by our College Data Analytics TeamIt's not easy to decide which college to attend when you have so many options available. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Top Ohio Colleges ranking.
We analyzed 91 colleges and universities across Ohio to determine which were the best in terms of overall quality. Our ranking is based on over 20 objective factors, including post graduate earnings, freshman retention, and graduation rate. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another.
Get more details on our ranking methodology.
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 Ohio State University - Main Campus the best school in Ohio in terms of overall quality for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State make an average of $60,409 per year during the early years of their career.
Out of the 91 schools in Ohio that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Northwestern Ohio landed the #2 spot on the list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $50,968 during the early years of their career..
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Case Western Reserve University. It ranked #3 on our 2025 Best Colleges in Ohio list.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Case Western is $87,989 during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Union Institute & University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Ohio.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. During the early years of their career, graduates from Union make an average of $64,080 a year.
Out of the 91 schools in Ohio that were part of this year’s ranking, Miami University - Oxford landed the #5 spot on the list.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $55,076 during the early years of their career..
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus ranked #6 on this year’s Best Colleges in Ohio list.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from UC make an average of $54,810 per year during the early years of their career.
Ohio University - Athens Campus did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Ohio ranking, coming in at #7.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from OHIO Athens make an average of $52,581 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #8, University of Dayton did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Ohio 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%. During the early years of their career, graduates from UDayton make an average of $75,537 a year.
Kent State University at Kent ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges in Ohio list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $45,388 during the early years of their career..
Xavier University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Ohio ranking, coming in at #10.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Xavier is $64,873 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #11, Kenyon College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Ohio list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Kenyon is $71,830 during the early years of their career.
Denison University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Ohio ranking, coming in at #12.
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. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Denison go into careers with an average salary of $67,753 during the early years of their career.
Cuyahoga Community College District landed the #13 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Ohio ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Cuyahoga Community College District make an average of $35,654 a year.
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges in Ohio list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Cincinnati State go into careers with an average salary of $40,137 during the early years of their career.
University of Toledo ranked #15 on this year’s Best Colleges in Ohio list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $50,632 during the early years of their career..
Kent State University at Stark landed the #16 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Ohio ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Kent State University at Stark go into careers with an average salary of $45,388 during the early years of their career.
Oberlin College landed the #17 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Ohio ranking.
The student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $58,343 during the early years of their career..
Bowling Green State University - Main Campus came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Ohio ranking.
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% Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from BGSU make an average of $47,896 per year during the early years of their career.
Sinclair Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Ohio ranking, coming in at #19.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Sinclair Community College is $37,558 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #20, John Carroll University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Ohio list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from John Carroll is $62,860 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #21, Columbus State Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Ohio list.
The low student loan default rate of 2.0% 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% The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Columbus State is $39,435 during the early years of their career.
Ashland University landed the #22 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Ohio ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Ashland make an average of $52,928 a year.
University of Akron Main Campus ranked #23 on this year’s Best Colleges in Ohio 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%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $46,600 during the early years of their career..
The University of Findlay ranked #24 on this year’s Best Colleges in Ohio list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $56,996 during the early years of their career..
Baldwin Wallace University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Ohio ranking, coming in at #25.
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. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Baldwin Wallace College make an average of $54,122 per year 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.