Higher Education Outcome Report · Midwest

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Ohio Higher Education Outcome Report

Updated continuously · 126 degree-granting institutions graded

Ohio's higher education system is a below-average mobility system. Median 10-year earnings sit at $50,486, -2% vs the national median.

advanced manufacturing
healthcare
finance & insurance

266
INSTITUTIONS: $50,486
MEDIAN EARNINGS: ▼ -2% vs natl; $19,386
AVG NET PRICE: 104 / 75
PUBLIC / PRIVATE

OUTCOME GRADE

C+

42/100 · #38 of 50

Ohio At A Glance

State-Level Intelligence

Institutions

126

327,763 students enrolled
Graduates / Year

~50,289

Estimated annual completers
Median Earnings
56th pct

$50,224

22nd of 50 states
Mobility Score
7th pct

1.1%

43rd of 46 states
Talent Retention
46th pct

69%

First-year retention rate
Value Ratio
38th pct

2.6x

Earnings per net-price dollar

Top Industries Hiring Graduates:

Business
Healthcare
Social Sciences

Executive Summary

Ohio graduates earn a median of $50,224 a decade after entry, 3% above the national state average, ranking 22nd of 50 states.
Upward mobility sits mid-pack: the state's institutions move bottom-quintile students into the top quintile at a 1.1% rate, in the 7th percentile nationally.
Degree production is led by Business and Healthcare, which together account for 40% of graduates. That diversified mix sets what the state's labor pipeline can supply.
Engineering is the standout sector: graduates earn $57,979, +12.4% versus the national median. That premium points to a real wage advantage rather than sheer volume.
Humanities shows oversupply pressure: graduate earnings run 8.2% below the national median, suggesting the field produces more graduates than the local market rewards.
On value, Ohio returns 2.6x earnings per dollar of net price, below average cost-to-outcome efficiency in the country.

Key Insights

Earnings vs National

-1.8%

Median graduate earnings in Ohio are below the national average by 2%.
Cost vs National

+3.1%

Net price in Ohio is higher than the national average by 3%.
Mobility Rate

-0.64pp

Upward mobility rate is 0.6 percentage points below the national average.
Completion Rate

+0.5pp

Ohio's graduation rate is 0.5 percentage points above the national average.
Best Value

16.1x

Top value school: Ohio Business College-Dayton-Driving Academy ($30,389 earnings vs $1,889 net price).
Low-Income Access

7.7%

8% of students come from bottom-quintile households, a measure of how open the state's colleges are to low-income students.

Education Output Profile

Business (22% of graduates) and Healthcare (19% of graduates) dominate Ohio's higher education output. Graduates in the top field earn a weighted average of $49,423.

Business

22%

$49,423 avg
Healthcare

19%

$53,069 avg
Social Sciences

10%

$55,215 avg
Humanities

8%

$49,932 avg
Engineering

8%

$59,775 avg

Concentration: diversified HHI: 12

Outcome Performance

Ohio's highest-ROI degree cluster is Trades (Culinary & Personal Services), where graduates average $44,486 against a net cost of $11,132, a 4.0x return. That's -13.7% vs the national median.

Culinary & Personal Services
4.0x

$44,486 earnings $11,132 net -13.7% vs natl
Construction Trades
3.9x

$40,750 earnings $10,486 net -21% vs natl
Precision Production
3.5x

$39,124 earnings $11,093 net -24.1% vs natl
Humanities
3.1x

$50,304 earnings $16,087 net -2.5% vs natl
Mechanic & Repair Tech
3.0x

$40,443 earnings $13,291 net -21.6% vs natl
Criminal Justice
2.9x

$48,157 earnings $16,712 net -6.6% vs natl

State Talent Profile

Three lenses on Ohio's talent pipeline: which fields produce the most graduates, which command the highest earnings, and where high-pay demand outruns local supply.

Dominant Fields

Business & Marketing 22%
Health Professions 19%
Engineering 8%
Education 7%
Humanities 7%

Highest-Earning Fields

Engineering $59,775
Social Sciences $57,660
Biology & Biomedical $56,637
Communications $54,101
Psychology $53,230

Opportunity Gaps

High earnings, low local production — fields where demand may outrun Ohio's graduate supply.

Social Sciences $57,660 5% of grads
Biology & Biomedical $56,637 6% of grads
Communications $54,101 4% of grads
Psychology $53,230 6% of grads

Mobility & Retention

Opportunity Insights

Ohio's colleges post an average mobility rate of 1.1%, which puts the state in the 7th percentile nationally. 7% of students arrive from bottom-quintile households. Cross-class social connectedness averages 1.45, a proxy for the networks that help graduates convert a degree into mobility.

MOBILITY RATE

1.1%

▼ -0.54pp vs natl

Bottom 20% → Top 20%
LOW-INCOME ACCESS

7%

From bottom quintile
SUCCESS RATE

20%

If bottom 20% enroll
FIRST-GENERATION

36%

First-gen students
TALENT RETENTION

69%

First-year retention
SOCIAL CAPITAL

1.45

Economic connectedness

Mobility Leaders — Institutions Driving Upward Movement

Labor Market Alignment

Ohio's Engineering programs produce graduates earning $57,979, +12.4% relative to the national median. Humanities graduates, however, earn 8.2% below the national median, a possible sign the state produces more of these degrees than its labor market absorbs.

Business
22% of enrollment

$50,084 -2.9% vs natl

81 schools
Healthcare
19% of enrollment

$51,117 -0.9% vs natl

82 schools
Social Sciences
10% of enrollment

$54,963 +6.6% vs natl

37 schools
Humanities
8% of enrollment

$47,369 -8.2% vs natl

43 schools
Engineering
8% of enrollment

$57,979 +12.4% vs natl

16 schools
Sciences
8% of enrollment

$56,381 +9.3% vs natl

32 schools

Overperforming Sectors

Engineering: +12.4% vs national earnings ($57,979)

Sciences: +9.3% vs national earnings ($56,381)

Social Sciences: +6.6% vs national earnings ($54,963)

Potential Oversupply Signals

Humanities: -8.2% vs national — wage pressure suggests oversupply

Institutional Landscape

Ohio's higher education system includes 6 research-oriented, 35 specialized, 10 access-oriented, 75 regional institutions. Each group plays a different role in the state's outcomes.

6

Research Universities
75

Regional Universities
10

Access-Oriented Institutions
35

Specialized Institutions

Research Universities

Access-Oriented Institutions

Cost & Access Corridors

37% of Ohio's colleges charge under $15K net. Graduates of those schools average $45,677 at 10 years. At the premium end, 3 schools charge over $40K, with graduates averaging $77,871.

NET PRICE UNDER $15K

43

37% of schools
Avg earnings: $45,677
NET PRICE $15K–$25K

47

41% of schools
Avg earnings: $52,930
NET PRICE $25K–$40K

23

20% of schools
Avg earnings: $52,418
NET PRICE OVER $40K

3

3% of schools
Avg earnings: $77,871

Top Earners

Schools ranked by median graduate earnings 10 years after enrolling.

Higher education in Ohio

Ohio is home to 266 colleges and universities, from 104 public institutions to 75 private nonprofits. Ohio State University-Main Campus anchors the public system, and graduates across the state earn a median of about $43,068 ten years after enrolling.

Higher education clusters around Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland, and the strongest programs by enrollment are Health Professions, Business & Marketing and Criminal Justice. We rank every school here by what its graduates actually earn and how far they move up — not by reputation or sticker price.

What college costs in Ohio

The average net price — what students actually pay after grants and scholarships — runs about $18,645 a year across Ohio. Lakeland Community College stands out on return: strong graduate earnings against a comparatively low net price. Public universities and in-state tuition remain the clearest path to a low-debt degree, while need-based aid can make selective private schools surprisingly competitive.

Most Affordable Schools

Jobs & industries

Ohio's economy leans on advanced manufacturing, healthcare and finance & insurance, which shapes which degrees pay off fastest in-state. Programs in Health Professions, Business & Marketing and Criminal Justice feed directly into those employers, and graduates who stay in-region benefit from established hiring pipelines and alumni networks.

Licensure & transfer

Licensure and articulation are state-specific: nursing, teaching, law, and the health professions are regulated at the Ohio level, so an in-state program is often the most direct route to practicing here. Community-college transfer agreements with public universities can also cut the cost of a four-year degree substantially.

Cost vs Return

What graduates in Ohio earn relative to what they pay for college.

MEDIAN EARNINGS (10YR)

$43,068

▼ $-769 vs natl

AVG NET PRICE

$18,645

▼ +$569 vs natl

EARNINGS / COST RATIO

2.3x

Return per dollar invested

Best Value Schools

HBCUs in Ohio

Is Ohio Right for You?

Ohio is a strong fit if you want to build a career in advanced manufacturing and healthcare, value in-state tuition, or plan to work in the region after graduation. Use the rankings and filters below to weigh earnings, cost, and mobility for every school in the state.

Every figure on this page is derived from public federal data and read within its regional and economic context. Information Gain Policy →

Related Rankings

Top Schools

Chamberlain University-Ohio · OH Case Western Reserve University · OH Ohio Northern University · OH Four County Career Center · OH University of Dayton · OH Mount Carmel College of Nursing · OH

FAQ

How many colleges are in Ohio?

There are 266 colleges and universities in Ohio in our dataset — 104 public, 75 private nonprofit, including 2 HBCUs.

What is the highest-earning college in Ohio?

By median graduate earnings 10 years out, Chamberlain University-Ohio leads, followed by schools like Case Western Reserve University and Ohio Northern University.

How much does college cost in Ohio?

The average net price — tuition and living costs after grants — is about $18,645 per year. In-state public tuition is typically the lowest-cost path.

What are the best-paying career fields in Ohio?

Ohio's economy is anchored by advanced manufacturing, healthcare and finance & insurance, so degrees feeding those industries tend to pay off fastest in-state.

Is it worth going to college in Ohio?

For most students, yes — especially at in-state public universities and high-value private schools. Lakeland Community College, for example, pairs strong earnings with a low net price. Weigh earnings against net price using the data on this page.

All 266 schools in Ohio

Data Behind This Page Updated 2026

266 institutions in Ohio

2026 Last updated

100% Public / federal sources

Source datasets

Methodology

States are graded on graduate earnings, social mobility, completion, and cost — each drawn from federal data and Opportunity Insights research, then normalized into a single Outcomes Index (0–100).

See the full methodology and weights →

Confidence notes

Earnings, completion, and debt figures come from federal administrative records — tax data and student-aid filings — not surveys or self-reports, the highest-confidence tier of education data available.
Social-mobility estimates are drawn from de-identified tax records covering more than 30 million students (Opportunity Insights).
Where an institution is missing a metric, it is excluded from that metric rather than imputed, so averages are never inflated by guesses.

Limitations

Federal earnings data primarily cover students who received federal financial aid; outcomes for non-aided students may differ.
Earnings are measured roughly ten years after enrollment, so they describe how earlier cohorts fared — historical outcomes, not guarantees of future results.
An institution's field-of-study mix affects raw earnings; scores reflect measured outcomes and are not fully major-adjusted unless explicitly noted.
Net price is an average; the actual cost a given student pays varies widely by family income.

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