by our College Data Analytics TeamIt's not easy to decide which college to attend when you have so many options available. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our Top Pennsylvania Colleges ranking - to help you make that decision.
After analyzing 103 schools in Pennsylvania, we came up with our list of those that offered the highest quality education. 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.
Since one ranking on its own is not enough to give you a complete understanding of your educational options, you can refine this list by location and field of study. We've also developed a number of other tools and rankings based on other factors. These other rankings highlight colleges that excel in other factors such as value or diversity as well as schools that excel in serving different groups of students such as veterans or returnings adults.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering!
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2025 rankings named University of Pennsylvania the best school in Pennsylvania in terms of overall quality for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 86%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. During the early years of their career, graduates from UPenn make an average of $111,371 a year.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Carnegie Mellon University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Pennsylvania.
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. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $114,862 during the early years of their career..
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Villanova University. The school came in at #3 in Pennsylvania on this year’s overall quality ranking.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 89%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Villanova go into careers with an average salary of $100,423 during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Lehigh University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Pennsylvania.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Lehigh is $105,584 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 103 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Swarthmore College landed the #5 spot on the list.
Bachelor’s degree students at the school tend to finish their degree on-time. The 4-year graduation rate is 91%, which is impressive compared to the national rate of 33%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore make an average of $80,257 per year during the early years of their career.
University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Pitt is $66,125 during the early years of their career.
Read full report on University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus
With a ranking of #7, Thomas Jefferson University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania 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% Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Thomas Jefferson University go into careers with an average salary of $77,449 during the early years of their career.
Temple University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Temple make an average of $63,727 a year.
Saint Joseph’s University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $86,881 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #10, Drexel University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania 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. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $84,648 during the early years of their career..
Bucknell University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 84%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Bucknell go into careers with an average salary of $93,807 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #12, Duquesne University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $74,742 during the early years of their career..
University of Scranton landed the #13 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from University of Scranton make an average of $74,652 a year.
Lafayette College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. During the early years of their career, graduates from Lafayette make an average of $91,410 a year.
Haverford College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #15.
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. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Haverford make an average of $79,966 per year during the early years of their career.
Gettysburg College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking.
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 Gettysburg make an average of $71,517 a year.
With a ranking of #17, Muhlenberg College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania 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. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Muhlenberg go into careers with an average salary of $69,107 during the early years of their career.
Franklin and Marshall College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #18.
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 Franklin and Marshall make an average of $76,124 a year.
Widener University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #19.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Widener make an average of $70,920 a year.
Lancaster Bible College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #20.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Lancaster Bible College go into careers with an average salary of $44,096 during the early years of their career.
Dickinson College came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking.
The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 81%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $70,204 during the early years of their career..
Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #22.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology make an average of $54,681 a year.
La Salle University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #23.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $67,416 during the early years of their career..
Harcum College landed the #24 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty rate of 4 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 Harcum College make an average of $46,827 a year.
Community College of Philadelphia did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #25.
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 $40,852 during the early years of their career..
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.