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 Virginia Colleges ranking - to help you make that decision.
After analyzing 57 schools in Virginia, we came up with our list of those that offered the highest quality education. 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.
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: University of Virginia - Main Campus tops this year’s ranking as the best school in Virginia for overall quality. Bachelor’s degree students at the school tend to finish their degree on-time. The 4-year graduation rate is 89%, which is impressive compared to the national rate of 33%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from University of Virginia go into careers with an average salary of $86,863 during the early years of their career. You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Virginia Tech. The school came in at #2 in Virginia on this year’s overall quality ranking. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, 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 Virginia Tech is $81,698 during the early years of their career. A rank of #3 on our Best Colleges in Virginia list means Washington and Lee University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. During the early years of their career, graduates from Washington and Lee make an average of $94,810 a year. A rank of #4 on our Best Colleges in Virginia list means George Mason University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from GMU is $76,343 during the early years of their career. Out of the 57 schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, William & Mary landed the #5 spot on the list. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from William & Mary go into careers with an average salary of $73,490 during the early years of their career.1
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With a ranking of #6, University of Richmond did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia 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. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $76,178 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #7, James Madison University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia list. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from JMU is $69,954 during the early years of their career. With a ranking of #8, Virginia Commonwealth University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia list. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from VCU make an average of $58,128 per year during the early years of their career. Northern Virginia Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia ranking, coming in at #9. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Northern Virginia Community College make an average of $53,557 per year during the early years of their career. With a ranking of #10, ECPI University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia list. 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%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from ECPI University go into careers with an average salary of $42,837 during the early years of their career.7
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Liberty University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Colleges in Virginia list.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.0%, 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 $44,813 during the early years of their career..
Southside Virginia Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia ranking, coming in at #12. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Southside Virginia Community College go into careers with an average salary of $32,371 during the early years of their career. Shenandoah University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia ranking, coming in at #13. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Shenandoah is $58,433 during the early years of their career. Marymount University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia ranking, coming in at #14. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Marymount is $67,516 during the early years of their career. Christopher Newport University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Colleges in Virginia list. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. During the early years of their career, graduates from CNU make an average of $60,509 a year.121314
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Old Dominion University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges in Virginia list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion is $54,914 during the early years of their career.
Bryant & Stratton College - Virginia Beach came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Virginia ranking. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Bryant & Stratton College - Virginia Beach is $32,568 during the early years of their career. Patrick Henry Community College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Virginia ranking. During the early years of their career, graduates from Patrick Henry make an average of $33,323 a year. University of Mary Washington ranked #19 on this year’s Best Colleges in Virginia list. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UMW is $60,613 during the early years of their career. Radford University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia ranking, coming in at #20. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Radford make an average of $53,739 per year during the early years of their career.171819
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Regent University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia ranking, coming in at #21.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Regent go into careers with an average salary of $44,498 during the early years of their career.
Virginia Highlands Community College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Virginia ranking. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from VHCC is $32,681 during the early years of their career. Virginia Military Institute landed the #23 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia ranking. The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 76%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from VMI go into careers with an average salary of $77,369 during the early years of their career. Hampden - Sydney College ranked #24 on this year’s Best Colleges in Virginia 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 $67,640 during the early years of their career.. Roanoke College ranked #25 on this year’s Best Colleges in Virginia list. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $58,047 during the early years of their career..2223
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.