College Rankings

Best Music Schools

The top 25 of 236 U.S. colleges offering an undergraduate Music degree, ranked by early-career earnings and return on investment — using each school's real, aid-adjusted net price rather than sticker tuition.

Is Music worth it?

It depends entirely on your ego and your career strategy. If you take out massive student loans to attend a prestigious private conservatory hoping to land a principal chair in a major symphony, the financial math is usually brutal. But if you treat a music degree pragmatically, the payoff is surprisingly strong. The secret is to attend a low-cost, regional public university with the intention of entering music education, commercial production, or a localized gig economy. For students who want to make a stable, middle-class living in the arts without drowning in debt, this degree is absolutely worth it—provided you pick the right school.

Filter by state

#	School	State	Score	Median earnings	Net price / yr	10-yr net ROI
1	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley	TX	61	$56,373	$4,831†	+$544K
2	Texas A&M University-Kingsville	TX	57	$56,072	$12,090†	+$512K
3	The University of Texas at El Paso	TX	54	$56,062	$9,403†	+$523K
4	University of Houston	TX	54	$52,799	$14,276†	+$471K
5	The University of Texas at San Antonio	TX	54	$47,010	$10,836†	+$427K
6	Lamar University	TX	52	$42,328	$9,366†	+$386K
7	Stephen F Austin State University	TX	51	$47,318	$14,260†	+$416K
8	East Texas A&M University	TX	50	$52,282	$11,841†	+$475K
9	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	50	$47,151	$10,359†	+$430K
10	Texas State University	TX	46	$51,158	$16,805†	+$444K
11	Texas Woman's University	TX	46	$44,058	$11,963†	+$393K
12	Ohio University-Eastern Campus	OH	46	$36,252	$3,925†	+$347K
13	Sam Houston State University	TX	45	$59,926	$16,404†	+$534K
14	Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus	OH	45	$36,252	$5,755†	+$340K
15	Ohio University-Southern Campus	OH	45	$36,252	$5,993†	+$339K
16	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus	OH	45	$36,252	$5,650†	+$340K
17	Ohio University-Zanesville Campus	OH	45	$36,252	$5,746†	+$340K
18	Rhode Island College	RI	45	$34,549	$9,478†	+$308K
19	Texas Tech University	TX	44	$49,906	$19,070†	+$423K
20	Tennessee Technological University	TN	44	$44,635	$14,246†	+$389K
21	University of Utah	UT	44	$42,548	$16,200†	+$361K
22	Indiana State University	IN	44	$41,038	$10,873†	+$367K
23	Austin Peay State University	TN	44	$39,008	$9,735†	+$351K
24	Eastern Illinois University	IL	44	$37,163	$12,786†	+$320K
25	The University of Texas at Arlington	TX	44	$37,020	$13,951†	+$314K
26	University of Massachusetts-Lowell	MA	44	$35,311	$17,163†	+$284K
27	West Texas A & M University	TX	43	$50,881	$19,487†	+$431K
28	Murray State University	KY	43	$34,098	$9,096†	+$305K
29	University of Central Arkansas	AR	42	$36,465	$16,511†	+$299K
30	Northern Kentucky University	KY	42	$34,428	$8,191†	+$312K
31	CUNY Hunter College	NY	41	$33,384	$2,984†	+$322K
32	California State University-San Bernardino	CA	41	$27,724	$4,564†	+$259K
33	Western Kentucky University	KY	40	$34,766	$10,990†	+$304K
34	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus	CT	40	$31,336	$10,875†	+$270K
35	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire	WI	39	$43,764	$16,550†	+$371K
36	The University of Texas at Austin	TX	39	$39,564	$19,857†	+$316K
37	University of Mississippi	MS	39	$38,029	$13,314†	+$327K
38	Southeastern Louisiana University	LA	38	$41,404	$13,154†	+$361K
39	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	NC	38	$38,831	$15,435†	+$327K
40	Colorado State University-Fort Collins	CO	38	$38,277	$21,279†	+$298K
41	The University of Texas at Tyler	TX	38	$37,104	$13,323†	+$318K
42	McNeese State University	LA	38	$36,305	$12,493†	+$313K
43	Wayne State University	MI	38	$32,911	$12,766†	+$278K
44	Jacksonville State University	AL	38	$32,893	$14,279†	+$272K
45	Western Illinois University	IL	38	$32,666	$12,937†	+$275K
46	University of North Texas	TX	38	$31,450	$15,649†	+$252K
47	Luther College	IA	37	$45,367	$23,097	+$361K
48	Radford University	VA	37	$39,593	$14,578†	+$338K
49	Rowan University	NJ	37	$32,781	$22,408†	+$238K
50	University of Central Florida	FL	37	$21,957	$10,411†	+$178K
51	University of Arkansas	AR	36	$38,811	$18,209†	+$315K
52	University of North Alabama	AL	36	$35,599	$12,170†	+$307K
53	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	NC	36	$32,880	$11,655†	+$282K
54	University of Connecticut-Avery Point	CT	36	$31,336	$13,807†	+$258K
55	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater	WI	36	$31,134	$14,158†	+$255K
56	Middle Tennessee State University	TN	36	$27,586	$13,359†	+$222K
57	California State University-Los Angeles	CA	36	$21,509	$3,967†	+$199K
58	Texas A & M International University	TX	36	$20,788	$3,637†	+$193K
59	Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania	PA	35	$37,660	$19,608†	+$298K
60	Grace Christian University	MI	35	$33,256	$12,404	+$283K
61	University of Memphis	TN	35	$27,353	$12,397†	+$224K
62	Western Carolina University	NC	35	$26,135	$13,315†	+$208K
63	Utah Valley University	UT	35	$24,952	$6,376†	+$224K
64	University of Florida	FL	35	$22,559	$6,541†	+$199K
65	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	35	$22,125	$12,548†	+$171K
66	CUNY City College	NY	35	$19,145	$3,776†	+$176K
67	Lebanon Valley College	PA	34	$49,383	$26,979	+$386K
68	Northern Illinois University	IL	34	$42,830	$13,391†	+$375K
69	University of South Carolina-Columbia	SC	34	$38,657	$22,811†	+$295K
70	Rutgers University-Camden	NJ	34	$36,707	$18,745†	+$292K
71	University of Missouri-St Louis	MO	34	$35,835	$15,071†	+$298K
72	Grand Valley State University	MI	34	$34,882	$16,317†	+$284K
73	George Mason University	VA	34	$34,611	$17,915†	+$274K
74	Southern Illinois University Edwardsville	IL	34	$34,079	$14,889†	+$281K
75	Morehead State University	KY	34	$31,088	$9,793†	+$272K
76	University of Central Missouri	MO	34	$30,321	$14,462†	+$245K
77	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	34	$25,803	$16,778†	+$191K
78	Florida International University	FL	34	$25,484	$9,288†	+$218K
79	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	CA	34	$20,887	$11,531†	+$163K
80	Montana State University	MT	33	$38,807	$22,499†	+$298K
81	Rutgers University-Newark	NJ	33	$36,707	$19,703†	+$288K
82	University of Missouri-Columbia	MO	33	$35,939	$20,268†	+$278K
83	Cleveland State University	OH	33	$32,887	$14,764†	+$270K
84	University of Connecticut-Stamford	CT	33	$31,336	$16,798†	+$246K
85	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus	CT	33	$31,336	$16,403†	+$248K
86	Eastern Kentucky University	KY	33	$30,106	$11,040†	+$257K
87	Michigan State University	MI	32	$38,656	$19,680†	+$308K
88	University of Tulsa	OK	32	$32,253	$15,000	+$263K
89	Montclair State University	NJ	32	$27,977	$15,566†	+$218K
90	Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi	TX	32	$22,833	$15,225†	+$167K
91	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	31	$36,707	$24,406†	+$269K
92	James Madison University	VA	31	$36,106	$23,322†	+$268K
93	Indiana University of Pennsylvania	PA	31	$33,070	$16,804†	+$263K
94	Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania	PA	31	$31,429	$15,699†	+$251K
95	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus	CO	31	$29,483	$11,900†	+$247K
96	University of Iowa	IA	30	$39,121	$22,531†	+$301K
97	Emory University	GA	30	$33,430	$22,585	+$244K
98	Columbia University in the City of New York	NY	30	$32,924	$21,590	+$243K
99	Illinois State University	IL	30	$32,853	$19,398†	+$251K
100	University of Minnesota-Duluth	MN	30	$31,780	$18,743†	+$243K
101	University of Saint Francis-Fort Wayne	IN	30	$31,373	$18,196	+$241K
102	Georgia State University	GA	30	$25,108	$15,931†	+$187K
103	California State University-Fullerton	CA	30	$23,969	$6,555†	+$213K
104	SUNY College at Potsdam	NY	30	$23,902	$13,624†	+$185K
105	University of California-San Diego	CA	30	$21,592	$12,470†	+$166K
106	California State University-Northridge	CA	30	$18,226	$7,021†	+$154K
107	University of Akron Main Campus	OH	29	$36,293	$13,946†	+$307K
108	Ohio University-Main Campus	OH	29	$36,252	$21,637†	+$276K
109	Northwestern University	IL	29	$34,823	$29,167	+$232K
110	University of Northern Iowa	IA	29	$32,175	$15,901†	+$258K
111	Northwest University	WA	29	$31,179	$22,288	+$223K
112	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus	NH	29	$30,716	$23,805†	+$212K
113	California State University-Monterey Bay	CA	29	$28,009	$13,663†	+$225K
114	California State University-Sacramento	CA	29	$25,391	$9,338†	+$217K
115	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	NC	29	$15,670	$10,965†	+$113K
116	Capital University	OH	28	$33,143	$22,576	+$241K
117	San Francisco State University	CA	28	$31,621	$12,278†	+$267K
118	The Master's University and Seminary	CA	28	$31,340	$32,647	+$183K
119	Oregon State University	OR	28	$29,630	$19,604†	+$218K
120	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus	OR	28	$29,630	$18,048†	+$224K
121	University of North Florida	FL	28	$24,405	$10,154†	+$203K
122	Florida State University	FL	28	$19,429	$11,297†	+$149K
123	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	27	$31,888	$18,976†	+$243K
124	University of Connecticut	CT	27	$31,336	$25,097†	+$213K
125	University of Idaho	ID	27	$30,191	$14,831†	+$243K
126	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	WI	27	$26,875	$15,014†	+$209K
127	West Virginia University	WV	27	$26,011	$15,634†	+$198K
128	Kent State University at Stark	OH	27	$24,340	$10,897†	+$200K
129	Brigham Young University	UT	27	$22,625	$15,564	+$164K
130	Northeastern University	MA	27	$21,978	$30,915	+$96K
131	Bradley University	IL	26	$28,137	$22,719	+$190K
132	Gettysburg College	PA	26	$27,556	$31,490	+$150K
133	University of Northern Colorado	CO	26	$26,944	$17,760†	+$198K
134	Millersville University of Pennsylvania	PA	26	$26,895	$20,787†	+$186K
135	William Paterson University of New Jersey	NJ	26	$26,621	$18,745†	+$191K
136	California State University-Chico	CA	26	$25,339	$14,480†	+$195K
137	Central Michigan University	MI	26	$24,911	$17,597†	+$179K
138	St Olaf College	MN	26	$24,732	$23,874	+$152K
139	University of California-Davis	CA	26	$24,630	$14,741†	+$187K
140	Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music	PR	26	$5,005	$7,260†	+$21K
141	Vermont State University	VT	25	$27,719	$18,212†	+$204K
142	Northwestern State University of Louisiana	LA	25	$23,529	$13,606†	+$181K
143	Virginia Commonwealth University	VA	24	$28,989	$23,433†	+$196K
144	University of South Alabama	AL	24	$27,050	$17,648†	+$200K
145	Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	24	$26,084	$17,339†	+$191K
146	Visible Music College	TN	24	$25,929	$27,820	+$148K
147	Kent State University at Kent	OH	24	$24,340	$20,787†	+$160K
148	Coe College	IA	24	$24,233	$18,745	+$167K
149	Tennessee State University	TN	24	$23,868	$15,796†	+$175K
150	East Tennessee State University	TN	23	$30,004	$15,983†	+$236K
151	Winthrop University	SC	23	$25,952	$15,343†	+$198K
152	Western Michigan University	MI	23	$24,775	$15,273†	+$187K
153	Appalachian State University	NC	23	$23,304	$16,836†	+$166K
154	Ramapo College of New Jersey	NJ	23	$23,127	$18,173†	+$159K
155	Utah State University	UT	23	$22,983	$14,936†	+$170K
156	University of Missouri-Kansas City	MO	23	$22,315	$13,310†	+$170K
157	University of Louisville	KY	23	$20,125	$17,988†	+$129K
158	Wheaton College	IL	22	$26,540	$26,975	+$158K
159	Central Washington University	WA	22	$25,532	$18,476†	+$181K
160	University of Maryland-Baltimore County	MD	22	$23,991	$16,467†	+$174K
161	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	MI	22	$22,272	$13,138†	+$170K
162	Western Connecticut State University	CT	22	$21,659	$17,604†	+$146K
163	Stevens Institute of Technology	NJ	22	$21,623	$41,346	+$51K
164	Albright College	PA	22	$21,285	$20,024	+$133K
165	University of California-Riverside	CA	22	$20,408	$14,304†	+$147K
166	Metropolitan State University of Denver	CO	22	$19,797	$15,327†	+$137K
167	Towson University	MD	22	$19,618	$17,413†	+$127K
168	California State University-Long Beach	CA	22	$18,352	$10,440†	+$142K
169	Liberty University	VA	21	$28,003	$29,357	+$163K
170	Duquesne University	PA	21	$27,854	$37,730	+$128K
171	Carthage College	WI	21	$24,273	$26,565	+$136K
172	The Catholic University of America	DC	21	$23,856	$29,561	+$120K
173	Catawba College	NC	21	$23,577	$17,879	+$164K
174	Jacksonville University	FL	21	$21,219	$25,180	+$111K
175	California Lutheran University	CA	21	$20,650	$30,109	+$86K
176	Biola University	CA	21	$19,978	$31,495	+$74K
177	Indiana University-Bloomington	IN	21	$15,911	$16,264†	+$94K
178	San Francisco Conservatory of Music	CA	20	$26,916	$42,607	+$99K
179	Monmouth University	NJ	20	$24,563	$30,988	+$122K
180	Boston University	MA	20	$23,934	$24,402	+$142K
181	Ithaca College	NY	20	$23,119	$33,926	+$95K
182	SUNY at Fredonia	NY	20	$21,524	$15,897†	+$152K
183	University of Nebraska at Omaha	NE	20	$20,881	$13,441†	+$155K
184	San Diego State University	CA	20	$20,440	$15,364†	+$143K
185	Miami University-Oxford	OH	20	$19,353	$28,384†	+$80K
186	Lipscomb University	TN	20	$19,352	$24,739	+$95K
187	Oral Roberts University	OK	20	$19,126	$25,365	+$90K
188	Syracuse University	NY	20	$18,574	$38,793	+$31K
189	State University of New York at Cortland	NY	20	$18,380	$22,345†	+$94K
190	Kutztown University of Pennsylvania	PA	20	$17,725	$21,331†	+$92K
191	State University of New York at New Paltz	NY	20	$17,406	$18,809†	+$99K
192	University of Arizona	AZ	20	$17,293	$16,674†	+$106K
193	Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Metro	PR	20	$15,884	$9,788	+$120K
194	University of Puget Sound	WA	19	$25,551	$38,394	+$102K
195	Whitworth University	WA	19	$25,027	$26,534	+$144K
196	University of Denver	CO	19	$23,262	$36,131	+$88K
197	Millikin University	IL	19	$21,138	$21,989	+$123K
198	New Jersey City University	NJ	19	$18,544	$16,053†	+$121K
199	Pacific Lutheran University	WA	19	$17,711	$19,589	+$99K
200	Johns Hopkins University	MD	19	$16,479	$18,809	+$90K
201	Hofstra University	NY	19	$15,592	$34,176	+$19K
202	University of Georgia	GA	19	$15,289	$13,936†	+$97K
203	University of California-Berkeley	CA	19	$14,166	$13,481†	+$88K
204	University of Louisiana at Lafayette	LA	19	$13,479	$13,530†	+$81K
205	University of Hartford	CT	18	$24,511	$30,282	+$124K
206	New York University	NY	18	$24,398	$37,050	+$96K
207	Belmont University	TN	18	$24,016	$33,147	+$108K
208	Elmhurst University	IL	18	$21,759	$24,185	+$121K
209	Rider University	NJ	18	$20,727	$24,792	+$108K
210	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus	OH	18	$20,632	$24,022†	+$110K
211	Portland State University	OR	18	$17,638	$9,552†	+$138K
212	Southern Methodist University	TX	17	$23,159	$40,892	+$68K
213	University of New Haven	CT	17	$22,171	$34,192	+$85K
214	University of Central Oklahoma	OK	17	$19,162	$18,309†	+$118K
215	University of Kentucky	KY	17	$17,040	$18,851†	+$95K
216	Western Washington University	WA	17	$15,834	$21,193†	+$74K
217	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	17	$13,128	$14,355†	+$74K
218	Rollins College	FL	16	$20,745	$34,732	+$69K
219	Columbia College Chicago	IL	16	$19,943	$26,598	+$93K
220	Temple University	PA	16	$19,507	$28,198†	+$82K
221	DePaul University	IL	16	$19,155	$30,902	+$68K
222	Oklahoma City University	OK	16	$18,784	$22,857	+$96K
223	SUNY at Purchase College	NY	16	$17,887	$18,913†	+$103K
224	Arizona State University Campus Immersion	AZ	16	$15,721	$14,967†	+$97K
225	California Institute of the Arts	CA	15	$18,896	$46,080	+$5K
226	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	PA	15	$18,462	$32,875†	+$53K
227	Berklee College of Music	MA	15	$18,177	$49,465	−$16K
228	Stetson University	FL	15	$15,905	$19,372	+$82K
229	Oberlin College	OH	14	$17,141	$38,645	+$17K
230	University of Miami	FL	14	$15,492	$37,244	+$6K
231	Chapman University	CA	14	$14,538	$46,555	−$41K
232	University of Rochester	NY	14	$14,310	$29,278	+$26K
233	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	OH	14	$12,875	$25,648†	+$26K
234	University of Southern California	CA	13	$12,947	$32,740	−$1K
235	The New School	NY	13	$12,109	$58,741	−$114K
236	Baylor University	TX	13	$10,210	$41,104	−$62K

Top 10 programs by 10-year net ROI

How to read this: Median earnings = typical pay one year after graduation. Net price = average annual cost after grant aid, incl. living costs — not sticker tuition. 10-yr net ROI = ten years of earnings minus four years of net price. Score = the CollegeRanked Score (0–100) that sets the order — it blends ROI with longer-run earnings, job demand and automation resilience, so a school can outrank one with a slightly higher 10-yr ROI. † = public university — net price shown is the in-state cost; out-of-state students pay more. See the full methodology.

Why these schools rank where they do

If you want to understand this ranking, you have to understand the Texas high school band machine. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley takes the #1 spot—closely followed by Texas A&M-Kingsville and UTEP—because they perfectly execute the most reliable playbook in the music business. Texas public school music programs are incredibly well-funded, and these universities offer rock-bottom tuition while feeding their graduates straight into salaried director roles in Texas Independent School Districts. These jobs come with state pensions, strong starting salaries, and a clear career ladder that freelance gigging simply cannot match. It is no accident that Texas public universities completely dominate the top tier of this list.

The most surprising outcome is the University of Nevada-Las Vegas sitting comfortably in the top 10. UNLV wins because its campus is just blocks from the Las Vegas Strip. Its graduates aren't just relying on teaching jobs; they are plugging directly into the city's insatiable, year-round demand for live entertainment, backing musicians, production crews, and casino residencies.

Meanwhile, the complete absence of elite, household-name conservatories is the elephant in the room. Schools like Juilliard or Berklee may produce Grammy winners, but their astronomical tuition costs and the erratic nature of early-career freelance earnings absolutely sink their financial viability in a strict cost-to-earnings analysis.

What is Music?

Music is the academic and practical study of performance, composition, theory, and education. Graduates spend their days doing everything from directing massive high school marching bands and mixing audio in commercial studios to gigging as freelance performers, scoring media, or managing arts organizations.

Frequently asked questions

Should I get a performance degree or a music education degree?

If you want financial stability right out of the gate, music education is the vastly safer bet. Education degrees lead directly to salaried jobs with benefits in public and private schools. Performance degrees usually require you to hustle as a freelancer, piece together private students, or endure years of brutal auditions. Remember: you can always gig on the weekends with an education degree, but it is much harder to teach in a public school with only a performance degree.

Why aren't famous music conservatories on this list?

Conservatories charge premium, private-school tuition, but their graduates enter a highly competitive freelance market where early-career earnings are often low and unpredictable. Because this ranking measures real-world financial outcomes versus the net cost of the degree, prestigious private arts schools almost always feature terrible debt-to-earnings ratios compared to regional public universities.

Does the local music scene matter when picking a college?

Absolutely. In the music industry, your college town is your first professional network. Schools in cities with heavy live entertainment demands (like Las Vegas) or massive public school band cultures (like Texas) provide built-in pipelines for gigs, student-teaching placements, and early-career jobs. Going to school in an isolated area makes breaking into the industry significantly harder.