by our College Data Analytics TeamIt's not easy to decide which school to attend when you have so many options available. College Factual has developed its Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) ranking as one thing you can use to help make this decision. The amount of financial aid you could receive at various schools, including some with high sticker prices, may surprise you.
See What's Included in This Value Report:
After analyzing 1,093 schools in the United States, we came up with our list of those that offered the best value Master's Degree programs. To come up with this ranking of the best value schools, we look at factors that are all objective measurements. In the next few paragraphs, we'll talk a little about what we use in our analysis and why.
The first step of determing the value of a school in our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) ranking is to look at the school's average net price for students with families that make $48-$75k a year. The net price is the sum of tuition, fees, and room and board minus any financial aid awarded to the student. But, a school that excels in providing value for your money must also be a great school overall as well.
To take this into account we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Find out more about our best value ranking methodology.
Keep scrolling for the top schools in this ranking or select one of the other rankings methods below.
If you know what major you want to study, check out our list of the best value schools by major. If you're interested in other degree levels, you can view one of the lists below.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology tops this year’s ranking as the best value (income $48-$75k) school for master’s degrees in the United States for overall quality. MIT is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and has a fairly large student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology has the honor of being ranked #1 in Massachusetts for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Learn More About Value at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Out of the 1,093 master’s degree schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #2 spot on the list. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Stanford, California.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Stanford University is ranked #1 for quality in the state of California.
A rank of #3 on our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) list means Columbia University in the City of New York is a great place for students working on their degree. Columbia University in the City of New York is a large private not-for-profit school located in New York, New York.
Columbia University in the City of New York has the honor of being ranked #1 in New York for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Full Columbia University in the City of New York Value Report
Out of the 1,093 master’s degree schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Harvard University landed the #4 spot on the list. Harvard is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and has a large student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is Harvard University a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in Massachusetts for overall quality.
A rank of #5 on our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) list means University of Pennsylvania is a great place for students working on their degree. UPenn is a private not-for-profit institution located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
University of Pennsylvania has the honor of being ranked #1 in Pennsylvania for overall quality on top of being a good value.
With a ranking of #6, Johns Hopkins University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) list. Baltimore, Maryland is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is Johns Hopkins University a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Maryland for overall quality.
Yale University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) list. Yale is located in New Haven, Connecticut and has a fairly large student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is Yale University a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Connecticut for overall quality.
With a ranking of #8, California Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) list. Pasadena, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Learn More About Value at California Institute of Technology
University of Chicago came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) ranking. UChicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois.
Not only is University of Chicago a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Illinois for overall quality.
Cornell University landed the #10 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) ranking. Located in Ithaca, New York, the school is a large private not-for-profit institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Cornell University is ranked #2 for quality in the state of New York.
Princeton University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) ranking. Princeton is located in Princeton, New Jersey and has a medium-sized student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is Princeton University a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in New Jersey for overall quality.
Northwestern University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) ranking, coming in at #12. Northwestern is located in Evanston, Illinois and has a large student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is Northwestern University a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in Illinois for overall quality.
Rice University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) list. Rice is a private not-for-profit institution located in Houston, Texas.
Rice University has the honor of being ranked #1 in Texas for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #14 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) ranking. Purdue is located in West Lafayette, Indiana and has a large student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Purdue University - Main Campus is ranked #2 for quality in the state of Indiana.
Duke University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) list. Durham, North Carolina is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is Duke University a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in North Carolina for overall quality.
Washington University in St Louis landed the #16 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) ranking. WUSTL is located in Saint Louis, Missouri and has a fairly large student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Washington University in St Louis is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Missouri.
Brown University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) ranking, coming in at #17. Brown is located in Providence, Rhode Island and has a fairly large student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Brown University is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Rhode Island.
University of Washington - Seattle Campus did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) ranking, coming in at #18. UW Seattle is a public institution located in Seattle, Washington.
Not only is University of Washington - Seattle Campus a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Washington for overall quality.
Read full value report on University of Washington - Seattle Campus
Vanderbilt University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) ranking. Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit institution located in Nashville, Tennessee.
Vanderbilt University has the honor of being ranked #1 in Tennessee for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of Florida came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) ranking. This large public school is located in Gainesville, Florida.
Not only is University of Florida a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Florida for overall quality.
Georgetown University landed the #21 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) ranking. Georgetown is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Washington, District of Columbia.
Not only is Georgetown University a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in District of Columbia for overall quality.
University of California - Los Angeles landed the #22 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) ranking. UCLA is a large public school situated in Los Angeles, California.
University of California - Los Angeles has the honor of being ranked #5 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #23 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) list. UW - Madison is located in Madison, Wisconsin and has a large student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Wisconsin - Madison is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Wisconsin.
With a ranking of #24, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) list. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a large public school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor has the honor of being ranked #1 in Michigan for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Learn More About Value at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) ranking, coming in at #25. UIUC is located in Champaign, Illinois and has a large student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is ranked #3 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Value Report
Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
To learn more about the schools below, just click on their names:
| Rank | College | Location | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | Heritage University | Toppenish, WA | Value Report |
| 52 | University of Virginia - Main Campus | Charlottesville, VA | Value Report |
| 53 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA | Value Report |
| 54 | Middlebury College | Middlebury, VT | Value Report |
| 55 | The City College of New York | New York, NY | Value Report |
| 56 | California State University - Fullerton | Fullerton, CA | Value Report |
| 57 | Northern Kentucky University | Highland Heights, KY | Value Report |
| 58 | Queens College | Queens, NY | Value Report |
| 59 | University of Wyoming | Laramie, WY | Value Report |
| 60 | Florida State University | Tallahassee, FL | Value Report |
| 61 | Western Governors University | Salt Lake City, UT | Value Report |
| 62 | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | Edinburg, TX | Value Report |
| 63 | Boston College | Chestnut Hill, MA | Value Report |
| 64 | The College of New Jersey | Ewing, NJ | Value Report |
| 65 | Michigan State University | East Lansing, MI | Value Report |
| Rank | College | Location | Value |
|---|
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These schools also performed well in our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) ranking:
| Rank | College | Location | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 166 | Indiana University - Southeast | New Albany, IN | Value Report |
| 167 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | Newark, NJ | Value Report |
| 168 | University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras | San Juan, PR | Value Report |
| 169 | George Mason University | Fairfax, VA | Value Report |
| 170 | Texas A&M University - College Station | College Station, TX | Value Report |
| 171 | University of Minnesota - Duluth | Duluth, MN | Value Report |
| 172 | Viterbo University | La Crosse, WI | Value Report |
| 172 | Drew University | Madison, NJ | Value Report |
| 174 | Sewanee - The University of the South | Sewanee, TN | Value Report |
| 175 | University of Mary | Bismarck, ND | Value Report |
| 176 | Indiana University - East | Richmond, IN | Value Report |
| 177 | College of Saint Mary | Omaha, NE | Value Report |
| 178 | University of California - Riverside | Riverside, CA | Value Report |
| 179 | Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania | Slippery Rock, PA | Value Report |
| 180 | Utah State University | Logan, UT | Value Report |
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.