Degree Dividend
Sourced from federal dataEvery figure datedNo rankings for sale

Best colleges in Ohio, ranked by ROI

All 144 Ohio institutions we profile, ranked by payback years — total net cost divided by earnings above the $48,360 high-school baseline. Federal net price and earnings; payback is our math. (Scorecard, 2026.)

$19,783
Median net price / yr
Scorecard, 2026
$47,831
Median earnings, 10 yrs
Scorecard, 2026
9.6 yrs
Median payback
Our math, 2026
144
Colleges ranked
degreedividend.com
Ohio colleges by payback (best first)
#CollegeNet price/yrEarnings 10yPayback
1Mount Carmel College of Nursing$10,420$75,1031.6 yrs
2Ohio State University-Marion Campus$11,488$60,4091.9 yrs
3Good Samaritan College of Nursing and Health Science$19,622$66,1112.2 yrs
4Ohio State University-Newark Campus$14,767$60,4092.5 yrs
5Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus$5,755$52,5812.7 yrs
6Ohio State University-Mansfield Campus$16,197$60,4092.7 yrs
7Ohio University-Zanesville Campus$5,746$52,5812.7 yrs
8Ohio University-Southern Campus$5,993$52,5812.8 yrs
9Chamberlain University-Ohio$31,544$92,4052.9 yrs
10Ohio Northern University$24,478$80,9283 yrs
11Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute$17,809$60,4093 yrs
12Aultman College of Nursing and Health Sciences$24,204$63,5823.2 yrs
13The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences$18,378$68,3033.7 yrs
14Ohio University-Eastern Campus$3,925$52,5813.7 yrs
15Case Western Reserve University$41,190$87,9894.2 yrs
16Mercy College of Ohio$17,989$65,4094.2 yrs
17University of Dayton$29,533$75,5374.3 yrs
18University of Cincinnati-Clermont College$13,803$54,8104.3 yrs
19Ohio State University-Lima Campus$12,940$60,4094.3 yrs
20Galen College of Nursing-Cincinnati$28,785$61,4804.4 yrs
21Kettering College$21,650$67,4924.5 yrs
22University of Cincinnati-Blue Ash College$16,508$54,8105.1 yrs
23Ohio University-Lancaster Campus$5,650$52,5815.4 yrs
24Ohio State University-Main Campus$17,339$60,4095.8 yrs
25Miami University-Middletown$10,809$55,0766.4 yrs
26Kenyon College$38,512$71,8306.6 yrs
27Miami University-Hamilton$11,286$55,0766.7 yrs
28Hobart Institute of Welding Technology$21,409$60,9556.8 yrs
29Walsh University$20,493$59,7647.2 yrs
30Ursuline College$16,164$56,8787.6 yrs
31John Carroll University$28,746$62,8607.9 yrs
32Xavier University$32,997$64,8738 yrs
33Denison University$40,007$67,7538.3 yrs
34The College of Wooster$23,458$59,6298.3 yrs
35Marietta College$21,083$57,1809.6 yrs
36Hondros College of Nursing$26,014$58,63610.1 yrs
37Wittenberg University$18,649$54,94711.3 yrs
38Ohio Wesleyan University$20,897$55,62411.5 yrs
39The University of Findlay$27,221$56,99612.6 yrs
40Cedarville University$24,468$55,44313.8 yrs
41Hiram College$21,058$54,31114.2 yrs
42Oberlin College$38,645$58,34315.5 yrs
43Otterbein University$19,237$53,31315.5 yrs
44Capital University$22,576$54,14315.6 yrs
45Cleveland State University$14,764$52,13115.7 yrs
46University of Cincinnati-Main Campus$25,648$54,81015.9 yrs
47University of Northwestern Ohio$21,807$50,96816.7 yrs
48Miami University-Oxford$28,384$55,07616.9 yrs
49Baldwin Wallace University$27,603$54,12219.2 yrs
50University of Mount Union$23,280$53,21719.2 yrs
51Ashland University$21,988$52,92819.3 yrs
52Ohio University-Main Campus$21,637$52,58120.5 yrs
53Mount St. Joseph University$16,530$51,50921 yrs
54Ohio Dominican University$20,079$51,74823.7 yrs
55Franklin University$25,243$51,89228.6 yrs
56University of Toledo$17,249$50,63230.4 yrs
57Wright State University-Lake Campus$11,081$49,50038.9 yrs
58Lake Erie College$20,961$50,41740.8 yrs
59Wright State University-Main Campus$15,415$49,50054.1 yrs
60Franciscan University of Steubenville$23,589$50,03056.5 yrs
61Bluffton University$19,943$49,54767.2 yrs
62Mount Vernon Nazarene University$22,421$49,55575 yrs
63Defiance College$26,337$49,351106.3 yrs
64Warren County Career Center$24,731$49,016150.8 yrs
65Malone University$20,948$48,909152.6 yrs
66Wilmington College$24,153$48,491737.5 yrs
67Heidelberg University$20,556$48,466775.7 yrs
68Muskingum University$19,532$48,440976.6 yrs
69Ohio Technical College$34,972$48,4501554.3 yrs
70Bowling Green State University-Firelands$17,480$47,896no payback
71Professional Skills Institute$20,721$47,765no payback
72Collins Career Technical Center$9,468$47,329no payback
73University of Akron Wayne College$6,032$46,600no payback
74Kent State University at Stark$10,897$45,388no payback
75Kent State University at Trumbull$11,135$45,388no payback
76Kent State University at Geauga$12,044$45,388no payback
77Kent State University at Ashtabula$12,205$45,388no payback
78Kent State University at Tuscarawas$12,542$45,388no payback
79Kent State University at East Liverpool$13,392$45,388no payback
80Kent State University at Salem$13,799$45,388no payback
81University of Akron Main Campus$13,946$46,600no payback
82Lourdes University$23,206$48,150no payback
83Bowling Green State University-Main Campus$24,022$47,896no payback
84Kent State University at Kent$20,787$45,388no payback
85DeVry University-Ohio$25,001$45,987no payback
86Marion Technical College$7,417$41,495no payback
87James A. Rhodes State College$8,757$41,855no payback
88Edison State Community College$7,142$41,360no payback
89Cincinnati State Technical and Community College$4,968$40,137no payback
90University of Rio Grande$23,686$41,478no payback
91Youngstown State University$12,767$41,544no payback
92Lakeland Community College$7,606$39,612no payback
93Northwest State Community College$13,555$40,004no payback
94The Modern College of Design$39,359$42,187no payback
95MyComputerCareer at Columbus$25,970$43,409no payback
96Central Ohio Technical College$9,948$39,168no payback
97Lorain County Community College$3,967$38,837no payback
98Columbus State Community College$8,400$39,435no payback
99North Central State College$4,687$38,158no payback
100Washington State College of Ohio$7,714$37,988no payback
101Wilberforce University$5,567$38,298no payback
102Clark State College$12,135$39,584no payback
103Gods Bible School and College$9,329$37,722no payback
104Polaris Career Center$9,931$38,718no payback
105Shawnee State University$14,381$39,596no payback
106Cleveland Institute of Art$29,208$42,509no payback
107Hocking College$13,704$37,791no payback
108Sinclair Community College$5,992$37,558no payback
109Ohio Christian University$20,607$39,813no payback
110Owens Community College$10,369$37,275no payback
111Herzing University-Akron$18,934$36,909no payback
112Cuyahoga Community College District$4,266$35,654no payback
113Columbus College of Art & Design$29,439$40,664no payback
114Belmont College$6,995$35,329no payback
115Auburn Career Center$12,051$37,032no payback
116Southern State Community College$9,674$35,463no payback
117Zane State College$8,062$35,006no payback
118Stark State College$5,986$34,661no payback
119Terra State Community College$17,345$36,612no payback
120American Institute of Alternative Medicine$38,392$40,805no payback
121Paul Mitchell the School-Columbus$27,398$37,609no payback
122Bryant & Stratton College-Parma$12,849$32,568no payback
123Fortis College-Columbus$27,708$36,368no payback
124Central State University$13,096$33,267no payback
125Tiffin University$26,500$35,942no payback
126Fortis College-Cincinnati$29,614$36,368no payback
127Fortis College-Cuyahoga Falls$23,374$34,509no payback
128Stautzenberger College-Maumee$21,756$34,104no payback
129ATA College-Cincinnati$27,055$34,577no payback
130Fortis College-Centerville$29,162$34,726no payback
131Art Academy of Cincinnati$34,253$34,368no payback
132Davis College$24,181$31,588no payback
133Aveda Institute-Columbus$20,800$30,231no payback
134Aveda Fredric's Institute-Cincinnati$24,430$30,468no payback
135Ross College-Sylvania$22,893$29,898no payback
136Dayton School of Medical Massage$30,819$31,071no payback
137Ohio Business College-Sheffield$28,738$30,389no payback
138Ross College-Canton$28,389$29,898no payback
139Paul Mitchell the School-Cincinnati$27,029$28,363no payback
140Creative Images Institute of Cosmetology-North Dayton$12,258$22,271no payback
141Valley College-Cleveland$30,411$24,900no payback
142Elite School of Cosmetology$32,349$23,547no payback
143Ohio State College of Barber Styling$14,696$18,341no payback
144Raphael's School of Beauty Culture Inc-Alliance$18,245$17,650no payback

College Scorecard (2026), institution-level · ranking and payback are our math. Payback uses institution-wide earnings; a specific major can rank very differently.