{
  "major": "Liberal Arts",
  "slug": "liberal-arts",
  "field": "Social Sciences & Humanities",
  "as_of": "2026",
  "url": "https://collegeranked.com/best-liberal-arts-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": 424,
  "shown": 25,
  "ranking": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "school": "Massachusetts Institute of Technology",
      "state": "MA",
      "median_earnings": 103135,
      "net_price": 20111,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 950906,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "school": "Georgetown University",
      "state": "DC",
      "median_earnings": 66719,
      "net_price": 40815,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 503930,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "school": "DePaul University",
      "state": "IL",
      "median_earnings": 84066,
      "net_price": 30902,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 717052,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 4,
      "school": "Bentley University",
      "state": "MA",
      "median_earnings": 72333,
      "net_price": 37930,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 571610,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 5,
      "school": "Metropolitan State University",
      "state": "MN",
      "median_earnings": 49083,
      "net_price": 16863,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 423378,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 6,
      "school": "University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh",
      "state": "WI",
      "median_earnings": 50438,
      "net_price": 14305,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 447160,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 7,
      "school": "Arizona State University Campus Immersion",
      "state": "AZ",
      "median_earnings": 49147,
      "net_price": 14967,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 431602,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 8,
      "school": "Saginaw Valley State University",
      "state": "MI",
      "median_earnings": 40740,
      "net_price": 10775,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 364300,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 9,
      "school": "William Jewell College",
      "state": "MO",
      "median_earnings": 50663,
      "net_price": 17562,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 436382,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 10,
      "school": "University of Central Florida",
      "state": "FL",
      "median_earnings": 48391,
      "net_price": 10411,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 442266,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 11,
      "school": "University of Notre Dame",
      "state": "IN",
      "median_earnings": 45579,
      "net_price": 26780,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 348670,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 12,
      "school": "CUNY City College",
      "state": "NY",
      "median_earnings": 43059,
      "net_price": 3776,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 415486,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 13,
      "school": "Saint Xavier University",
      "state": "IL",
      "median_earnings": 51054,
      "net_price": 10970,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 466660,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 14,
      "school": "University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus",
      "state": "CT",
      "median_earnings": 44240,
      "net_price": 10875,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 398900,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 15,
      "school": "Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus",
      "state": "NM",
      "median_earnings": 43186,
      "net_price": 4904,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 412244,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 16,
      "school": "Trinity Washington University",
      "state": "DC",
      "median_earnings": 50283,
      "net_price": 9302,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 465622,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 17,
      "school": "University of South Florida",
      "state": "FL",
      "median_earnings": 45230,
      "net_price": 9812,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 413052,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 18,
      "school": "University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee",
      "state": "WI",
      "median_earnings": 42673,
      "net_price": 15014,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 366674,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 19,
      "school": "Weber State University",
      "state": "UT",
      "median_earnings": 39864,
      "net_price": 10258,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 357608,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 20,
      "school": "Texas A&M University-Central Texas",
      "state": "TX",
      "median_earnings": 38253,
      "net_price": 1300,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 377330,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 21,
      "school": "Molloy University",
      "state": "NY",
      "median_earnings": 74868,
      "net_price": 24347,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 651292,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 22,
      "school": "University of Wisconsin-Green Bay",
      "state": "WI",
      "median_earnings": 54436,
      "net_price": 13369,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 490884,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 23,
      "school": "The University of Texas at Austin",
      "state": "TX",
      "median_earnings": 45243,
      "net_price": 19857,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 373002,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 24,
      "school": "Charter Oak State College",
      "state": "CT",
      "median_earnings": 44615,
      "net_price": 15815,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 382890,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 25,
      "school": "University of Connecticut-Avery Point",
      "state": "CT",
      "median_earnings": 44240,
      "net_price": 13807,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 387172,
      "public": true
    }
  ]
}