Degree Dividend
Sourced from federal dataEvery figure datedNo rankings for sale

Best colleges in Kentucky, ranked by ROI

All 51 Kentucky institutions we profile, ranked by payback years — total net cost divided by earnings above the $48,360 high-school baseline. Federal net price and earnings; payback is our math. (Scorecard, 2026.)

$14,107
Median net price / yr
Scorecard, 2026
$41,129
Median earnings, 10 yrs
Scorecard, 2026
7.9 yrs
Median payback
Our math, 2026
51
Colleges ranked
degreedividend.com
Kentucky colleges by payback (best first)
#CollegeNet price/yrEarnings 10yPayback
1Galen College of Nursing-ARH$21,164$61,4803.2 yrs
2Centre College$20,781$66,2404.6 yrs
3Galen College of Nursing-Louisville$18,540$61,4805.7 yrs
4Bellarmine University$21,499$62,0696.3 yrs
5University of Kentucky$18,851$59,0257.1 yrs
6Thomas More University$21,835$59,3847.9 yrs
7University of Louisville$17,988$53,89913 yrs
8Transylvania University$21,913$54,70513.8 yrs
9Georgetown College$14,095$52,07415.2 yrs
10Northern Kentucky University$8,191$50,22017.6 yrs
11Spalding University$25,491$49,43894.6 yrs
12University of Pikeville$20,311$48,231no payback
13Brescia University$8,709$45,500no payback
14Eastern Kentucky University$11,040$45,795no payback
15Kentucky Wesleyan College$17,131$46,747no payback
16Murray State University$9,096$44,737no payback
17University of the Cumberlands$14,107$45,036no payback
18Berea College$6,106$43,150no payback
19Western Kentucky University$10,990$43,889no payback
20Morehead State University$9,793$43,197no payback
21Midway University$29,579$44,246no payback
22Lindsey Wilson University$15,070$41,129no payback
23Asbury University$21,401$42,368no payback
24Union Commonwealth University$21,311$42,002no payback
25Campbellsville University$19,341$41,583no payback
26Kentucky Christian University$24,038$42,375no payback
27Jefferson Community and Technical College$6,376$38,171no payback
28Alice Lloyd College$18,600$40,573no payback
29Sullivan University$25,532$38,008no payback
30Hopkinsville Community College$5,875$36,323no payback
31Bluegrass Community and Technical College$6,113$36,343no payback
32Elizabethtown Community and Technical College$5,143$36,143no payback
33Gateway Community and Technical College$5,725$36,147no payback
34Henderson Community College$4,232$35,714no payback
35Kentucky State University$8,040$36,382no payback
36Madisonville Community College$5,406$35,733no payback
37Owensboro Community and Technical College$5,800$35,798no payback
38Beckfield College-Florence$28,133$37,114no payback
39West Kentucky Community and Technical College$5,353$34,891no payback
40Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College$3,537$34,242no payback
41Ashland Community and Technical College$5,717$34,504no payback
42Big Sandy Community and Technical College$3,873$32,954no payback
43ATA College$28,611$34,577no payback
44Maysville Community and Technical College$4,605$32,194no payback
45Somerset Community College$4,398$30,787no payback
46Hazard Community and Technical College$2,955$29,868no payback
47Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College$3,731$29,482no payback
48American National University-Louisville$17,010$28,188no payback
49Paul Mitchell the School-Louisville$29,401$28,449no payback
50Employment Solutions-College for Technical Education$22,871$20,156no payback
51PJ's College of Cosmetology-Bowling Green$26,577$20,392no payback

College Scorecard (2026), institution-level · ranking and payback are our math. Payback uses institution-wide earnings; a specific major can rank very differently.