{
  "major": "Geography",
  "slug": "geography",
  "field": "Social Sciences & Humanities",
  "as_of": "2026",
  "url": "https://collegeranked.com/best-geography-schools/",
  "source": "U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2026 release); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics",
  "metric_definitions": {
    "median_earnings": "Median earnings one year after graduation (Scorecard)",
    "net_price": "Average annual cost of attendance after grant aid. For PUBLIC schools this reflects IN-STATE cost; out-of-state students pay more.",
    "roi_10yr_usd": "Ten years of earnings minus four years of net price",
    "public": "true = public university (net_price is in-state basis); false = private (residency-neutral)"
  },
  "total_colleges_with_reported_data": 96,
  "shown": 25,
  "ranking": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "school": "California State University-Sacramento",
      "state": "CA",
      "median_earnings": 48227,
      "net_price": 9338,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 444918,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "school": "University of Florida-Online",
      "state": "FL",
      "median_earnings": 43856,
      "net_price": 4815,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 419300,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "school": "Texas A&M University-College Station",
      "state": "TX",
      "median_earnings": 54204,
      "net_price": 21315,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 456780,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 4,
      "school": "George Mason University",
      "state": "VA",
      "median_earnings": 49568,
      "net_price": 17915,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 424020,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 5,
      "school": "University of Florida",
      "state": "FL",
      "median_earnings": 43856,
      "net_price": 6541,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 412396,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 6,
      "school": "University of Washington-Seattle Campus",
      "state": "WA",
      "median_earnings": 42489,
      "net_price": 14091,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 368526,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 7,
      "school": "University of Maryland-College Park",
      "state": "MD",
      "median_earnings": 40913,
      "net_price": 15678,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 346418,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 8,
      "school": "Arizona State University Campus Immersion",
      "state": "AZ",
      "median_earnings": 49267,
      "net_price": 14967,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 432802,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 9,
      "school": "California State University-Chico",
      "state": "CA",
      "median_earnings": 40380,
      "net_price": 14480,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 345880,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 10,
      "school": "Southern Illinois University Edwardsville",
      "state": "IL",
      "median_earnings": 44543,
      "net_price": 14889,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 385874,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 11,
      "school": "University of North Carolina at Charlotte",
      "state": "NC",
      "median_earnings": 42210,
      "net_price": 15435,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 360360,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 12,
      "school": "Ohio State University-Main Campus",
      "state": "OH",
      "median_earnings": 44789,
      "net_price": 17339,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 378534,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 13,
      "school": "Appalachian State University",
      "state": "NC",
      "median_earnings": 41648,
      "net_price": 16836,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 349136,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 14,
      "school": "University of South Florida",
      "state": "FL",
      "median_earnings": 39259,
      "net_price": 9812,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 353342,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 15,
      "school": "University of Wisconsin-Madison",
      "state": "WI",
      "median_earnings": 42997,
      "net_price": 17354,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 360554,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 16,
      "school": "Brigham Young University",
      "state": "UT",
      "median_earnings": 40051,
      "net_price": 15564,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 338254,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 17,
      "school": "University of California-Los Angeles",
      "state": "CA",
      "median_earnings": 36776,
      "net_price": 12548,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 317568,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 18,
      "school": "University of Nevada-Reno",
      "state": "NV",
      "median_earnings": 53079,
      "net_price": 15927,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 467082,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 19,
      "school": "Kennesaw State University",
      "state": "GA",
      "median_earnings": 40020,
      "net_price": 15048,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 340008,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 20,
      "school": "California State Polytechnic University-Pomona",
      "state": "CA",
      "median_earnings": 35426,
      "net_price": 11531,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 308136,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 21,
      "school": "Park University",
      "state": "MO",
      "median_earnings": 58786,
      "net_price": 21032,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 503732,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 22,
      "school": "Texas State University",
      "state": "TX",
      "median_earnings": 44909,
      "net_price": 16805,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 381870,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 23,
      "school": "Rowan University",
      "state": "NJ",
      "median_earnings": 44380,
      "net_price": 22408,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 354168,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 24,
      "school": "University of North Texas",
      "state": "TX",
      "median_earnings": 39960,
      "net_price": 15649,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 337004,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 25,
      "school": "University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus",
      "state": "CO",
      "median_earnings": 39104,
      "net_price": 11900,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 343440,
      "public": true
    }
  ]
}