CollegeRanker2026 National Report

The State of American Higher-Education Outcomes

Every state graded on what a degree actually delivers: earnings, mobility, value, and completion. Federal data, no reputation surveys.

$48K
Median earnings
105%
Top-to-bottom gap
50
State systems graded
3,128
Institutions
01By the numbers

American higher education is really fifty economies

A single national median hides a spread so wide that where a student enrolls shapes their earnings, mobility, and odds of finishing more than the prestige on any brochure.

$48K
Median graduate earnings
105%
Top-to-bottom state gap
1.8%
Avg mobility rate
49%
Avg graduation rate
$17K
Median net price
3,128
Degree-granting institutions
02The hidden geography of economic mobility

Every state, shaded by its Outcome Score

Alabama — 35 (C+)Alaska — insufficient dataArizona — 12 (C-)Colorado — 63 (B+)Florida — 46 (B-)Georgia — 37 (C+)Indiana — 55 (B)Kansas — 40 (C+)Maine — 48 (B-)Massachusetts — 71 (A-)Minnesota — 62 (B+)New Jersey — 78 (A)North Carolina — 33 (C)North Dakota — 68 (B+)Oklahoma — 45 (B-)Pennsylvania — 70 (A-)South Dakota — 54 (B)Texas — 56 (B)Wyoming — 52 (B)Connecticut — 70 (A-)Missouri — 36 (C+)West Virginia — 33 (C)Illinois — 75 (A-)New Mexico — 52 (B)Arkansas — 42 (C+)California — 76 (A-)Delaware — 58 (B)Hawaii — 52 (B)Iowa — 59 (B)Kentucky — 34 (C+)Maryland — 69 (B+)Michigan — 51 (B-)Mississippi — 52 (B)Montana — 45 (B-)New Hampshire — 45 (B-)New York — 86 (A)Ohio — 38 (C+)Oregon — 55 (B)Tennessee — 39 (C+)Utah — 34 (C+)Virginia — 59 (B)Washington — 61 (B)Wisconsin — 62 (B+)Nebraska — 62 (B+)South Carolina — 27 (C)Idaho — 50 (B-)Nevada — 32 (C)Vermont — 55 (B)Louisiana — 64 (B+)Rhode Island — 67 (B+)ALAZCOFLGAINKSMEMAMNNJNCNDOKPASDTXWYCTMOWVILNMARCADEDCHIIAKYMDMIMSMTNHNYOHORTNUTVAWAWINESCIDNVVTLARI
Lower outcomesHigher outcomes
Outcome Score blends earnings (30%), mobility (25%), value (25%), and completion (20%). Alaska is shown in grey: too few degree-granting institutions to rate.
03The national scorecard

The ten highest Outcome Scores

01
New York
86
A
02
New Jersey
78
A
03
California
76
A-
04
Illinois
75
A-
05
Massachusetts
71
A-
06
Connecticut
70
A-
07
Pennsylvania
70
A-
08
Maryland
69
B+
09
North Dakota
68
B+
10
District of Columbia
68
B+
The five lowest
Arizona
12 · C-
South Carolina
27 · C
Nevada
32 · C
West Virginia
33 · C
North Carolina
33 · C
04The great divide

The state that pays the most isn't the one that lifts the most

Earnings and mobility point to different states. They barely overlap.

Pays the most
Rhode Island
$70K median
The highest graduate earnings of any state, a decade after enrollment.
Lifts the most
Louisiana
3.5% mobility rate
Moves more low-income students into the top income quintile than any other state.
The earnings map and the mobility map are not the same map.
05Who leads each dimension

A state can top one column and sit mid-pack on another

Top 5 — Earnings
1 Rhode Island $70K
2 Connecticut $60K
3 Pennsylvania $58K
4 Massachusetts $57K
5 Illinois $56K
Top 5 — Mobility
1 Louisiana 3.5%
2 New York 3.2%
3 New Mexico 2.6%
4 New Jersey 2.5%
5 California 2.5%
Top 5 — Value
1 New Mexico 5.3×
2 Wyoming 4.8×
3 Hawaii 4.4×
4 North Dakota 4.3×
5 Washington 4.1×
06Six kinds of state system

Every state belongs to a type

All-Around Leader 16
Top-tier overall, strong on every dimension at once.
Earnings Engine 3
Pays the most: high graduate earnings, lighter on mobility.
Mobility Engine 7
Lifts the most: turns access into upward mobility.
Value Leader 6
Best return per dollar: outcomes outrun cost.
Completion Leader 3
Gets students across the finish line at the highest rate.
Lagging System 15
Trails the national field across outcomes.
07The reversals

Where the data overturns the conventional wisdom

Conventional wisdomPrestige drives upward mobility.
The data
Public universities out-mobilize elite privates
Public institutions move low-income students into the top quintile at a 1.9% average rate, ahead of private institutions at 1.7%. Mobility tracks access, not selectivity.
Conventional wisdomThe states that pay the most also lift the most.
The data
The earnings map and the mobility map barely overlap
Not one state appears in both the top five for earnings and the top five for mobility. The places that pay the most are rarely the places that lift the most.
Conventional wisdomYou get what you pay for.
The data
Low-cost states quietly win on return
4 of the five best value-adjusted states also rank among the most affordable. The strongest returns come from modest net prices, not premium ones.
08Key findings
01
The Northeast is the earnings powerhouse
Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts post the highest graduate earnings in the nation.
02
Mobility leaders are unexpected
Louisiana, New York, and New Mexico move the most low-income students into the top quintile, with Louisiana and New Mexico outpacing far wealthier states.
03
Best value is rarely most prestige
New Mexico, Wyoming, and Hawaii generate the highest graduate earnings per tuition dollar in the country.
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