by our College Data Analytics TeamWith all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Top Hawaii Colleges ranking is part of that endeavor.
After analyzing 10 schools in Hawaii, we came up with our list of those that offered the highest quality education. To come up with this ranking, we look at more than 20 factors that are all objective measurements. These factors include freshman retention, graduation rate, student-to-faculty ratio, and post graduate earnings, among other things.
We know that one set of rankings doesn't always help you determine the best school for you, so we've created the ability to narrow your list by location and field of study as well as alternative rankings that prioritize different factors such as those of importance to veterans and returning adults or those who value diversity and value for your money.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head!
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2025 rankings named Chaminade University of Honolulu the best school in Hawaii in terms of overall quality for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Chaminade University of Honolulu is $52,343 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #2 on our Best Colleges in Hawaii list means University of Hawaii at Manoa is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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% Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UH Manoa go into careers with an average salary of $57,624 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 10 schools in Hawaii that were part of this year’s ranking, Honolulu Community College landed the #3 spot on the list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $45,105 during the early years of their career..
A rank of #4 on our Best Colleges in Hawaii list means University of Hawaii Maui College is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UH Maui College is $34,453 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges in Hawaii list means Kapiolani Community College is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Kapiolani CC make an average of $44,599 a year.
With a ranking of #6, Leeward Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Hawaii list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Leeward CC go into careers with an average salary of $39,899 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #7, University of Hawaii - West Oahu did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Hawaii list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $52,075 during the early years of their career..
Hawaii Pacific University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Hawaii ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Hawaii Pacific University is $59,593 during the early years of their career.
Windward Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Hawaii ranking, coming in at #9.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Windward CC go into careers with an average salary of $38,439 during the early years of their career.
University of Hawaii at Hilo did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Hawaii ranking, coming in at #10.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UH Hilo go into careers with an average salary of $47,856 during the early years of their career.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 10 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.