Best Colleges for Finance
50 Finance programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.
For Finance, University of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $202,069. 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 Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA | Bachelor's Degree | $202,069 | $12,999 | 398 | 99.1 |
| 2 | Georgetown University Washington, DC | Bachelor's Degree | $152,744 | $15,750 | 214 | 95.2 |
| 3 | Brigham Young University Provo, UT | Bachelor's Degree | $129,879 | $11,625 | 198 | 94.3 |
| 4 | Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA | Bachelor's Degree | $147,746 | $18,000 | 325 | 94.2 |
| 5 | University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN | Bachelor's Degree | $160,313 | $19,000 | 260 | 93.6 |
| 6 | Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO | Bachelor's Degree | $185,551 | $19,500 | 181 | 92.4 |
| 7 | Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX | Bachelor's Degree | $133,852 | $19,439 | 290 | 91.4 |
| 8 | Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $118,737 | $14,490 | 160 | 90.7 |
| 9 | University of Miami Coral Gables, FL | Bachelor's Degree | $110,240 | $14,500 | 256 | 89.9 |
| 10 | Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC | Bachelor's Degree | $145,996 | $19,500 | 147 | 89.9 |
| 11 | George Washington University Washington, DC | Bachelor's Degree | $126,638 | $18,148 | 119 | 89.4 |
| 12 | Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX | Bachelor's Degree | $112,319 | $16,671 | 307 | 89.3 |
| 13 | Binghamton University Vestal, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $115,013 | $15,363 | 128 | 89.1 |
| 14 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX | Bachelor's Degree | $132,075 | $20,500 | 407 | 88.6 |
| 15 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL | Bachelor's Degree | $119,978 | $19,500 | 301 | 87.6 |
| 16 | Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO | Master's Degree | $165,087 | — | 168 | 87.2 |
| 17 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL | Bachelor's Degree | $106,153 | $16,681 | 248 | 86.6 |
| 18 | Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX | Bachelor's Degree | $111,304 | $19,000 | 212 | 86.6 |
| 19 | Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA | Bachelor's Degree | $129,850 | $21,250 | 249 | 86.2 |
| 20 | Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX | Master's Degree | $135,516 | $20,500 | 62 | 85.9 |
| 21 | University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD | Bachelor's Degree | $110,648 | $19,500 | 376 | 85.8 |
| 22 | Bentley University Waltham, MA | Master's Degree | $131,993 | $20,500 | 67 | 85.1 |
| 23 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL | Master's Degree | $173,875 | — | 38 | 84.2 |
| 24 | University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI | Bachelor's Degree | $107,207 | $20,181 | 463 | 83.8 |
| 25 | Villanova University Villanova, PA | Master's Degree | $164,343 | — | — | 83.6 |
| 26 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK | Bachelor's Degree | $106,719 | $19,500 | 196 | 83.2 |
| 27 | Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $109,303 | $19,500 | 115 | 83.1 |
| 28 | American University Washington, DC | Bachelor's Degree | $134,332 | $22,625 | 75 | 83 |
| 29 | University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI | Master's Degree | $164,371 | — | 28 | 82.8 |
| 30 | Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH | Master's Degree | $120,292 | — | 161 | 82.2 |
| 31 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA | Bachelor's Degree | $97,452 | $13,856 | 295 | 82.1 |
| 32 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA | Master's Degree | $135,370 | — | — | 82 |
| 33 | Boston University Boston, MA | Master's Degree | $117,293 | — | 216 | 82 |
| 34 | Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA | Bachelor's Degree | $127,210 | $23,250 | 197 | 82 |
| 35 | University of Connecticut Storrs, CT | Bachelor's Degree | $102,286 | $19,500 | 253 | 81.7 |
| 36 | Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH | Bachelor's Degree | $110,406 | $21,788 | 348 | 81.7 |
| 37 | Saint Joseph's University Philadelphia, PA | Master's Degree | $132,021 | — | 42 | 81.7 |
| 38 | James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA | Bachelor's Degree | $104,926 | $19,500 | 140 | 81.7 |
| 39 | Elon University Elon, NC | Bachelor's Degree | $103,426 | $19,500 | 152 | 81.5 |
| 40 | West Texas A & M University Canyon, TX | Master's Degree | $121,970 | — | 75 | 81.3 |
| 41 | University of Iowa Iowa City, IA | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $131,086 | — | 41 | 81.2 |
| 42 | University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT | Bachelor's Degree | $100,793 | $18,408 | 175 | 81 |
| 43 | University of Georgia Athens, GA | Bachelor's Degree | $97,364 | $17,500 | 544 | 80.4 |
| 44 | Fordham University Bronx, NY | Master's Degree | $201,439 | — | 0 | 80.3 |
| 45 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX | Master's Degree | $128,956 | — | — | 80.3 |
| 46 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $127,821 | — | 37 | 80.2 |
| 47 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA | Master's Degree | $316,195 | $41,000 | 255 | 80.1 |
| 48 | Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA | Bachelor's Degree | $177,848 | — | 0 | 79.8 |
| 49 | University of Arizona Tucson, AZ | Bachelor's Degree | $100,938 | $19,500 | 219 | 79.6 |
| 50 | Fordham University Bronx, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $141,860 | $26,870 | 229 | 79.6 |
How we ranked this
Programs are scored 0–100 within the Finance field (CIP 52.08) 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 Finance 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 Finance program?+
By our outcome score, University of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania) ranks #1 for Finance, with median graduate earnings of $202,069.
How are these Finance 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 Finance 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
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. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.