U.S. Academic Quality per Dollar Ranking

The Best Value Colleges in America by Academic Quality per Dollar for 2023

Best Value Colleges in America by Academic Quality per Dollar

These colleges are CollegeCalc's 2022 ranking of the best value colleges in America based on academic value per tuition dollar. While many of these schools don't have low list prices, attractive net prices through generous financial aid combined with academic excellence offer students great returns on investment. In order to be considered, schools must possess high academic standing coupled with costs commensurate to the education provided. Yale University leads the list with a 98/100 academic rating and a $17,511 average net price.

Academic Rating is a CollegeCalc rating of a college's overall academics and effectiveness. The score ranges from zero to one hundred, with fifty being the median for all eligible colleges. Dollar value is a measure of a school's academic rating compared with the average price paid by students. Colleges which are ranked "n/a" didn't report sufficient data to formulate a score. Learn more about our rating methodology.

All price data are reprinted from the U.S. Department of Education's 2021/2022 IPEDS Survey and reflect reported costs for the 2021/2022 academic year.

America's Best Value Colleges by Academic Quality per Dollar
College Net Price Rating Value
#1 Yale University

Connecticut, Private

$17,511 98 99
#2 Harvard University

Massachusetts, Private

$18,037 98 100
#3 Princeton University

New Jersey, Private

$18,685 99 99
#4 Amherst College

Massachusetts, Private

$18,832 96 99
#5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts, Private

$19,998 98 99
#6 Stanford University

California, Private

$20,023 99 99
#7 Rice University

Texas, Private

$19,215 98 99
#8 Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, Private

$22,126 95 99
#9 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

North Carolina, Public

$10,038 84 99
#10 Claremont McKenna College

California, Private

$22,004 96 99
#11 Colby College

Maine, Private

$18,552 91 98
#12 Wellesley College

Massachusetts, Private

$21,614 95 98
#13 Dartmouth College

New Hampshire, Private

$24,525 97 98
#14 University of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania, Private

$24,167 96 98
#15 Swarthmore College

Pennsylvania, Private

$20,360 91 98
#16 Johns Hopkins University

Maryland, Private

$25,241 97 98
#17 University of Michigan

Michigan, Public

$17,832 89 98
#18 Duke University

North Carolina, Private

$26,932 98 98
#19 California Institute of Technology

California, Private

$26,591 98 97
#20 Wesleyan University

Connecticut, Private

$22,845 92 97