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Our analysis found Bismarck State College to be the best school for overall quality in North Dakota in this year’s ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from BSC make an average of $54,277 per year during the early years of their career.
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 North Dakota Colleges ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Our analysis looked at 12 schools in North Dakota to determine which ones were the best in terms of overall quality. 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.
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 Bismarck State College to be the best school for overall quality in North Dakota in this year’s ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from BSC make an average of $54,277 per year during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Rasmussen University - North Dakota. The school came in at #2 in North Dakota on this year’s overall quality ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Rasmussen University - North Dakota go into careers with an average salary of $39,080 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 12 schools in North Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Dakota landed the #3 spot on the list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UND is $63,552 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #4 on our Best Colleges in North Dakota list means North Dakota State University - Main Campus is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State University make an average of $62,203 per year during the early years of their career.
Read full report on North Dakota State University - Main Campus
Out of the 12 schools in North Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, North Dakota State College of Science landed the #5 spot on the list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from North Dakota State College of Science make an average of $50,513 a year.
Valley City State University landed the #6 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in North Dakota ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Valley City State University is $52,725 during the early years of their career.
University of Mary came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in North Dakota ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from UMary make an average of $60,909 per year during the early years of their career.
Minot State University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in North Dakota ranking, coming in at #8.
During the early years of their career, graduates from MSU make an average of $51,759 a year.
Mayville State University landed the #9 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in North Dakota ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Mayville State University make an average of $47,828 a year.
Dickinson State University landed the #10 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in North Dakota ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from DSU is $50,720 during the early years of their career.
Lake Region State College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in North Dakota ranking, coming in at #11.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Lake Region State College make an average of $49,502 a year.
With a ranking of #12, Williston State College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in North Dakota list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Williston State College go into careers with an average salary of $44,017 during the early years of their career.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 12 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.