by our College Data Analytics TeamWhen pursuing a degree in today's world, there are many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its Top Massachusetts Colleges ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
We analyzed 63 colleges and universities across Massachusetts to determine which were the best in terms of overall quality. Our ranking methodology focuses on over 20 different objective factors - such as graduation rate, post graduate earnings, and a school's average expenditure per student - to make this determination.
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 Massachusetts Institute of Technology to be the best school for overall quality in Massachusetts in this year’s ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 99%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $143,372 during the early years of their career..
Out of the 63 schools in Massachusetts that were part of this year’s ranking, Harvard University landed the #2 spot on the list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 98%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Harvard is $101,817 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #3 on our Best Colleges in Massachusetts list means Boston College is a great place 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 95%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Boston College go into careers with an average salary of $103,937 during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Boston University. The school came in at #4 in Massachusetts on this year’s overall quality ranking.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Boston U go into careers with an average salary of $83,238 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Bentley University. It ranked #5 on our 2025 Best Colleges in Massachusetts list.
Bachelor’s degree students at the school tend to finish their degree on-time. The 4-year graduation rate is 84%, which is impressive compared to the national rate of 33%. During the early years of their career, graduates from Bentley make an average of $120,959 a year.
With a ranking of #6, Northeastern University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Massachusetts list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern is $92,538 during the early years of their career.
Tufts University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Colleges in Massachusetts list.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Tufts make an average of $83,214 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #8, Worcester Polytechnic Institute did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Massachusetts list.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. During the early years of their career, graduates from WPI make an average of $103,470 a year.
College of the Holy Cross did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Massachusetts ranking, coming in at #9.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 90%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Holy Cross is $90,543 during the early years of their career.
University of Massachusetts Amherst did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Massachusetts ranking, coming in at #10.
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 $71,631 during the early years of their career..
Simmons University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Massachusetts ranking, coming in at #11.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 76%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Simmons make an average of $63,494 per year during the early years of their career.
Amherst College landed the #12 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Massachusetts ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Amherst is $77,644 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #13, Williams College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Massachusetts list.
The student-to-faculty rate of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. During the early years of their career, graduates from Williams make an average of $88,665 a year.
Wellesley College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges in Massachusetts list.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. During the early years of their career, graduates from Wellesley make an average of $84,803 a year.
Brandeis University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Colleges in Massachusetts list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. During the early years of their career, graduates from Brandeis make an average of $77,231 a year.
With a ranking of #16, Emerson College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Massachusetts list.
With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Emerson is $62,832 during the early years of their career.
University of Massachusetts - Lowell came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Massachusetts ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UMass Lowell go into careers with an average salary of $64,874 during the early years of their career.
Suffolk University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Massachusetts 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% During the early years of their career, graduates from Suffolk make an average of $67,506 a year.
Wentworth Institute of Technology ranked #19 on this year’s Best Colleges in Massachusetts list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from WIT make an average of $82,721 per year during the early years of their career.
Springfield College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Massachusetts ranking, coming in at #20.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Springfield College make an average of $48,036 a year.
Smith College landed the #21 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Massachusetts ranking.
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. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Smith is $64,027 during the early years of their career.
Endicott College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Massachusetts ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Endicott make an average of $58,336 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #23, Clark University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Massachusetts list.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, 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 $62,381 during the early years of their career..
Bridgewater State University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Massachusetts ranking, coming in at #24.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Bridgewater State go into careers with an average salary of $57,466 during the early years of their career.
University of Massachusetts - Boston ranked #25 on this year’s Best Colleges in Massachusetts list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from UMass Boston make an average of $65,865 a year.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.