State Rankings

Best Colleges in Ohio

Top colleges in Ohio ranked by national standing and graduate outcomes — updated 2026.

Colleges listed: 50

Avg grad earnings: $56,202

Public / Private: 18 / 32

Top Colleges in Ohio

Nationally ranked schools appear first. Remaining schools are ordered by median graduate earnings.

State #	School	Type	Grad Earnings	Admit Rate	SAT Avg	Grad Rate	Out-of-State
1	University of Dayton Dayton#93 national	Private	$75,537	61.7%	1,313	81.5%	$47,600
2	Case Western Reserve Cleveland#107 national	Private	$87,989	28.7%	1,501	87.0%	$64,671
3	Ohio State University Columbus#112 national	Public	$60,409	50.8%	1,407	87.7%	$38,365
4	Mount Carmel College of Nursing Columbus#130 national	Private	$75,103	57.4%	1,020	70.9%	$13,890
5	Ohio Northern University Ada#167 national	Private	$80,928	73.4%	1,290	74.2%	$37,800
6	Kenyon College Gambier#168 national	Private	$71,830	30.7%	1,440	86.8%	$69,330
7	Oberlin College Oberlin#225 national	Private	$58,343	33.0%	1,440	79.5%	$64,646
8	Denison University Granville#239 national	Private	$67,753	16.9%	1,395	80.1%	$64,000
9	The College of Wooster Wooster#299 national	Private	$59,629	54.3%	1,370	73.6%	$59,550
10	John Carroll University University Heights#316 national	Private	$62,860	81.1%	1,295	76.5%	$49,100
11	Miami University-Oxford Oxford#323 national	Public	$55,076	82.1%	1,313	81.8%	$40,025
12	Kettering College Kettering#344 national	Private	$67,492	82.9%	1,120	65.0%	$15,672
13	Cedarville University Cedarville#350 national	Private	$55,443	62.8%	1,246	74.3%	$36,078
14	Ohio Wesleyan University Delaware#414 national	Private	$55,624	50.7%	1,311	61.7%	$52,357
15	Xavier University Cincinnati#418 national	Private	$64,873	87.7%	1,224	70.5%	$48,125
16	Franciscan University of Steubenville Steubenville#435 national	Private	$50,030	72.2%	1,218	77.1%	$32,630
17	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati#442 national	Public	$54,810	87.7%	1,281	71.5%	$30,582
18	Mercy College of Ohio Toledo#468 national	Private	$65,409	42.8%	961	44.6%	$18,950
19	The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences Cincinnati#485 national	Private	$68,303	50.2%	972	60.0%	$16,394
20	Baldwin Wallace University Berea#520 national	Private	$54,122	76.8%	1,176	68.6%	$37,938
21	Otterbein University Westerville#557 national	Private	$53,313	83.3%	1,220	69.0%	$34,899
22	Ohio University-Main Campus Athens#575 national	Public	$52,581	84.8%	1,212	66.4%	$24,114
23	Capital University Columbus#640 national	Private	$54,143	73.2%	1,118	65.5%	$41,788
24	Walsh University North Canton#672 national	Private	$59,764	78.2%	1,210	61.7%	$34,595
25	Marietta College Marietta#702 national	Private	$57,180	78.6%	1,103	58.1%	$38,974
26	Mount St. Joseph University Cincinnati#724 national	Private	$51,509	56.5%	1,068	54.7%	$36,650
27	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green#793 national	Public	$47,896	80.6%	1,118	62.8%	$22,070
28	The University of Findlay Findlay#805 national	Private	$56,996	86.3%	N/A	62.6%	$39,646
29	University of Mount Union Alliance#809 national	Private	$53,217	80.1%	1,227	64.9%	$35,400
30	Cleveland Institute of Art Cleveland#851 national	Private	$42,509	56.3%	1,156	67.5%	$47,880
31	Kent State University at Kent Kent#923 national	Public	$45,388	86.7%	1,095	65.5%	$22,316
32	Mount Vernon Nazarene University Mount Vernon#947 national	Private	$49,555	84.3%	1,119	63.6%	$35,524
33	Ashland University Ashland#950 national	Private	$52,928	80.6%	1,119	60.6%	$28,910
34	Ursuline College Pepper Pike#1010 national	Private	$56,878	84.0%	1,140	53.3%	$37,860
35	Wittenberg University Springfield#1078 national	Private	$54,947	91.0%	1,153	53.8%	$44,602
36	University of Toledo Toledo#1097 national	Public	$50,632	94.8%	1,209	55.6%	$21,737
37	University of Cincinnati-Clermont College Batavia#1209 national	Public	$54,810	N/A	N/A	24.6%	$13,786
38	University of Akron Main Campus Akron#1219 national	Public	$46,600	70.9%	1,088	48.2%	$17,239
39	Hiram College Hiram#1244 national	Private	$54,311	93.4%	N/A	59.1%	$26,265
40	Heidelberg University Tiffin#1280 national	Private	$48,466	67.7%	N/A	49.8%	$33,628
41	University of Cincinnati-Blue Ash College Blue Ash#1336 national	Public	$54,810	N/A	N/A	15.1%	$15,790
42	Lakeland Community College Kirtland#1378 national	Public	$39,612	N/A	N/A	N/A	$9,235
43	Ohio State University-Marion Campus Marion#1380 national	Public	$60,409	N/A	N/A	25.7%	$34,718
44	Ohio State University-Newark Campus Newark#1387 national	Public	$60,409	N/A	N/A	30.9%	$34,718
45	Edison State Community College Piqua#1388 national	Public	$41,360	N/A	N/A	N/A	$8,106
46	Columbus State Community College Columbus#1405 national	Public	$39,435	N/A	N/A	N/A	$10,917
47	Bluffton University Bluffton#1428 national	Private	$49,547	61.2%	1,020	49.5%	$36,298
48	Cuyahoga Community College District Cleveland#1432 national	Public	$35,654	N/A	N/A	N/A	$8,736
49	Youngstown State University Youngstown#1434 national	Public	$41,544	80.3%	1,055	52.9%	$11,151
50	Cleveland State University Cleveland#1436 national	Public	$52,131	95.5%	980	48.9%	$17,973

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Excludes for-profit institutions.

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