by our College Data Analytics TeamWhen pursuing a degree in today's world, there are many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard. 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:
We analyzed 1,075 schools across the United States to determine which have the best value Master's Degree programs. Instead of depending on subjective information to rank the best value schools, we focus on objective factors in our analysis. In the next few paragraphs, we'll talk a little about what we use in our analysis and why.
When determining the value of a school in our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) ranking, we first look at its average net price of a student coming from a family that makes $75-$110k a year. The net price is defined as the sum of room and board, tuition, and fees minus any financial aid that the student receives. But, a school that excels in providing value for your money must also be a great school overall as well.
To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of various 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 $75-$110k) school for master’s degrees in the United States for overall quality. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the school is a fairly large private not-for-profit institution.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology has the honor of being ranked #1 in Massachusetts for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Out of the 1,075 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 $75-$110k) list means Johns Hopkins University is a great place for students working on their degree. Located in Baltimore, Maryland, the school is a large private not-for-profit institution.
Not only is Johns Hopkins University a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Maryland for overall quality.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Harvard University. It ranked #4 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) list. Harvard is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Harvard University is ranked #2 for quality in the state of Massachusetts.
The quality degree programs at Columbia University in the City of New York helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k). Columbia is a private not-for-profit institution located in New York, New York.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Columbia University in the City of New York is ranked #1 for quality in the state of New York.
Read full value report on Columbia University in the City of New York
University of Chicago came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) ranking. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Chicago is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Illinois.
With a ranking of #7, University of Pennsylvania did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) list. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
University of Pennsylvania has the honor of being ranked #1 in Pennsylvania for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Yale University landed the #8 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) ranking. New Haven, Connecticut is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. 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.
Purdue University - Main Campus came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) ranking. This large public school is located in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Purdue University - Main Campus has the honor of being ranked #2 in Indiana for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Hunter College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) list. New York, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Not only is Hunter College a great value, but it is also ranked #8 in New York for overall quality.
University of Washington - Seattle Campus ranked #11 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) list. Located in Seattle, Washington, the school is a large public institution.
University of Washington - Seattle Campus has the honor of being ranked #1 in Washington for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Learn More About Value at University of Washington - Seattle Campus
With a ranking of #12, Princeton University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) list. Princeton, New Jersey is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Princeton University has the honor of being ranked #1 in New Jersey for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of Florida ranked #13 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) list. University of Florida is a large public school located in Gainesville, Florida.
University of Florida has the honor of being ranked #1 in Florida for overall quality on top of being a good value.
With a ranking of #14, Northwestern University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) list. Northwestern University is a large private not-for-profit school located in Evanston, Illinois.
Not only is Northwestern University a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in Illinois for overall quality.
University of California - Los Angeles ranked #15 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) list. University of California - Los Angeles is a large public school located 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.
With a ranking of #16, Duke University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) list. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Durham, North Carolina.
Duke University has the honor of being ranked #1 in North Carolina for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Fresno Pacific University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) ranking. Fresno, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is Fresno Pacific University a great value, but it is also ranked #43 in California for overall quality.
Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) ranking, coming in at #18. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, the school is a large public institution.
Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus has the honor of being ranked #1 in Georgia for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Read full value report on Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus
California Institute of Technology ranked #19 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Pasadena, California.
With a ranking of #20, Vanderbilt University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) list. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is 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.
Rice University ranked #21 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) list. Rice is a private not-for-profit institution located in Houston, Texas.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Rice University is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Texas.
Baruch College landed the #22 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) ranking. Baruch College is a fairly large public school located in New York, New York.
Not only is Baruch College a great value, but it is also ranked #20 in New York for overall quality.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ranked #23 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) list. U-M is a large public school situated 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.
Read full value report on University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
With a ranking of #24, Georgetown University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) list. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Washington, District of Columbia.
Georgetown University has the honor of being ranked #1 in District of Columbia for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Queens College landed the #25 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) ranking. This fairly large public school is located in Queens, New York.
Queens College has the honor of being ranked #23 in New York for overall quality on top of being a good value.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | William Carey University | Hattiesburg, MS | Value Report |
| 53 | Brown University | Providence, RI | Value Report |
| 54 | University of California - Irvine | Irvine, CA | Value Report |
| 55 | University of California - Davis | Davis, CA | Value Report |
| 56 | California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach, CA | Value Report |
| 57 | Iowa State University | Ames, IA | Value Report |
| 58 | United States University | San Diego, CA | Value Report |
| 59 | University of Georgia | Athens, GA | Value Report |
| 60 | Washington State University | Pullman, WA | Value Report |
| 61 | Michigan State University | East Lansing, MI | Value Report |
| 62 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC | Value Report |
| 63 | University of California - San Diego | La Jolla, CA | Value Report |
| 64 | American Public University System | Charles Town, WV | Value Report |
| 65 | University of Massachusetts Amherst | Amherst, MA | Value Report |
| 65 | Western Washington University | Bellingham, WA | Value Report |
All Majors and Fields of Study >
These schools also performed well in our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $75-$110k) ranking:
| Rank | College | Location | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 163 | Oklahoma State University - Main Campus | Stillwater, OK | Value Report |
| 164 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | Honolulu, HI | Value Report |
| 165 | Utah State University | Logan, UT | Value Report |
| 166 | Holy Family University | Philadelphia, PA | Value Report |
| 167 | SUNY Old Westbury | Old Westbury, NY | Value Report |
| 168 | North Dakota State University - Main Campus | Fargo, ND | Value Report |
| 169 | Boston University | Boston, MA | Value Report |
| 170 | Western Kentucky University | Bowling Green, KY | Value Report |
| 171 | University of Mississippi | University, MS | Value Report |
| 172 | Rhode Island College | Providence, RI | Value Report |
| 172 | University of Kansas | Lawrence, KS | Value Report |
| 174 | George Mason University | Fairfax, VA | Value Report |
| 175 | University of Delaware | Newark, DE | Value Report |
| 176 | Missouri State University - Springfield | Springfield, MO | Value Report |
| 177 | The University of Texas of the Permian Basin | Odessa, TX | Value Report |
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.