by our College Data Analytics TeamThere are lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its Top Wisconsin Colleges ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
We analyzed 46 colleges and universities across Wisconsin to determine which were the best in terms of overall quality. Instead of depending on subjective information, we focus on over 20 objective factors to determine this ranking. These factors include such things as student-to-faculty ratio, average graduate earnings, and graduation rate.
See what other factors we include in 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 analysis found University of Wisconsin - Madison to be the best school for overall quality in Wisconsin in this year’s ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $73,792 during the early years of their career..
A rank of #2 on our Best Colleges in Wisconsin list means Herzing University - Madison is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Herzing University - Madison make an average of $36,909 per year during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Marquette University. It ranked #3 on our 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Marquette is $78,257 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Gateway Technical College. It ranked #4 on our 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty rate of 8 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $40,264 during the early years of their career..
A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges in Wisconsin list means Madison Area Technical College is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Madison College make an average of $45,413 per year during the early years of their career.
Western Technical College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
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. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Western Technical College make an average of $45,303 per year during the early years of their career.
Chippewa Valley Technical College landed the #7 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from CVTC is $46,297 during the early years of their career.
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse landed the #8 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from UW - La Crosse make an average of $60,378 per year during the early years of their career.
Fox Valley Technical College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges in Wisconsin 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%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from FVTC go into careers with an average salary of $45,684 during the early years of their career.
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater landed the #10 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from UW - Whitewater make an average of $55,356 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #11, Mount Mary University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin 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. During the early years of their career, graduates from Mount Mary make an average of $48,745 a year.
With a ranking of #12, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from NWTC is $44,553 during the early years of their career.
University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UW - Eau Claire is $58,561 during the early years of their career.
Milwaukee Area Technical College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking, coming in at #14.
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. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $41,113 during the early years of their career..
Carroll University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Carroll U make an average of $58,009 per year during the early years of their career.
Blackhawk Technical College ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
The impressive student-to-faculty rate of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from BTC is $41,620 during the early years of their career.
Northcentral Technical College came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Wisconsin 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% Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from North Central Technical College go into careers with an average salary of $44,925 during the early years of their career.
Concordia University, Wisconsin ranked #18 on this year’s Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $56,075 during the early years of their career..
Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College ranked #19 on this year’s Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from WITC make an average of $43,406 per year during the early years of their career.
University of Wisconsin - Platteville ranked #20 on this year’s Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
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% During the early years of their career, graduates from UW - Platteville make an average of $61,760 a year.
Alverno College landed the #21 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking.
The impressive student-to-faculty rate of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $53,145 during the early years of their career..
Viterbo University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking, coming in at #22.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $55,660 during the early years of their career..
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee landed the #23 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin 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 UWM make an average of $54,990 per year during the early years of their career.
Moraine Park Technical College came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $44,371 during the early years of their career..
Edgewood College landed the #25 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Edgewood is $59,728 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.