Compare College Graduation Rates (2026)

Four-year and six-year graduation rates and first-year retention for 268 colleges, each shown against the national average (the vertical line on every bar). This is a tool for comparison, not a ranking: the right school is the one where your student will actually finish, on a timeline you can afford. Start with why most students don’t graduate in four years.

Infographic of four year graduation rates by institutional type: private nonprofit about 58 percent, public about 45 percent, for profit about 27 percent

Four-yearSix-yearRetentionVertical line = national average. Percentage color: above / even / below national.

StateType

School	Four-yearnat’l ~49%	Six-yearnat’l ~64%	Retentionnat’l ~81%
Alabama A&M University	11.7%	24%	69.9%
Alabama State University	14.7%	30.3%	69.8%
Alcorn State University	49.3%	57.4%	76.7%
American University	67.6%	75.5%	88.2%
Amherst College	75%	93.9%	97.3%
Appalachian State University	58.7%	74.5%	83.7%
Arizona State University	55.6%	68%	86.6%
Auburn University	60.7%	82%	94.8%
Ball State University	49.5%	62.3%	77.7%
Baruch College (CUNY)	54.9%	72.1%	88.6%
Bates College	82.3%	89.7%	91.3%
Baylor University	68.1%	80%	91%
Belmont University	60.9%	70.7%	86.9%
Bethune-Cookman University	16.1%	30.5%	61.8%
Binghamton University	74.2%	81.6%	89.4%
Boise State University	41.4%	60.2%	78.9%
Boston College	86.4%	90.8%	96%
Boston University	74.7%	88.7%	94.7%
Bowdoin College	72.4%	95.3%	96.8%
Bowie State University	16%	38.2%	68.2%
Brigham Young University	27.3%	81%	91%
Brooklyn College (CUNY)	34.2%	53.9%	80.1%
Brown University	77.1%	95.7%	98.8%
Bucknell University	82%	86.3%	93.7%
Butler University	72%	80.4%	87.5%
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo	61.2%	86.4%	95.6%
Carleton College	81.9%	89.6%	96.5%
Carnegie Mellon University	81.4%	94.1%	98%
Case Western Reserve University	72.8%	87.2%	92.1%
Central Michigan University	39.5%	58.7%	75.4%
Clark Atlanta University	37%	49%	70.7%
Clemson University	68.3%	86.6%	93.5%
Coastal Carolina University	37.4%	48.5%	77.4%
Colby College	75.3%	88.8%	93.7%
Colgate University	84.9%	91.2%	93.4%
College of Charleston	56.6%	65.8%	82%
Colorado State University	46.8%	66.5%	85.9%
Columbia University	81%	96.1%	98%
Coppin State University	10.5%	26.2%	66.2%
Cornell University	86.9%	95.4%	98.4%
Creighton University	73.9%	83.4%	94.2%
Dartmouth College	74.9%	95.5%	98.4%
Davidson College	85.6%	91.1%	94.6%
Delaware State University	28.2%	39.1%	70%
DePaul University	55%	67.8%	85.5%
Drexel University	30.5%	78.2%	89.5%
Duke University	87%	96.8%	97.9%
Duquesne University	67.3%	77.5%	84.2%
East Carolina University	43.3%	62.6%	82.7%
Eastern Michigan University	24%	46.4%	68.8%
Elon University	79.9%	84%	89.8%
Emory University	80.9%	91.1%	95.7%
Fisk University	24.5%	29.9%	73.8%
Florida A&M University	28.6%	53.4%	89.2%
Florida International University	59.2%	74.4%	91.9%
Florida State University	74%	85.6%	96.1%
Fordham University	76%	81.9%	88.5%
Furman University	73%	78.8%	90.6%
George Mason University	46.4%	67.8%	86%
George Washington University	75.8%	84%	92.2%
Georgetown University	87.2%	94.8%	96.8%
Georgia Southern University	35.6%	54.9%	77.8%
Georgia State University	33%	53.1%	79.9%
Georgia Tech	63.6%	94%	98.1%
Gonzaga University	74.1%	86.3%	92.9%
Grambling State University	29.7%	36.2%	66.1%
Grinnell College	74.7%	88.1%	92.6%
Hamilton College	79.6%	90.6%	94.8%
Hampton University	44.3%	57.2%	85.3%
Harvard University	55.7%	97.6%	98.3%
Howard University	59.6%	70%	90.9%
Hunter College (CUNY)	37.9%	56.9%	77.6%
Illinois State University	48.7%	64.5%	81.4%
Indiana University Bloomington	69.3%	80.2%	91.1%
Iowa State University	56.7%	75.3%	87.6%
Jackson State University	33.5%	50.9%	62.4%
Jacksonville State University	35.9%	54.7%	64.6%
James Madison University	65.6%	79.7%	92%
Johns Hopkins University	87.1%	93.8%	98.1%
Kansas State University	49.5%	71.1%	85.6%
Kennesaw State University	24.2%	52.2%	76.7%
Kent State University	49%	63.7%	80.9%
Kenyon College	66%	82.3%	91.6%
Lamar University	19.1%	37.3%	61.9%
Langston University	25.9%	16.8%	53.9%
Lehigh University	79.7%	87.9%	93.7%
Lehman College (CUNY)	31.5%	51.3%	73.1%
Lewis & Clark College	63%	75.4%	88.8%
Long Island University	44.4%	57.1%	77.2%
Louisiana State University	47.5%	68.8%	84.7%
Louisiana Tech University	44.5%	63.8%	82.2%
Loyola Marymount University	68%	78.9%	88.6%
Loyola University Chicago	65.7%	73%	81.7%
Loyola University Maryland	73.3%	79.2%	87.1%
Loyola University New Orleans	48%	59%	80.1%
Macalester College	73.7%	87.1%	92.3%
Marquette University	68.6%	83.2%	91%
Marshall University	32.3%	51.2%	72.2%
McNeese State University	25.4%	47%	68.4%
Miami University	70.3%	79.8%	90.1%
Michigan State University	62.7%	80.7%	90.1%
Middle Tennessee State University	35.9%	53.7%	79.5%
Middlebury College	65.6%	91.4%	93.7%
Mississippi State University	45.9%	66.7%	82.5%
MIT	82.8%	96.4%	99.1%
Montana State University	36.7%	57.1%	78.5%
Montclair State University	46.1%	64.7%	77.9%
Morehouse College	45.7%	59.4%	86.9%
Morgan State University	18.9%	40.9%	73.3%
NC State University	67.7%	84.8%	94.5%
New Jersey Institute of Technology	48.8%	72.8%	89.5%
New York University	73.7%	87.6%	95.8%
Nicholls State University	29.8%	53.8%	76.6%
Norfolk State University	15.1%	38.5%	72.6%
North Carolina A&T State University	36.3%	57.2%	77.5%
North Carolina Central University	26.2%	41.7%	72.7%
North Dakota State University	46.3%	63.9%	78.4%
Northeastern University	0%	90.5%	96.9%
Northern Illinois University	29.4%	48.7%	69.6%
Northwestern University	83.4%	95.1%	98.1%
Oberlin College	60.4%	80.9%	91%
Ohio State University	72.3%	87.7%	94.2%
Ohio University	50%	65.5%	83.9%
Oklahoma State University	52.5%	68.2%	84.8%
Old Dominion University	26.2%	46.3%	76.9%
Oregon State University	47.2%	70.1%	87.8%
Pace University	46.1%	60%	75.5%
Penn State University Park	70.6%	86.1%	92.6%
Pepperdine University	75.1%	83.4%	87.6%
Prairie View A&M University	20.3%	43.2%	75.6%
Princeton University	75.3%	97.6%	98.4%
Providence College	83.3%	85.8%	94%
Purdue University	65.1%	83.1%	92.7%
Queens College (CUNY)	32.6%	53.3%	78.7%
Quinnipiac University	71.4%	75.7%	89.1%
Reed College	57.3%	71.5%	87.6%
Rice University	87%	94.6%	97.4%
Rutgers University	69%	83.6%	93%
Saint Louis University	72.4%	79.5%	87.8%
Sam Houston State University	36.1%	54.8%	73.3%
San Diego State University	56.3%	76.4%	90.6%
Santa Clara University	81.2%	87.9%	93.9%
Seton Hall University	64%	69.5%	81.5%
South Carolina State University	21.1%	36.6%	56.5%
South Dakota State University	46%	62.4%	83.8%
Southeastern Louisiana University	26.3%	45.4%	72.5%
Southern Illinois University Carbondale	40.4%	62.4%	66.8%
Southern Methodist University	76.2%	84.3%	90.5%
Southern University and A&M College	10%	27.1%	60.3%
Spelman College	69.5%	78.5%	94.1%
St. Olaf College	77.4%	84%	92.2%
Stanford University	50.8%	91.9%	98.2%
Stephen F. Austin State University	38.9%	53.3%	71.7%
Stony Brook University	64.8%	75.6%	89.8%
Syracuse University	72.6%	83.6%	90.1%
Temple University	59.2%	75.1%	82.6%
Tennessee State University	21.8%	34%	33.5%
Texas A&M University	61.2%	83.9%	94.3%
Texas Christian University	73.9%	85.5%	92.9%
Texas State University	33.6%	55.3%	80.1%
Texas Tech University	47.4%	68.7%	85%
The City College of New York (CUNY)	28.9%	56.8%	79.3%
Towson University	47.1%	69.5%	82.8%
Troy University	28.3%	50.3%	71.2%
Tufts University	82.6%	93.5%	95.5%
Tulane University	78.7%	86.1%	92.6%
Tuskegee University	26.2%	55%	80.7%
UC Berkeley	79.9%	92.8%	96.8%
UC Davis	70.8%	85.7%	92.8%
UC Irvine	73.4%	86.9%	94.1%
UC Riverside	65.2%	76%	87.6%
UC San Diego	73.7%	86.1%	94%
UC Santa Barbara	70%	83%	93%
UCLA	85.3%	92.6%	97.3%
UMass Amherst	75.4%	83.3%	91.9%
UMBC	47.5%	70%	85%
UNC Chapel Hill	83.6%	91.2%	96.6%
UNC Charlotte	50.1%	69%	85%
UNC Greensboro	38.6%	56.3%	78.9%
UNC Wilmington	56.4%	70.6%	88.2%
University at Buffalo	60.2%	75.2%	85.2%
University of Alabama	56.6%	73.4%	89.5%
University of Arizona	49.9%	67.5%	82.8%
University of Arkansas	55.8%	70.5%	86.4%
University of Central Florida	54.8%	78%	92.4%
University of Chicago	87.2%	95.9%	99.3%
University of Cincinnati	42.2%	75%	85.4%
University of Colorado Boulder	57.4%	74.2%	90.2%
University of Connecticut	72.9%	83.3%	92.5%
University of Dayton	65.3%	80.2%	89.1%
University of Delaware	74%	80.6%	92%
University of Denver	66.3%	75.6%	88.9%
University of Florida	75.7%	91.1%	97.7%
University of Georgia	75.5%	89.7%	94%
University of Hawaii at Manoa	44.1%	64.3%	80.7%
University of Houston	42.8%	64.6%	87%
University of Idaho	43.2%	57.3%	75.6%
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	73.2%	85.1%	94.8%
University of Iowa	58.2%	74.6%	90.4%
University of Kansas	55%	68.8%	86.5%
University of Kentucky	55.4%	71.4%	86.8%
University of Louisiana Lafayette	26.9%	52.6%	74.3%
University of Louisiana Monroe	32.5%	54.2%	72.8%
University of Louisville	43.7%	61.2%	81.5%
University of Maryland	77.1%	88.6%	96.2%
University of Memphis	33.4%	50.9%	77.4%
University of Miami	72.7%	83.7%	93.8%
University of Michigan	81.7%	93.2%	97.5%
University of Minnesota	75.1%	85.3%	91.1%
University of Mississippi	57.3%	71.7%	87.2%
University of Missouri	55.7%	74.9%	92.7%
University of Montana	33.6%	48%	74.8%
University of Nebraska-Lincoln	49.7%	67%	86%
University of Nevada, Reno	41.9%	61.2%	79.7%
University of New Hampshire	67.4%	76.1%	87.3%
University of New Mexico	37.5%	54.7%	76.2%
University of North Alabama	35.5%	54.9%	79.7%
University of North Dakota	39.1%	60.5%	84%
University of North Texas	43.4%	60.7%	76.7%
University of Notre Dame	89.2%	95.2%	99.1%
University of Oklahoma	57.5%	75.3%	90%
University of Oregon	58.2%	71.7%	86.4%
University of Pennsylvania	86.5%	96.5%	98.9%
University of Pittsburgh	71.7%	85.5%	92%
University of Rhode Island	59.1%	73.3%	83.6%
University of Richmond	77.9%	85.2%	90.8%
University of San Diego	69.3%	83.7%	91.4%
University of San Francisco	62.8%	70.1%	83.7%
University of South Alabama	36.7%	52.7%	75.7%
University of South Carolina	69.7%	78.8%	92.2%
University of South Dakota	47.4%	59.9%	79.3%
University of South Florida	65.4%	76.8%	91.3%
University of Southern California	74.5%	91.8%	95.9%
University of Tampa	54.6%	63.7%	85.5%
University of Tennessee Knoxville	56.7%	73.9%	91.9%
University of Texas at Arlington	33.6%	54%	72.9%
University of Texas at Austin	73.5%	88.9%	96.7%
University of Texas at El Paso	23%	50.2%	78.9%
University of Texas at San Antonio	32.3%	52.6%	79.8%
University of Tulsa	60.5%	72.3%	92.1%
University of Utah	36.7%	65.1%	86.2%
University of Vermont	69.9%	78.6%	89.2%
University of Virginia	92.3%	95.6%	97.6%
University of Washington	73.8%	85.2%	94.7%
University of Wisconsin-Madison	75.2%	89.6%	96.2%
University of Wyoming	39.3%	58.8%	79.7%
UNLV	26.5%	50.5%	79.2%
Utah State University	31%	59.1%	70.8%
Vanderbilt University	87.2%	93.5%	96.3%
Vassar College	84.1%	91.1%	94.9%
Villanova University	89.4%	91.9%	95.1%
Virginia Commonwealth University	45.6%	63.2%	85.3%
Virginia State University	24.4%	39.4%	69.4%
Virginia Tech	69.1%	86.2%	93.1%
Wake Forest University	84.2%	89.2%	92.6%
Washington State University	41.3%	60.5%	78.3%
Washington University in St. Louis	85.1%	94.3%	95%
Wellesley College	77.7%	91.5%	96.5%
Wesleyan University	80.9%	92.6%	94.9%
West Chester University	52.7%	70.5%	83.1%
West Virginia University	48.4%	64.7%	83.4%
Western Kentucky University	44.2%	55.6%	78.3%
Western Michigan University	31.8%	57.6%	81.1%
Whitman College	60.1%	80.5%	86.7%
William & Mary	84.4%	89.4%	94.6%
Williams College	71.2%	93.6%	96.9%
Xavier University	58.8%	68.7%	77.5%
Xavier University of Louisiana	36.5%	48.6%	71.7%
Yale University	57.5%	95.7%	98.8%

How to read these numbers

These rates count first-time, full-time students who started as bachelor’s-seeking freshmen. Transfer students, part-time students, and students who return later are not included, so a school that serves many of those students can look lower here than it plays out in real life.

The four-year rate is the share who finished in four years. The six-year rate is the share who finished within six. For most students at most schools, six years is the more realistic completion window to plan around.

A rate reflects the student body and the resources at that school when it was measured. It is a signal, not a promise for any one student.

Completion depends heavily on the individual: major, academic preparation, finances, and how connected a student stays on campus. A strong-fit school with a middle-of-the-pack rate can be exactly the right call for your student.

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New to graduation rates? Start with why most students don’t graduate in four years.

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, most recent available data. National averages: NCES. Figures are for first-time, full-time bachelor’s-seeking students at each institution. Some schools report only certain metrics.