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2023 Best Value Colleges for Finance (Income $0-$30k)

602 Ranked Colleges
51,779 Degrees Awarded
$5,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2020-2021, 51,779 people earned their degree in finance, making the major the 11th most popular in the United States.

For this year’s “Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 602 colleges that offer a degree in finance. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great finance programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the finance program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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The finance school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k”.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 25 Best Value Colleges for Finance (Income $0-$30k)

1
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Out of the 602 schools in the Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pennsylvania landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Pennsylvania is a large school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that handed out 658 ’s finance degrees in 2020-2021.

UPenn not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Finance Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for UPenn is $580 for Finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full University of Pennsylvania Finance Report

2
Northwestern crest
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

Out of the 602 schools in the Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 74 degrees to qualified ’s finance students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our finance students whose families make $0-$30k list, Northwestern has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Finance Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern University is $245 for Finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Finance at Northwestern University

3
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Harvard University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k. Harvard University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It awarded 227 ’s finance degrees in 2020-2021.

Harvard also made our “Best Finance Schools” list, coming in at #9. The estimated yearly cost for Harvard is $2,564 for Finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Finance at Harvard

4
WUSTL crest
Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, Missouri

Out of the 602 schools in the Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Washington University in St Louis landed the #4 spot on the list. Washington University in St Louis is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Saint Louis, Missouri. It awarded 231 ’s finance degrees in 2020-2021.

WUSTL not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Finance Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend WUSTL is $1,556 for finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full WUSTL Finance Report

5

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Madison, Wisconsin, and it awarded 351 ’s finance degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our finance students whose families make $0-$30k list, UW - Madison has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Finance Schools” ranking. It costs about $3,981 for Finance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full University of Wisconsin - Madison Finance Report

6
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, District of Columbia

Georgetown University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Washington, District of Columbia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s finance degrees to 297 students in 2020-2021.

Georgetown also took the #5 spot in our “Best Finance Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Georgetown University is $3,077 for Finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Finance at Georgetown University

7
Johns Hopkins crest
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland

Johns Hopkins University landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Baltimore, Maryland, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 54 degrees to qualified ’s finance students in 2020-2021.

Johns Hopkins did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #17 on our “Best Finance Schools” list. It costs about $2,084 for finance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Johns Hopkins University.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Finance at Johns Hopkins University

8
Boston College crest
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

With a ranking of #8, Boston College did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Boston College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 402 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Boston College, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Finance Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Boston College is $10,212 for finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Read more about Finance at Boston College

9
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida

University of Florida landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of Florida is a large school located in Gainesville, Florida that handed out 271 ’s finance degrees in 2020-2021.

On top of its placing in this ranking, UF also did well on our “Best Finance Schools” list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The estimated yearly cost for University of Florida is $65 for Finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Finance at University of Florida

10
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut

Yale University landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. New Haven, Connecticut is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s finance degrees to 8 students in 2020-2021.

Yale excels when it comes to finance quality. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The yearly cost to attend Yale University is $961 for finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Finance at Yale

11

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UIUC is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 287 ’s finance degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our finance students whose families make $0-$30k list, UIUC has also earned the #20 rank in our “Best Finance Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UIUC is $4,858 for Finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Finance Report

12
Baruch crest
Baruch College
New York, New York

Baruch College landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Baruch College is a fairly large school located in New York, New York that handed out 1,006 ’s finance degrees in 2020-2021.

On top of its placing in this ranking, Baruch also did well on our “Best Finance Schools” list. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our “Best Finance Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Baruch College is $493 for Finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Finance at Baruch College

13
Purdue crest
Purdue University - Main Campus
West Lafayette, Indiana

Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #13. West Lafayette, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s finance degrees to 227 students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on this list, Purdue is in the top on our “Best Finance Schools” list. It’s in the top [COLLEGE_QUALITY_PECTENTILE_ALL_LEVES]% of all schools in this category. It costs about $5,995 for finance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Purdue University - Main Campus.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Purdue Finance Report

14
Wake Forest University crest
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Wake Forest University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Winston-Salem, North Carolina is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s finance degrees to 115 students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Wake Forest University is also in the top of our “Best Finance Schools” ranking. It’s in the top [COLLEGE_QUALITY_PECTENTILE_ALL_LEVES]% of all schools in this category. It costs about $10,401 for finance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Wake Forest University.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.

Read full report on Finance at Wake Forest University

15
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan

Michigan State University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Michigan State is a public institution located in East Lansing, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 343 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

On top of its placing in this ranking, Michigan State also did well on our “Best Finance Schools” list. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our “Best Finance Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Michigan State is $6,927 for finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Read more about Finance at Michigan State University

16

University of Maryland - College Park ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in College Park, Maryland, this large public school handed out 431 diplomas to qualified ’s finance students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMCP, the school also landed the #16 spot in our “Best Finance Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UMCP is $6,067 for Finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Finance at University of Maryland - College Park

17
Notre Dame crest
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana

University of Notre Dame ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Notre Dame is a fairly large school located in Notre Dame, Indiana that handed out 301 ’s finance degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Notre Dame, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Finance Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Notre Dame is $9,872 for Finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Finance at Notre Dame

18
Florida State crest
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida

Florida State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #18. Florida State University is a large school located in Tallahassee, Florida that handed out 597 ’s finance degrees in 2020-2021.

Florida State also claimed a top spot on our “Best Finance Schools” list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. It costs about $4,950 for Finance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Florida State.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Finance at Florida State University

19

University of Washington - Seattle Campus ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Seattle, Washington, and it awarded 303 ’s finance degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW Seattle, the school also landed the #25 spot in our “Best Finance Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Washington - Seattle Campus is $5,194 for Finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Finance at University of Washington - Seattle Campus

20

University of South Florida - Main Campus came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. USF Tampa is located in Tampa, Florida and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 498 ’s finance degrees to qualified students.

On top of its placing in this ranking, USF Tampa also did well on our “Best Finance Schools” list. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our “Best Finance Schools” list. It costs about $4,176 for Finance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend USF Tampa.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Finance at University of South Florida - Main Campus

21

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Minneapolis, Minnesota is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s finance degrees to 321 students in 2020-2021.

UMN Twin Cities excels when it comes to finance quality. It’s in the top [COLLEGE_QUALITY_PECTENTILE_ALL_LEVES]% of all schools in this category. The yearly cost to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is $7,698 for finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Finance at UMN Twin Cities

22

Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the #22 spot on the 2023 Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This large school is located in Columbus, Ohio, and it awarded 767 ’s finance degrees in 2020-2021.

Ohio State excels when it comes to finance quality. It’s in the top [COLLEGE_QUALITY_PECTENTILE_ALL_LEVES]% of all schools in this category. The estimated yearly cost for Ohio State is $7,068 for finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read more about Finance at Ohio State University - Main Campus

23
UGA crest
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia

University of Georgia came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Athens, Georgia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s finance degrees to 519 students in 2020-2021.

On top of its placing in this ranking, UGA also did well on our “Best Finance Schools” list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The estimated yearly cost for UGA is $8,303 for finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UGA Finance Report

24
UD crest
University of Delaware
Newark, Delaware

University of Delaware ranked #24 on this year’s Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Delaware is a large school located in Newark, Delaware that handed out 269 ’s finance degrees in 2020-2021.

UD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #14 on our “Best Finance Schools” list. It costs about $13,726 for Finance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Delaware.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Finance at University of Delaware

25

Texas A&M University - College Station ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Texas A&M College Station is located in College Station, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 393 ’s finance degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Texas A&M College Station, the school also landed the #15 spot in our “Best Finance Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Texas A&M University - College Station is $11,220 for Finance students whose families make $0-$30k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Finance at Texas A&M University - College Station

Rest of the Best 50 in Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k

Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:

26
27
28
Virginia Tech crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia
29
Lehigh crest
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
30
31
BHCC crest
Bunker Hill Community College
Boston, Massachusetts
32
UNF crest
University of North Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
33
34
35
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts
36
37
38
39
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Queens College
Queens, New York
40
41
University of Arizona crest
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
42
43
44
45
FAU crest
Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, Florida
46
47
48
49
MDC crest
Miami Dade College
Miami, Florida
50
Appalachian State crest
Appalachian State University
Boone, North Carolina

Rest of the Top 15% Colleges in Best Value Finance Schools For Those Making $0-$30k

While not in the ‘top 50’, these schools make the top 15% of this year’s ranking:

Rank College Location
51 University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA
52 University of Michigan - Dearborn Dearborn, MI
53 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
54 Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI
55 Utah Valley University Orem, UT
55 University of Connecticut Storrs, CT
57 Western Technical College La Crosse, WI
58 Borough of Manhattan Community College New York, NY
59 University of Houston Houston, TX
60 The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN
61 University of Houston - Clear Lake Houston, TX
62 University of Minnesota - Crookston Crookston, MN
63 University of North Texas Denton, TX
64 George Washington University Washington, DC
65 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH
Rank College Location
66 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA
67 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
68 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
69 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ
70 University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO
71 University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR
72 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
73 The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX
74 The University of West Florida Pensacola, FL
75 North Dakota State University - Main Campus Fargo, ND
76 University of Houston - Downtown Houston, TX
77 Georgia State University Atlanta, GA
78 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
79 University of Nevada - Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
80 Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY
81 Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL
82 Rutgers University - Newark Newark, NJ
83 Northeastern University Boston, MA
84 York College Jamaica, NY
85 East Carolina University Greenville, NC
85 Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY
87 Ball State University Muncie, IN
88 Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI
89 West Virginia University Morgantown, WV
90 The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX
Rank College Location
91 Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI

Notes and References

References

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