by our College Data Analytics TeamWith all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Top Tennessee Colleges ranking is part of that endeavor.
After analyzing 41 schools in Tennessee, we came up with our list of those that offered the highest quality education. To come up with this ranking, we look at more than 20 factors that are all objective measurements. These factors include freshman retention, graduation rate, student-to-faculty ratio, and post graduate earnings, among other things.
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:
Vanderbilt University tops this year’s ranking as the best school in Tennessee for overall quality.
The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 88%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt is $91,565 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 41 schools in Tennessee that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville landed the #2 spot on the 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 UT Knoxville is $60,249 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Belmont University. It ranked #3 on our 2025 Best Colleges in Tennessee list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Belmont go into careers with an average salary of $55,930 during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Adventist University. The school came in at #4 in Tennessee on this year’s overall quality ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Southern Adventist go into careers with an average salary of $53,723 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges in Tennessee list means Union University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The student-to-faculty rate of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $53,990 during the early years of their career..
Lincoln Memorial University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Tennessee 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. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from LMU go into careers with an average salary of $49,956 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #7, Sewanee - The University of the South did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Tennessee list.
Bachelor’s degree students at the school tend to finish their degree on-time. The 4-year graduation rate is 76%, which is impressive compared to the national rate of 33%. During the early years of their career, graduates from Sewanee make an average of $64,911 a year.
With a ranking of #8, Lipscomb University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Tennessee list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Lipscomb make an average of $55,541 a year.
Rhodes College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges in Tennessee list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Rhodes College make an average of $66,651 per year during the early years of their career.
Jackson State Community College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Colleges in Tennessee list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from JSCC make an average of $35,224 a year.
East Tennessee State University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Colleges in Tennessee 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% Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from ETSU go into careers with an average salary of $44,859 during the early years of their career.
University of Memphis ranked #12 on this year’s Best Colleges in Tennessee list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from UofM make an average of $48,458 a year.
Southwest Tennessee Community College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Tennessee ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $34,071 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #14, Chattanooga State Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Tennessee list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Chattanooga State Community College go into careers with an average salary of $37,598 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #15, Freed-Hardeman University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Tennessee list.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from FHU make an average of $47,485 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #16, The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Tennessee list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UT Chattanooga go into careers with an average salary of $51,151 during the early years of their career.
Read full report on The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga
Lee University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Tennessee ranking, coming in at #17.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Lee University make an average of $43,222 per year during the early years of their career.
Middle Tennessee State University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Tennessee ranking.
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% Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University go into careers with an average salary of $48,541 during the early years of their career.
Tennessee Technological University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Tennessee ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Tennessee Tech University is $48,501 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #20, Cumberland University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Tennessee list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from CU make an average of $57,687 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #21, Pellissippi State Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Tennessee list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $38,440 during the early years of their career..
Carson - Newman University landed the #22 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Tennessee ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Carson - Newman make an average of $48,382 per year during the early years of their career.
Volunteer State Community College ranked #23 on this year’s Best Colleges in Tennessee list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from VSCC make an average of $41,150 a year.
Bethel University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Tennessee ranking, coming in at #24.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Bethel make an average of $47,482 a year.
Austin Peay State University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Tennessee ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Austin Peay State University is $44,301 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.