by our College Data Analytics TeamThere are lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its Top Arizona Colleges ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
After analyzing 26 schools in Arizona, 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.
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 University of Phoenix - Arizona to be the best school for overall quality in Arizona in this year’s 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% During the early years of their career, graduates from UOPX - Arizona make an average of $37,752 a year.
A rank of #2 on our Best Colleges in Arizona list means Arizona State University - Tempe is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $62,668 during the early years of their career..
A rank of #3 on our Best Colleges in Arizona list means University of Arizona is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from University of Arizona go into careers with an average salary of $59,979 during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at GateWay Community College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Arizona.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from GateWay Community College is $46,147 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges in Arizona list means Grand Canyon University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
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 $42,186 during the early years of their career..
Eastern Arizona College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Colleges in Arizona list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Eastern Arizona College make an average of $38,018 a year.
Northern Arizona University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Colleges in Arizona list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from NAU make an average of $54,384 a year.
Arizona State University - Skysong came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Arizona ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $62,668 during the early years of their career..
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges in Arizona list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Embry-Riddle Prescott make an average of $84,131 a year.
Pima Community College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Colleges in Arizona list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Pima County Community College District is $39,810 during the early years of their career.
American InterContinental University - Online did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona ranking, coming in at #11.
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 $36,144 during the early years of their career..
Read full report on American InterContinental University - Online
Mesa Community College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Colleges in Arizona list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Mesa Community College go into careers with an average salary of $44,034 during the early years of their career.
Phoenix College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona ranking, coming in at #13.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Phoenix College make an average of $40,870 per year during the early years of their career.
Estrella Mountain Community College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges in Arizona list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Estrella Mountain Community College make an average of $44,356 a year.
Glendale Community College landed the #15 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $43,108 during the early years of their career..
Scottsdale Community College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Arizona ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $47,905 during the early years of their career..
Chandler-Gilbert Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona ranking, coming in at #17.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $51,111 during the early years of their career..
Mohave Community College landed the #18 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from MCC is $35,522 during the early years of their career.
Rio Salado College landed the #19 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Rio Salado College make an average of $41,015 per year during the early years of their career.
Central Arizona College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona ranking, coming in at #20.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Pinal County Community College is $40,513 during the early years of their career.
Cochise County Community College District came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Arizona ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Cochise College make an average of $38,033 a year.
Read full report on Cochise County Community College District
Yavapai College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Arizona ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Yavapai College is $39,890 during the early years of their career.
Paradise Valley Community College landed the #23 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Paradise Valley Community College go into careers with an average salary of $47,196 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #24, South Mountain Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from South Mountain Community College is $39,825 during the early years of their career.
Coconino Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona ranking, coming in at #25.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Coconino Community College go into careers with an average salary of $40,420 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.