Verified Federal Data · No Paid Rankings

Best Colleges in Vermont

Top Vermont colleges ranked by what actually matters after graduation: earnings, completion rates, and what you actually pay. Federal data. No surveys, no sponsorships.

Schools in ranking

Vermont schools in dataset

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How We Rank Vermont Colleges

Rankings use a composite score from verified federal data: graduate earnings (28%), graduation rate (25%), social mobility via Pell Grant share (20%), debt burden (15%), and net cost for low-income students (12%). Only 4-year non-profit schools with sufficient data qualify.

→Earnings: Median annual earnings 10 years after enrollment. Source: College Scorecard.
→Graduation rate: Full-time first-time students completing within 150% of normal time. Source: IPEDS.
→Net price: Average annual cost after all grants and scholarships. Source: IPEDS.
→Social mobility: Share of students receiving Pell Grants — a direct measure of access for low-income students. Source: IPEDS.
→Debt burden: Median federal loan debt at graduation. Source: College Scorecard.

Top 10 Colleges in Vermont (2026)

Ranked by composite: earnings, graduation rate, social mobility, debt, affordability.

#	School	Accept	Net Price/yr	Grad Rate	Earnings (10yr)
1	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT	11%	$25,934	91%	$76,310
2	Vermont State University Randolph, VT	82%	$20,865	47%	$50,331
3	University of Vermont Burlington, VT	65%	$20,860	79%	$62,472
4	Norwich University Northfield, VT	74%	$25,600	60%	$65,575
5	Saint Michael's College Colchester, VT	85%	$30,033	73%	$61,317
6	Champlain College Burlington, VT	83%	$35,000	65%	$58,386
7	Sterling College Craftsbury Common, VT	67%	$30,785	32%	$30,573
8	Bennington College Bennington, VT	45%	$31,918	71%	$38,289
9	Landmark College Putney, VT	49%	$50,879	43%	$29,813

9 Vermont schools in dataset. Top 10 shown. Data: IPEDS + College Scorecard. Updated annually.

All 9 Colleges in the Dataset

The ranking above shows the top 10 by composite score. Every school in the full dataset is listed here so you can explore beyond the top results.

Bennington College Champlain College Landmark College Middlebury College Norwich University Saint Michael's College Sterling College University of Vermont Vermont State University

Comparing across states?

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Find Your Perfect Fit in Vermont

These 10 schools are a start. Search all Vermont colleges with filters for major, cost, size, distance, and more.

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