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Best-Value Colleges in Ohio

35 Ohio 4-year colleges ranked by return on investment — 10-year graduate earnings per dollar of net price — among schools that beat the state median on earnings and graduation rate.

⚡Quick answer

The best-value college in Ohio is Mount Carmel College of Nursing, Columbus — a net price of $10,420 against $75,103 in median 10-year earnings, an ROI of 7.2×, with a 71% graduation rate. Every school here turns a modest cost into outsized, above-median earnings.

#	School	Net price /yr	10-yr earnings	ROI (earn ÷ price)	Grad rate	In-state tuition
1	Mount Carmel College of Nursing Columbus, OH	$10,420	$75,103	7.2×	71%	$22,080
2	The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences Cincinnati, OH	$18,378	$68,303	3.7×	60%	$16,836
3	Ursuline College Pepper Pike, OH	$16,164	$56,878	3.5×	53%	$38,990
4	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	$17,339	$60,409	3.5×	88%	$13,244
5	Good Samaritan College of Nursing and Health Science Cincinnati, OH	$19,622	$66,111	3.4×	75%	$15,470
6	Ohio Northern University Ada, OH	$24,478	$80,928	3.3×	74%	$39,800
7	Kettering College Kettering, OH	$21,650	$67,492	3.1×	65%	$16,320
8	Mount St. Joseph University Cincinnati, OH	$16,530	$51,509	3.1×	55%	$38,150
9	Wittenberg University Springfield, OH	$18,649	$54,947	2.9×	54%	$45,940
10	University of Toledo Toledo, OH	$17,249	$50,632	2.9×	56%	$12,744
11	Walsh University North Canton, OH	$20,493	$59,764	2.9×	62%	$35,745
12	Otterbein University Westerville, OH	$19,237	$53,313	2.8×	69%	$35,548
13	Marietta College Marietta, OH	$21,083	$57,180	2.7×	58%	$39,652
14	Ohio Wesleyan University Delaware, OH	$20,897	$55,624	2.7×	62%	$53,888
15	Aultman College of Nursing and Health Sciences Canton, OH	$24,204	$63,582	2.6×	52%	$20,230
16	Hiram College Hiram, OH	$21,058	$54,311	2.6×	59%	$27,600
17	University of Dayton Dayton, OH	$29,533	$75,537	2.6×	82%	$49,140
18	The College of Wooster Wooster, OH	$23,458	$59,629	2.5×	74%	$61,640
19	Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH	$21,637	$52,581	2.4×	66%	$14,158
20	Ashland University Ashland, OH	$21,988	$52,928	2.4×	61%	$31,210
21	Capital University Columbus, OH	$22,576	$54,143	2.4×	66%	$43,234
22	University of Northwestern Ohio Lima, OH	$21,807	$50,968	2.3×	54%	$13,875
23	University of Mount Union Alliance, OH	$23,280	$53,217	2.3×	65%	$36,600
24	Cedarville University Cedarville, OH	$24,468	$55,443	2.3×	74%	$37,150
25	John Carroll University University Heights, OH	$28,746	$62,860	2.2×	76%	$50,500
26	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH	$25,648	$54,810	2.1×	72%	$13,976
27	Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH	$41,190	$87,989	2.1×	87%	$66,608
28	Galen College of Nursing-Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH	$28,785	$61,480	2.1×	55%	$18,048
29	The University of Findlay Findlay, OH	$27,221	$56,996	2.1×	63%	$41,164
30	Xavier University Cincinnati, OH	$32,997	$64,873	2.0×	71%	$50,640
31	Baldwin Wallace University Berea, OH	$27,603	$54,122	2.0×	69%	$39,832
32	Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH	$28,384	$55,076	1.9×	82%	$18,161
33	Kenyon College Gambier, OH	$38,512	$71,830	1.9×	87%	$71,520
34	Denison University Granville, OH	$40,007	$67,753	1.7×	80%	$67,000
35	Oberlin College Oberlin, OH	$38,645	$58,343	1.5×	79%	$67,366

How we ranked this

From every Ohio four-year college that publishes net price, 10-year median earnings, and graduation rate, we keep only those that beat the state median on earnings and that graduate at least 45% of students (or the state median grad rate, whichever is higher). We then rank by ROI = 10-year median earnings ÷ average annual net price — the dollars of graduate earnings each dollar of net price buys — highest first. This rewards genuine return on investment rather than the cheapest sticker price, and the 4-year + outcome guards keep out the low-completion and 2-year outliers a pure price sort surfaces. Colleges missing any of the three figures are excluded, never estimated. Minimum 5 qualifying schools required to publish a page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best-value college in Ohio?+

Mount Carmel College of Nursing in Columbus has the highest return on investment among Ohio 4-year colleges that beat the state median on outcomes: a net price of $10,420 against $75,103 in 10-year median earnings — an ROI of 7.2× (dollars earned per dollar of annual net price) — with a 71% graduation rate.

What does "net price" mean?+

Net price is the average annual cost students actually pay after grants and scholarships are subtracted from the full cost of attendance — a far better affordability measure than sticker tuition. We use the College Scorecard average net price.

How is "best value" defined here?+

Value means return on investment, not cheapness. Among Ohio four-year colleges that beat the state median on BOTH 10-year graduate earnings and graduation rate (and graduate at least 45% of students), we rank by the ROI ratio = 10-year median earnings ÷ average annual net price. The school that turns each tuition dollar into the most graduate earnings ranks first.

Is the cheapest college always the best value?+

No. A rock-bottom price that leads to low earnings is worse value than a moderate price that leads to high earnings. That is exactly why we rank by the earnings-to-net-price ratio rather than by lowest price, and require above-median earnings and graduation rates first. Colleges missing net price, earnings, or graduation data are excluded rather than estimated.

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Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · IPEDS. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.