by our College Data Analytics TeamIt's not easy to decide which college to attend when you have so many options available. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our Top Kansas Colleges ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
After analyzing 44 schools in Kansas, we came up with our list of those that offered the highest quality education. 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.
Get more details on our ranking methodology.
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 University of Kansas to be the best school for overall quality in Kansas in this year’s ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from KU go into careers with an average salary of $61,945 during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Kansas State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Kansas.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. During the early years of their career, graduates from K -State make an average of $57,262 a year.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Kansas.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $38,679 during the early years of their career..
Out of the 44 schools in Kansas that were part of this year’s ranking, Johnson County Community College landed the #4 spot on the list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $45,387 during the early years of their career..
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Flint Hills Technical College. The school came in at #5 in Kansas on this year’s overall quality ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Flint Hills Technical College make an average of $47,007 a year.
Baker University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kansas list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $63,855 during the early years of their career..
Hutchinson Community College landed the #7 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kansas ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $43,470 during the early years of their career..
Hesston College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Kansas ranking.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty rate of 7 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Hesston make an average of $47,495 per year during the early years of their career.
Newman University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Kansas ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Newman University make an average of $55,041 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #10, MidAmerica Nazarene University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kansas list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from MNU go into careers with an average salary of $62,972 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #11, Emporia State University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kansas list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from ESU go into careers with an average salary of $47,601 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #12, Pittsburg State University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kansas 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%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Pitt State is $50,579 during the early years of their career.
Cowley County Community College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Kansas ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Cowley College go into careers with an average salary of $37,723 during the early years of their career.
Washburn University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kansas list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Washburn University is $49,774 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #15, Wichita State University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kansas list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from WSU make an average of $51,532 per year during the early years of their career.
Butler Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Kansas ranking, coming in at #16.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Butler CC is $41,206 during the early years of their career.
Neosho County Community College ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kansas list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $45,966 during the early years of their career..
Garden City Community College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Kansas ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $41,704 during the early years of their career..
Benedictine College came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Kansas ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Benedictine College make an average of $53,175 per year during the early years of their career.
Kansas City Kansas Community College came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Kansas ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $40,795 during the early years of their career..
Friends University landed the #21 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kansas ranking.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Friends University go into careers with an average salary of $52,113 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #22, University of Saint Mary did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kansas list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from University of St. Mary make an average of $59,483 per year during the early years of their career.
Barton County Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Kansas ranking, coming in at #23.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Barton Community College make an average of $40,428 a year.
With a ranking of #24, Seward County Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kansas list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from SCCC make an average of $41,445 per year during the early years of their career.
Southwestern College ranked #25 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kansas 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. During the early years of their career, graduates from SC make an average of $55,646 a year.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.