Best Value / By Major

Best Value Colleges for Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations

Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.

50

Schools Ranked

$39,057

Avg. Earnings

<1 yr

Best Payback

2,030

Graduates

How we calculate value: Payback = (4 years of net price) / (major earnings - $35k baseline). A 2-year payback means you recoup your investment in 2 years through higher earnings vs. not attending college.

#	School	Net Price/yr	Major Earnings	Payback
1	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA · Public	$8,393	$73,321	<1 yr
2	Brown University Providence, RI · Private	$10,219	$73,769	1.1 yrs
3	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ · Public	$13,644	$52,107	3.2 yrs
4	Washington State University Pullman, WA · Public	$14,233	$52,107	3.3 yrs
5	Marquette University Milwaukee, WI · Private	$25,377	$63,005	3.6 yrs
6	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY · Private	$23,533	$54,810	4.8 yrs
7	Trinity Christian College Palos Heights, IL · Private	$20,765	$50,856	5.2 yrs
8	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK · Public	$14,127	$44,384	6 yrs
9	Rider University Lawrenceville, NJ · Private	$25,864	$52,107	6 yrs
10	Brigham Young University Provo, UT · Private	$12,676	$42,682	6.6 yrs
11	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL · Private	$38,999	$58,673	6.6 yrs
12	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA · Private	$33,921	$53,984	7.1 yrs
13	Rowan University Glassboro, NJ · Public	$27,278	$49,683	7.4 yrs
14	Baylor University Waco, TX · Private	$31,907	$52,107	7.5 yrs
15	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY · Public	$7,187	$38,289	8.7 yrs
16	Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA · Private	$26,825	$47,260	8.8 yrs
17	University of Dayton Dayton, OH · Private	$25,633	$45,696	9.6 yrs
18	Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI · Public	$14,547	$41,025	9.7 yrs
19	Stetson University DeLand, FL · Private	$23,626	$44,776	9.7 yrs
20	Suffolk University Boston, MA · Private	$29,611	$46,380	10.4 yrs
21	University of Toledo Toledo, OH · Public	$17,555	$41,565	10.7 yrs
22	Kansas State University Manhattan, KS · Public	$16,868	$41,205	10.9 yrs
23	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA · Public	$19,365	$42,123	10.9 yrs
24	Temple University Philadelphia, PA · Public	$21,568	$42,682	11.2 yrs
25	Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH · Public	$19,508	$41,565	11.9 yrs
26	Clarkson University Potsdam, NY · Private	$27,131	$42,682	14.1 yrs
27	Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI · Public	$15,720	$39,214	14.9 yrs
28	San Jose State University San Jose, CA · Public	$17,338	$39,369	15.9 yrs
29	Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN · Public	$13,140	$38,289	16 yrs
30	University of North Texas Denton, TX · Public	$14,132	$38,289	17.2 yrs
31	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ · Public	$15,561	$38,289	18.9 yrs
32	Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT · Private	$37,175	$42,682	19.4 yrs
33	University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA · Private	$36,818	$39,909	30 yrs
34	South Dakota State University Brookings, SD · Public	$18,826	$37,424	31.1 yrs
35	Belmont University Nashville, TN · Private	$26,313	$38,289	32 yrs
36	Bryant University Smithfield, RI · Private	$37,946	$39,369	34.7 yrs
37	Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights, KY · Public	$9,505	$35,864	44 yrs
38	Buena Vista University Storm Lake, IA · Private	$15,581	$35,416	149.8 yrs
39	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA · Private	$37,292	$35,416	358.6 yrs
40	Lamar University Beaumont, TX · Public	$13,580	$32,119	N/A
41	University of Vermont Burlington, VT · Public	$17,585	$32,925	N/A
42	Wichita State University Wichita, KS · Public	$14,581	$33,993	N/A
43	University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV · Public	$11,929	$33,993	N/A
44	California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA · Public	$9,854	$32,744	N/A
45	University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND · Public	$15,818	$31,133	N/A
46	Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ · For-Profit	$20,787	$33,993	N/A
47	Northern Michigan University Marquette, MI · Public	$16,017	$24,035	N/A
48	Fashion Institute of Technology New York, NY · Public	$12,228	$34,526	N/A
49	University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC · Public	$13,214	$31,314	N/A
50	Johnson & Wales University-Providence Providence, RI · Private	$28,090	$34,704	N/A

Top Earners in Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations

See schools ranked by earnings alone, without considering cost.

Best Value Rankings

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Payback uses earnings by major from the College Scorecard's field-of-study file, last updated June 2026, against net price from the June 2026 release. Scorecard publishes the two separately, so they are different vintages.