthmore have among the highest average earnings of any school in the US, securing an impressive annual salary of $80,257.
Following next, in seventh, is Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with a graduation rate of 96.7% and 86.7% of its students graduating in 4 years. MIT alumni earn a high average salary of $143,372.
The University of Notre Dame in Indiana takes eighth place in the list, with a graduation rate of 96.6%. 93% graduate in 4 years and go on to earn $99,980 a year on average.
The University of Chicago in Illinois follows in ninth position, with a total graduation rate of 96.4% where 90.8% of its students graduate in 4 years. For those who attended the UChicago, their average salary has been found to be $91,885.
Completing the top 10 US colleges with the highest graduation rates is Williams College, with a graduation rate of 96.3% where 89% of its students graduate in 4 years. Former University of Notre Dame alumni go on to earn an average of $88,665 a year.
Source: IPEDS, 2022-2023
Online colleges with highest graduation rates
Online colleges tend to have a lower graduation rate than traditional institutions. This may be because they have a higher share of non-traditional students who are balancing their studies with a full-time job.
Some online universities are doing a better job ensuring that students graduate.
We list the top 10 online colleges with the highest graduation rates below. These colleges all offer 100% online programs, although some may also have on-campus options.
| College | Graduation rate |
|---|---|
| St. Luke’s College | 82.6% |
| Trine University | 74.7% |
| University of Florida Online | 72.6% |
| Charter Oak State College | 72% |
| Everglades University | 62.3% |
| Colorado State University Global | 62.2% |
| Johnson & Wales University Online | 60.8% |
| Fremont University | 60.2% |
| University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Flex | 58.8% |
| Franklin University | 58.7% |
Source: IPEDS, 2022-2023
The cheapest colleges with high graduation rates
You may have noticed from our first list that the colleges with the highest graduation rates are an elite bunch.
If you’re an ordinary student, “if you want to be sure of graduating, go to Princeton” might not be very helpful advice.
To bring the conversation back down to Earth, we looked at all the colleges with a graduation rate of at least 80% and sorted them by cheapest average annual net cost.
Average annual net cost refers to the total amount the average student pays for college each year – after financial aid. This includes costs like room, board, and textbooks.
This filters our many highly selective liberal arts colleges, although Princeton, with its extremely generous scholarships, remains on the list.
Also check out our list of the cheapest colleges in America.
| College | Graduation rate | Annual net cost (after fin aid) |
|---|---|---|
| University of Florida | 89.3% | $6,275 |
| Florida State University | 84.4% | $6,450 |
| California State University-Fullerton | 80.5% | $7,485 |
| Princeton University | 98.8% | $8,143 |
| California State University-Long Beach | 83% | $8,721 |
| Stanford University | 97% | $10,851 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 90.8% | $12,414 |
| University of California-Irvine | 86.8% | $12,426 |
| San Diego State University | 82.1% | $12,721 |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 83.9% | $13,404 |
Source: IPEDS, 2022-2023
Colleges with the best graduation rates for Pell students
Unfortunately, students from low-income households graduate college at lower rates than their peers.
This means many of the students who stand to benefit most from a college degree are instead being caught in a debt trap.
Below is a list of universities with the highest graduation rates among Pell grant recipients. Pell grants are government scholarships awarded to students from low-income families.
| College | Total pell graduation rate | Percent of students receiving pell grant |
|---|---|---|
| Hampton University | 99.5% | 17% |
| Swarthmore College | 98.3% | 19% |
| Princeton University | 98.2% | 19% |
| Stanford University | 98.1% | 19% |
| Bates College | 97.8% | 10% |
| Colby College | 97.6% | 14% |
| Harvard University | 97.5% | 13% |
| Yale University | 97.4% | 19% |
| Williams College | 96.8% | 18% |
| University of Chicago | 96.7% | 13% |
Source: IPEDS, 2022-2023
Low-income-serving colleges with the best graduation rates for Pell students
While the schools in the list above have high grade rates for Pell grant recipients, many do not admit many low-income students in the first place.
To find out which colleges are truly doing the best job at graduating low-income students, we turned to our Social Mobility Index (SMI).
Schools with a high SMI not only provide great outcomes for low-income students, they also accept an above-average share of students from low-income households.
We looked at colleges with an SMI in the top 10% of all institutions and ranked them by graduation rate for Pell students.
| College | Total pell graduation rate | Percent of students receiving pell grant |
|---|---|---|
| CUNY Bernard M Baruch College | 73% | 52% |
| CUNY City College | 62.2% | 58% |
| CUNY Hunter College | 60.4% | 52% |
| St Petersburg College | 39.5% | 34% |
| CUNY Brooklyn College | 59.5% | 55% |
| CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice | 62.9% | 58% |
| CUNY Lehman College | 64.1% | 58% |
| CUNY Queens College | 59% | 46% |
| California State University-Dominguez Hills | 68.3% | 62% |
| California State University-Stanislaus | 72.2% | 57% |
Source: IPEDS, 2022-2023
Final thoughts
It is interesting to see that many Ivy League institutions are among the schools in the US with the highest rates of graduation. Typically, these elite schools have the lowest acceptance rate of applications, perhaps demonstrating the success of this process since nearly all of their respective students graduate, and usually in 4 years.
Furthermore, with the average national salary in the US being $65,470, it is clear that the alumni of all the institutions in this ranking are producing top earners in the country, since their average yearly earnings fall above this rate.
Graduation rates should be an important consideration as you apply for college. Enrolling somewhere where most college students drop out is a huge financial risk.
However, other factors are equally important when choosing a university: one example is a degree’s economic value. While some expensive colleges are “worth it” thanks to the high salaries they unlock, many affordable institutions provide equally good outcomes after graduation.
To help you find the best deal on your degree, we rank colleges by economic value – or ROI. Discover which colleges offer the best-value degrees in our rankings of national universities.
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