2023 Best Colleges in Nevada
10
Colleges
$43,052
Avg Salary*
21%
Avg 4-Year Grad Rate*
With all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its Top Nevada Colleges ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
After analyzing 10 schools in Nevada, 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.
Find out more about our ranking methodology.
Customizing Your List
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!
Top Colleges in Nevada
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found University of Nevada - Las Vegas to be the best school for overall quality in Nevada in this year’s ranking. This large public school is located in Las Vegas, Nevada, and it awarded 6,574 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UNLV go into careers with an average salary of $52,464 during the early years of their career.
Full University of Nevada - Las Vegas Report
A rank of #2 on our Best Colleges in Nevada list means University of Nevada - Reno is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. UNR is located in Reno, Nevada and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5,266 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergradutates.
The low student loan default rate of 4.3% 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% During the early years of their career, graduates from UNR make an average of $55,360 a year.
Read full report on University of Nevada - Reno
A rank of #3 on our Best Colleges in Nevada list means College of Southern Nevada is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. College of Southern Nevada is a large public school located in Las Vegas, Nevada that handed out 4,725 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, graduates from CSN make an average of $38,013 a year.
Read More…
Out of the 10 schools in Nevada that were part of this year’s ranking, Nevada State College landed the #4 spot on the list. This medium-sized public school is located in Henderson, Nevada, and it awarded 780 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from NSC make an average of $54,006 per year during the early years of their career.
Full Nevada State College Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Truckee Meadows Community College. The school came in at #5 in Nevada on this year’s overall quality ranking. Truckee Meadows Community College is a medium-sized public school located in Reno, Nevada that handed out 2,686 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Truckee Meadows Community College is $40,121 during the early years of their career.
Read More…
With a ranking of #6, Sierra Nevada College did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges in Nevada list. SNC is located in Incline Village, Nevada and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 215 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergradutates.
The impressive student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. During the early years of their career, graduates from SNC make an average of $44,447 a year.
Read full report on Sierra Nevada College
University of Phoenix - Nevada ranked #7 on this year’s Best Colleges in Nevada list. University of Phoenix - Nevada is a small private for-profit school located in Las Vegas, Nevada that handed out 76 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $39,382 during the early years of their career..
Full University of Phoenix - Nevada Report
Western Nevada College did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges in Nevada ranking, coming in at #8. Western Nevada College is a small public school located in Carson City, Nevada that handed out 1,081 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $38,793 during the early years of their career..
Read More…
With a ranking of #9, Great Basin College did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges in Nevada list. Great Basin College is a small public school located in Elko, Nevada that handed out 855 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $36,240 during the early years of their career..
Read full report on Great Basin College
Career College of Northern Nevada did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges in Nevada ranking, coming in at #10. Career College of Northern Nevada is a private for-profit institution located in Sparks, Nevada. The school has a small population, and it awarded 162 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $31,690 during the early years of their career..
Full Career College of Northern Nevada Report
Best Colleges in the Far Western US Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 10 schools only.
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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