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 has developed its Top Indiana Colleges ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
We analyzed 41 colleges and universities across Indiana to determine which were the best in terms of overall quality. 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've developed a number of other tools and rankings to help you make your college decision. Start by filtering this list by location or field of study and then explore our other rankings that feature schools great for different groups of students such as veterans or returnings adults.
We've created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you're torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another!
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2025 rankings named University of Notre Dame the best school in Indiana in terms of overall quality for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
Bachelor’s degree students at the school tend to finish their degree on-time. The 4-year graduation rate is 93%, which is impressive compared to the national rate of 33%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame is $99,980 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 41 schools in Indiana that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #2 spot on the list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $63,742 during the early years of their career..
Out of the 41 schools in Indiana that were part of this year’s ranking, Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #3 spot on the list.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Purdue is $72,424 during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Ivy Tech Community College. The school came in at #4 in Indiana on this year’s overall quality ranking.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% During the early years of their career, graduates from Ivy Tech Community College make an average of $37,186 a year.
A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges in Indiana list means Ball State University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Ball State go into careers with an average salary of $51,833 during the early years of their career.
Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Indiana ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from IWU go into careers with an average salary of $59,986 during the early years of their career.
Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis landed the #7 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Indiana ranking.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% During the early years of their career, graduates from IUPUI make an average of $55,198 a year.
Read full report on Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis
Purdue University Global did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Indiana ranking, coming in at #8.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Purdue University Global make an average of $36,596 a year.
Vincennes University landed the #9 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Indiana ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Vincennes University is $41,110 during the early years of their career.
Butler University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Colleges in Indiana list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. During the early years of their career, graduates from Butler make an average of $77,235 a year.
DePauw University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Indiana ranking.
With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from DePauw go into careers with an average salary of $70,527 during the early years of their career.
Indiana Wesleyan University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Indiana ranking, coming in at #12.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $59,986 during the early years of their career..
University of Southern Indiana ranked #13 on this year’s Best Colleges in Indiana list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from USI is $47,605 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #14, Saint Mary’s College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Indiana list.
The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 78%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College is $59,354 during the early years of their career.
University of Indianapolis ranked #15 on this year’s Best Colleges in Indiana list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UIndy go into careers with an average salary of $53,610 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #16, Wabash College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Indiana list.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. During the early years of their career, graduates from Wabash make an average of $69,952 a year.
University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges in Indiana list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $55,362 during the early years of their career..
Taylor University landed the #18 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Indiana ranking.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $52,198 during the early years of their career..
Marian University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Colleges in Indiana list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $58,759 during the early years of their career..
Calumet College of Saint Joseph did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Indiana ranking, coming in at #20.
During the early years of their career, graduates from CCSJ make an average of $46,945 a year.
Valparaiso University ranked #21 on this year’s Best Colleges in Indiana list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Valpo make an average of $63,191 per year during the early years of their career.
Purdue University Northwest came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Indiana ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $48,318 during the early years of their career..
Indiana State University landed the #23 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Indiana ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Indiana State make an average of $48,387 per year during the early years of their career.
Hanover College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Indiana ranking, coming in at #24.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Hanover make an average of $53,957 per year during the early years of their career.
Grace College and Theological Seminary landed the #25 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Indiana ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $45,411 during the early years of their career..
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.