by our College Data Analytics TeamIt's not easy to decide which college to attend when you have so many options available. College Factual has developed its Top Vermont Colleges ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Our analysis looked at 9 schools in Vermont to determine which ones 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.
We know that one set of rankings doesn't always help you determine the best school for you, so we've created the ability to narrow your list by location and field of study as well as alternative rankings that prioritize different factors such as those of importance to veterans and returning adults or those who value diversity and value for your money.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head!
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Middlebury College to be the best school for overall quality in Vermont in this year’s ranking.
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 Middlebury make an average of $76,310 a year.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Champlain College. It ranked #2 on our 2025 Best Colleges in Vermont list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Champlain is $58,386 during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Bennington College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Vermont.
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. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Bennington go into careers with an average salary of $38,289 during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Vermont helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Vermont.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. During the early years of their career, graduates from UVM make an average of $62,472 a year.
Out of the 9 schools in Vermont that were part of this year’s ranking, Saint Michael’s College landed the #5 spot on the list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Saint Michael’s is $61,317 during the early years of their career.
Vermont Technical College landed the #6 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Vermont ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Vermont Tech make an average of $50,331 per year during the early years of their career.
Norwich University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Colleges in Vermont list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Norwich make an average of $65,575 a year.
Goddard College landed the #8 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Vermont ranking.
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%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Goddard College make an average of $25,552 per year during the early years of their career.
Community College of Vermont ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges in Vermont list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from CCV make an average of $36,234 per year during the early years of their career.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 9 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.