Verified Federal Data · No Paid Rankings

Best Colleges in Virginia

Top Virginia 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

Virginia schools in dataset

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How We Rank Virginia 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 Virginia (2026)

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

#	School	Accept	Net Price/yr	Grad Rate	Earnings (10yr)
1	Riverside College of Health Careers Newport News, VA	13%	$25,596	100%	$66,072
2	Centra College Lynchburg, VA	100%	$24,868	100%	$60,122
3	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA	17%	$22,881	96%	$86,863
4	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA	14%	$23,911	94%	$94,810
5	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	87%	$18,287	68%	$76,343
6	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	34%	$22,529	89%	$73,490
7	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	55%	$23,790	86%	$81,698
8	University of Virginia's College at Wise Wise, VA	29%	$11,180	47%	$45,325
9	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA	72%	$21,816	80%	$69,954
10	Virginia State University Petersburg, VA	89%	$14,553	39%	$45,543