1
University of Kentucky tops this year’s ranking as the best school in Kentucky for overall quality.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UK is $59,025 during the early years of their career.
by our College Data Analytics TeamThere are lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our Top Kentucky Colleges ranking - to help you make that decision.
Our analysis looked at 39 schools in Kentucky to determine which ones 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:
University of Kentucky tops this year’s ranking as the best school in Kentucky for overall quality.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UK is $59,025 during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Louisville helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Kentucky.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UofL go into careers with an average salary of $53,899 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Centre College. It ranked #3 on our 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 82%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Centre College of Kentucky go into careers with an average salary of $66,240 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Sullivan University. It ranked #4 on our 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Sullivan University make an average of $38,008 a year.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Kentucky University. The school came in at #5 in Kentucky on this year’s overall quality ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from NKU go into careers with an average salary of $50,220 during the early years of their career.
Western Kentucky University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% During the early years of their career, graduates from WKU make an average of $43,889 a year.
With a ranking of #7, Bellarmine University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Bellarmine U make an average of $62,069 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #8, Thomas More University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Thomas More is $59,384 during the early years of their career.
University of the Cumberlands ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Cumberlands make an average of $45,036 a year.
Lindsey Wilson College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Lindsey Wilson College is $41,129 during the early years of their career.
Asbury University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Kentucky ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Asbury make an average of $42,368 a year.
Eastern Kentucky University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Eastern make an average of $45,795 per year during the early years of their career.
Jefferson Community and Technical College ranked #13 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Jefferson Community and Technical College make an average of $38,171 per year during the early years of their career.
Bluegrass Community and Technical College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky ranking, coming in at #14.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Bluegrass Community and Technical College make an average of $36,343 a year.
Read full report on Bluegrass Community and Technical College
Transylvania University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Kentucky ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $54,705 during the early years of their career..
Murray State University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky ranking, coming in at #16.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Murray State make an average of $44,737 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #17, Spalding University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
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 Spalding go into careers with an average salary of $49,438 during the early years of their career.
Brescia University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
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 Brescia University go into careers with an average salary of $45,500 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #19, Gateway Community and Technical College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Gateway make an average of $36,147 a year.
Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Kentucky ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from SKYCTC make an average of $34,242 a year.
Full Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College Report
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College landed the #21 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $36,143 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #22, Owensboro Community and Technical College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Owensboro Community and Technical College make an average of $35,798 per year during the early years of their career.
Campbellsville University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Kentucky ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Campbellsville University make an average of $41,583 a year.
Hopkinsville Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky ranking, coming in at #24.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Hopkinsville Community College make an average of $36,323 a year.
With a ranking of #25, West Kentucky Community and Technical College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from West Kentucky Community and Technical College is $34,891 during the early years of their career.
View Best Colleges Nationwide >
All Majors and Fields of Study >
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.