Best Colleges for Finance, Ranked by What Graduates Earn
University of Pennsylvania tops Solyo’s finance ranking: its finance graduates earn a median $202,069 four years after finishing. The rest of the top five are University of Notre Dame, Boston College, Georgetown University and Washington University in St. Louis. We scored all 349 colleges that award at least 20 finance bachelor’s degrees a year and report graduate earnings, using federal outcome data rather than reputation surveys.
How the score works. 50% graduate earnings, 25% graduation rate, 15% earnings relative to debt, 10% program size, each scored against the other qualifying colleges. Admit rate is shown but not scored. The U.S. News Finance rank, 2027 column is for reference only and does not affect the order. Full methodology.
At a glance
- The middle qualifying college’s finance graduates earn $78,870 four years out; every college in the top 50 is above that.
- 24 of the top 50 are public universities, led by University of Texas at Austin at No. 6, so in-state tuition can buy a strong finance outcome.
- 37 of the 50 admit at least 30% of applicants: strong finance programs are not only at the most selective schools.
- 770 colleges award finance bachelor’s degrees; 349 meet the data requirements to be scored.
The top 50 colleges for finance
| # | College | Grad earnings, 4 yrs | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PA · Private · 97% grad rate · U.S. News #1 | $202,069 | 99.6 |
| 2 | University of Notre DameNotre Dame, IN · Private · 95% grad rate · U.S. News #13 | $160,313 | 98.1 |
| 3 | Boston CollegeChestnut Hill, MA · Private · 91% grad rate · U.S. News #7 | $147,746 | 98.0 |
| 4 | Georgetown UniversityWashington, DC · Private · 95% grad rate · U.S. News #20 | $152,744 | 97.5 |
| 5 | Washington University in St. LouisSt. Louis, MO · Private · 94% grad rate · U.S. News #24 (tie) | $185,551 | 97.1 |
| 6 | University of Texas at AustinAustin, TX · Public · 89% grad rate · U.S. News #5 | $132,075 | 96.8 |
| 7 | Wake Forest UniversityWinston-Salem, NC · Private · 89% grad rate | $145,996 | 95.1 |
| 8 | Southern Methodist UniversityDallas, TX · Private · 84% grad rate | $133,852 | 95.1 |
| 9 | Tulane UniversityNew Orleans, LA · Private · 86% grad rate | $129,850 | 94.6 |
| 10 | Villanova UniversityVillanova, PA · Private · 92% grad rate | $131,996 | 94.4 |
| 11 | University of Maryland-College ParkCollege Park, MD · Public · 89% grad rate · U.S. News #30 (tie) | $110,648 | 94.3 |
| 12 | University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignChampaign, IL · Public · 85% grad rate · U.S. News #16 | $119,978 | 93.9 |
| 13 | Lehigh UniversityBethlehem, PA · Private · 88% grad rate | $127,210 | 93.6 |
| 14 | University of Wisconsin-MadisonMadison, WI · Public · 90% grad rate · U.S. News #37 (tie) | $107,207 | 93.6 |
| 15 | Santa Clara UniversitySanta Clara, CA · Private · 88% grad rate · U.S. News #18 (tie) | $118,737 | 93.4 |
| 16 | University of FloridaGainesville, FL · Public · 91% grad rate · U.S. News #24 (tie) | $106,153 | 93.1 |
| 17 | Texas A&M University-College StationCollege Station, TX · Public · 84% grad rate · U.S. News #21 (tie) | $112,319 | 93.0 |
| 18 | Brigham Young University-ProvoProvo, UT · Private · 81% grad rate · U.S. News #42 (tie) | $129,879 | 92.8 |
| 19 | Fordham UniversityBronx, NY · Private · 82% grad rate · U.S. News #14 | $141,860 | 92.5 |
| 20 | Texas Christian UniversityFort Worth, TX · Private · 86% grad rate | $111,304 | 92.2 |
| 21 | University of MiamiCoral Gables, FL · Private · 84% grad rate | $110,240 | 92.2 |
| 22 | George Washington UniversityWashington, DC · Private · 84% grad rate | $126,638 | 91.2 |
| 23 | Bentley UniversityWaltham, MA · Private · 87% grad rate | $113,795 | 91.2 |
| 24 | Binghamton UniversityVestal, NY · Public · 82% grad rate | $115,013 | 89.8 |
| 25 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityBlacksburg, VA · Public · 86% grad rate | $102,902 | 89.8 |
| 26 | Syracuse UniversitySyracuse, NY · Private · 84% grad rate | $120,274 | 89.7 |
| 27 | Miami University-OxfordOxford, OH · Public · 80% grad rate | $110,406 | 89.5 |
| 28 | University of GeorgiaAthens, GA · Public · 90% grad rate · U.S. News #42 (tie) | $97,364 | 89.3 |
| 29 | University of ConnecticutStorrs, CT · Public · 83% grad rate | $102,286 | 88.5 |
| 30 | Ohio State UniversityColumbus, OH · Public · 88% grad rate · U.S. News #18 (tie) | $97,986 | 88.5 |
| 31 | Elon UniversityElon, NC · Private · 84% grad rate | $103,426 | 88.2 |
| 32 | University of WashingtonSeattle, WA · Public · 85% grad rate · U.S. News #37 (tie) | $97,452 | 88.1 |
| 33 | Rutgers University-New BrunswickNew Brunswick, NJ · Public · 84% grad rate | $100,695 | 87.8 |
| 34 | American UniversityWashington, DC · Private · 76% grad rate | $134,332 | 87.5 |
| 35 | University of Minnesota-Twin CitiesMinneapolis, MN · Public · 85% grad rate | $98,279 | 87.0 |
| 36 | Loyola Marymount UniversityLos Angeles, CA · Private · 79% grad rate · U.S. News #29 | $109,303 | 86.8 |
| 37 | Michigan State UniversityEast Lansing, MI · Public · 81% grad rate | $102,017 | 86.8 |
| 38 | University of OklahomaNorman, OK · Public · 75% grad rate | $106,719 | 86.7 |
| 39 | James Madison UniversityHarrisonburg, VA · Public · 80% grad rate | $104,926 | 86.4 |
| 40 | Fairfield UniversityFairfield, CT · Private · 84% grad rate · U.S. News #15 | $106,663 | 85.6 |
| 41 | Baylor UniversityWaco, TX · Private · 80% grad rate | $102,812 | 85.5 |
| 42 | University of DelawareNewark, DE · Public · 81% grad rate | $101,605 | 85.5 |
| 43 | Providence CollegeProvidence, RI · Private · 86% grad rate | $103,021 | 84.5 |
| 44 | University of Massachusetts-AmherstAmherst, MA · Public · 83% grad rate | $96,995 | 84.1 |
| 45 | Marquette UniversityMilwaukee, WI · Private · 83% grad rate · U.S. News #26 | $97,719 | 82.8 |
| 46 | University of PittsburghPittsburgh, PA · Public · 86% grad rate | $95,087 | 82.6 |
| 47 | Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, PA · Public · 86% grad rate · U.S. News #37 (tie) | $96,714 | 82.3 |
| 48 | University of DenverDenver, CO · Private · 76% grad rate | $99,135 | 81.6 |
| 49 | Clemson UniversityClemson, SC · Public · 87% grad rate | $91,269 | 81.6 |
| 50 | University of ArizonaTucson, AZ · Public · 68% grad rate | $100,938 | 80.7 |
Grad earnings: median earnings of the college’s finance bachelor’s graduates four years after completing, College Scorecard. Grad rate: six-year graduation rate for the whole college. * Admit rate from College Scorecard where the college’s Common Data Set lacks one; otherwise from its Common Data Set.
U.S. News Finance rank, 2027: U.S. News & World Report, shown for reference. It does not affect Solyo’s order, and a blank means no published rank on record for that school, not a weaker program.
Methodology: the exact formula
Who qualifies. A college is scored when federal data shows it awards at least 20 bachelor’s degrees a year in Finance and Financial Management Services (CIP 52.08), publishes median earnings for those graduates, and reports a six-year graduation rate. 349 of the 770 colleges that offer the major meet all three. We list the top 50.
Score = 0.5 × Earnings + 0.25 × Graduation + 0.15 × EarningsToDebt + 0.1 × ProgramSize
- Earnings (50%): median earnings of the program’s bachelor’s graduates four years after completing.
- Graduation (25%): the college’s six-year graduation rate, because earnings only count if you finish.
- Earnings to debt (15%): those graduates’ four-year earnings divided by their median federal loan debt.
- Program size (10%): finance bachelor’s degrees awarded in the latest year, a proxy for course depth and recruiter attention.
Each input is converted to a percentile among the 349 qualifying colleges (0 = lowest, 100 = highest, ties share the same value), then weighted. If a college does not report program debt, that input is dropped and the other weights are rescaled. Admit rate and any outside ranking are shown but never scored. Earnings reflect graduates who received federal aid and vary with where graduates work, so treat small score gaps as ties.
Why some well-known finance programs are not here
Some well-known schools teach finance as a concentration inside a general business degree. Federal data then counts their graduates under business administration, not finance, so they have no finance earnings figure to score. Some colleges award too few finance degrees for the government to publish earnings for them. Absence from this list is a data gap, not a verdict. For any college, its own page shows every major it reports with graduate earnings; start from the college directory.
Where a finance degree leads
A strong program only helps if you get in
Sort these colleges into reach, target and safety against your own GPA and scores, using the same Common Data Set figures behind the admit rates above.
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Questions about the best colleges for finance
What is the best college for finance?
By Solyo's composite, University of Pennsylvania ranks first for finance: its finance graduates earn a median $202,069 four years after finishing, and 97% of its students graduate within six years. The rest of the top five are University of Notre Dame, Boston College, Georgetown University, Washington University in St. Louis. The best fit for you also depends on cost, admission odds and where you want to work.
How is this finance ranking calculated?
Each college gets a score from 0 to 100: 50% for the median earnings of its finance graduates four years after completing, 25% for its six-year graduation rate, 15% for those graduates' earnings relative to their median federal debt, and 10% for how many finance bachelor's degrees it awards a year. Each input is scored as a percentile among the 349 colleges that qualify, so the score shows where a school stands against its peers.
Why isn't my college on this list?
Three common reasons. The college may award fewer than 20 finance bachelor's degrees a year, our minimum for a reliable earnings figure. The federal government may not publish earnings for its finance graduates, which happens when a cohort is too small to report. Or the college may teach finance as a concentration inside a general business degree, in which case federal data counts its graduates under business administration rather than finance. None of these says anything about quality.
How much do finance majors earn after college?
Across the 349 colleges we scored, the middle college's finance graduates earn a median $78,870 four years after completing their degree. At the top of this list the figure is $202,069. These are federal College Scorecard figures for graduates who received federal financial aid.
Is admission rate part of the score?
No. The admit rate is shown so you can judge your odds, but it is not scored: selectivity measures who gets in, not what a program does for its graduates. 37 of the 50 colleges here admit 30% of applicants or more.
Why do some colleges show a U.S. News rank and others do not?
The U.S. News Finance rank, 2027 column is shown for reference only and has no effect on our order. U.S. News ranks a limited set of finance programs, so many strong programs simply do not appear on its list; a blank cell is not a judgment of the program.
Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (program earnings, debt, degrees awarded and graduation rates, loaded February 22, 2026); each college’s Common Data Set (admit rates); U.S. News & World Report (U.S. News Finance rank, 2027, attributed individually, not used in scoring). Scores computed by Solyo, updated September 24, 2026. More on reading these figures: how to read college data.