1
Bismarck State College tops this year’s ranking as the best school in North Dakota for overall quality.
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.
Get more details on 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:
Bismarck State College tops this year’s ranking as the best school in North Dakota for overall quality.
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.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $39,080 during the early years of their career..
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of North Dakota helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in North Dakota.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from UND make an average of $63,552 per year during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend North Dakota State University - Main Campus. The school came in at #4 in North Dakota on this year’s overall quality ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from North Dakota State University make an average of $62,203 a year.
Read full report on North Dakota State University - Main Campus
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend North Dakota State College of Science. The school came in at #5 in North Dakota on this year’s overall quality ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State College of Science make an average of $50,513 per year during the early years of their career.
Valley City State University landed the #6 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in North Dakota ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Valley City State University go into careers with an average salary of $52,725 during the early years of their career.
University of Mary did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in North Dakota ranking, coming in at #7.
During the early years of their career, graduates from UMary make an average of $60,909 a year.
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 came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in North Dakota ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Mayville State University make an average of $47,828 per year during the early years of their career.
Dickinson State University landed the #10 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in North Dakota ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from DSU go into careers with an average salary of $50,720 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #11, Lake Region State College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in North Dakota list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Lake Region State College is $49,502 during the early years of their career.
Williston State College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in North Dakota ranking, coming in at #12.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Williston State College make an average of $44,017 per year during the early years of their career.
View Best Colleges Nationwide >
All Majors and Fields of Study >
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 12 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.