Ranked by graduate earnings

Best colleges for Accounting

50 Accounting programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion - from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.

Quick answer

For Accounting, University of Southern California (California) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $121,101. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion - not reputation or cost - across 50 programs with published outcome data.

#	School	Credential	Median earnings	Median debt	Completers	Score
1	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$121,101	$16,491	160	95.9
2	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$126,461	$18,000	123	94.9
3	Georgetown University Washington, DC	Bachelor's Degree	$141,931	$17,500	53	94
4	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$130,087	$18,625	67	93.7
5	Bryant University Smithfield, RI	Master's Degree	$111,632	$14,194	40	92.9
6	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$118,946	$16,750	37	92.7
7	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	Post-baccalaureate Certificate	$115,965	$12,500	-	92.6
8	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY	Master's Degree	$113,283	$19,762	220	92.4
9	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$111,733	$14,750	35	92.3
10	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	Bachelor's Degree	$115,909	$19,000	66	92.1
11	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$106,323	$17,500	171	91.4
12	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$103,662	$16,831	262	90.9
13	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$103,675	$16,200	75	90.1
14	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	Bachelor's Degree	$96,632	$9,127	269	89.9
15	Touro University New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$99,047	$11,000	64	89.7
16	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$105,143	$19,462	186	89.5
17	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	Graduate/Professional Certificate	$100,725	$16,000	102	89.3
18	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	Master's Degree	$113,379	$20,500	89	89.2
19	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN	Master's Degree	$112,249	$20,500	105	89.2
20	Sacred Heart University Fairfield, CT	Master's Degree	$117,457	$20,500	57	89
21	Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$101,938	$17,778	116	89
22	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA	Master's Degree	$110,498	$20,500	152	88.9
23	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL	Master's Degree	$105,203	$17,950	52	88.7
24	Pace University New York, NY	Master's Degree	$115,804	$20,500	57	88.7
25	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	Master's Degree	$113,488	$21,075	87	88.6
26	University of North Florida Jacksonville, FL	Master's Degree	$110,979	$18,563	24	88.6
27	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA	Master's Degree	$109,628	$20,500	160	88.5
28	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	Master's Degree	$108,934	$20,500	204	88.5
29	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	Master's Degree	$98,020	$16,250	182	88.3
30	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	Bachelor's Degree	$102,344	$17,750	63	88.2
31	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	Bachelor's Degree	$97,314	$15,000	154	88.2
32	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	Master's Degree	$114,584	-	168	88.1
33	University at Albany Albany, NY	Master's Degree	$110,374	$20,500	87	88
34	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	Master's Degree	$109,883	$20,500	93	88
35	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$99,528	$18,500	162	87.9
36	University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY	Master's Degree	$98,554	$16,000	78	87.7
37	Bentley University Waltham, MA	Master's Degree	$115,201	$20,500	37	87.5
38	Texas State University San Marcos, TX	Master's Degree	$99,772	$17,425	64	87.5
39	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA	Master's Degree	$111,224	$20,500	52	87.5
40	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$101,098	$20,125	353	87
41	Fordham University Bronx, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$117,024	$23,000	93	87
42	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	Master's Degree	$107,577	$20,732	87	86.9
43	Elon University Elon, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$105,707	$20,000	56	86.9
44	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	Master's Degree	$107,090	$20,500	84	86.9
45	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	Master's Degree	$118,957	-	51	86.8
46	Baylor University Waco, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$102,011	$20,495	148	86.7
47	Temple University Philadelphia, PA	Master's Degree	$110,473	$20,500	46	86.6
48	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$125,874	$23,179	58	86.5
49	University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$112,202	$20,500	34	86.5
50	Western Governors University Salt Lake City, UT	Master's Degree	$92,442	$12,750	320	86.5

Filter Accounting by state & degree level →

Hidden Gems for Accounting

Lower-profile schools with a genuinely strong outcome score for Accounting - the famous brand names and mega-flagships are deliberately filtered out.

#	School	Median earnings	Admit rate	Score
1	Pace University New York, NY Strong Accounting outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$115,804	76%	88.7
2	University at Albany Albany, NY Strong Accounting outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$110,374	69%	88
3	University of Hartford West Hartford, CT Strong Accounting outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$109,816	96%	86.1
4	University of Denver Denver, CO Strong Accounting outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$105,291	78%	85.3
5	Loyola University Maryland Baltimore, MD Strong Accounting outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$122,816	75%	85.3
6	St. John's University-New York Queens, NY Strong Accounting outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$109,990	83%	85.1
7	Southern Utah University Cedar City, UT Strong Accounting outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$92,785	82%	84.9
8	Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT Strong Accounting outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$103,777	73%	84.4
9	Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, MA Strong Accounting outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$99,020	88%	84.1
10	Rider University Lawrenceville, NJ Strong Accounting outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$103,295	79%	82.6
11	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA Strong Accounting outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$111,662	83%	82.3
12	Pennsylvania State University-World Campus University Park, PA Strong Accounting outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$110,498	91%	82.1

Hidden Gems use the same College Scorecard outcome score, then drop the pool’s most-selective brands (bottom-quartile admit rate) and largest campuses (top-quartile enrollment). Schools that don’t report admit rate or enrollment are not dropped by that guard.

How we ranked this

Programs are scored 0-100 within the Accounting field (CIP 52.03) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Accounting programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded - never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.

Frequently asked questions

Which college has the best Accounting program?+

By our outcome score, University of Southern California (California) ranks #1 for Accounting, with median graduate earnings of $121,101.

How are these Accounting programs ranked?+

Each program gets a 0-100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.

Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+

The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.

Can I filter Accounting programs by state or degree level?+

Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).

Keep exploring

Accounting rankings (filterable)All major rankings Browse colleges Tuition-free colleges All Best-Of guides

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