Strongest financial health – U.S. universities

These 50 U.S. universities rank highest by NACUBO Composite Financial Index (CFI), drawn from 1787 institutions with reported data in the most recent U.S. Department of Education release (2024-25). Gavilan College (Gilroy, CA) leads at 10.0.

#	Institution	Financial Health Index (CFI)
1	Gavilan CollegeCA · Public	10.0
2	New Mexico Junior CollegeNM · Public	10.0
3	Trinidad State CollegeCO · Public	10.0
4	Columbia State Community CollegeTN · Public	9.9
5	Long Island UniversityNY · Private	9.9
6	Saint Louis Community CollegeMO · Public	9.9
7	California State Polytechnic University-HumboldtCA · Public	9.7
8	Ferris State UniversityMI · Public	9.7
9	Wayland Baptist UniversityTX · Private	9.7
10	Aiken Technical CollegeSC · Public	9.6
11	Dunwoody College of TechnologyMN · Private	9.6
12	Southwestern Illinois CollegeIL · Public	9.6
13	Yeshivath ViznitzNY · Private	9.6
14	Everglades UniversityFL · Private	9.5
15	Lindsey Wilson CollegeKY · Private	9.4
16	Western Piedmont Community CollegeNC · Public	9.4
17	MCPHS UniversityMA · Private	9.2
18	Casper CollegeWY · Public	9.1
19	Geneva CollegePA · Private	9.1
20	University of the CumberlandsKY · Private	9.1
21	Canada CollegeCA · Public	9.0
22	College of San MateoCA · Public	9.0
23	Jackson State Community CollegeTN · Public	9.0
24	Parkland CollegeIL · Public	9.0
25	Saint Louis UniversityMO · Private	9.0
26	Skyline CollegeCA · Public	9.0
27	California State University-BakersfieldCA · Public	8.9
28	Louisiana Delta Community CollegeLA · Public	8.9
29	Waubonsee Community CollegeIL · Public	8.9
30	Worcester State UniversityMA · Public	8.9
31	Fisher CollegeMA · Private	8.8
32	Grove City CollegePA · Private	8.8
33	Hillsdale CollegeMI · Private	8.8
34	Indiana University-IndianapolisIN · Public	8.8
35	Mercy UniversityNY · Private	8.8
36	Saint Ambrose UniversityIA · Private	8.8
37	Chipola CollegeFL · Public	8.7
38	Hardin-Simmons UniversityTX · Private	8.7
39	John Brown UniversityAR · Private	8.7
40	Mitchell Community CollegeNC · Public	8.7
41	South Puget Sound Community CollegeWA · Public	8.7
42	Taylor UniversityIN · Private	8.7
43	Berea CollegeKY · Private	8.6
44	Essex County CollegeNJ · Public	8.6
45	Freed-Hardeman UniversityTN · Private	8.6
46	Mississippi State UniversityMS · Public	8.6
47	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-PoncePR · Private	8.6
48	Saint Johns UniversityMN · Private	8.6
49	Sussex County Community CollegeNJ · Public	8.6
50	Wilmington UniversityDE · Private	8.6

The Composite Financial Index (CFI) is the NACUBO/accreditor balance-sheet health score; bond-rating agencies track similar ratios. The CFI clamps and rewards reserves relative to budget size, so this list is limited to institutions with at least 1,000 undergraduates for comparability. A data ranking, not an Ibex endorsement or quality rating. Ranked solely on the metric named above using the most recent College Scorecard & IPEDS release, which lags the current academic year by 2–3 years. Institutions that do not report this metric are excluded. Figures and peer context appear on each institution’s profile.

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Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard & IPEDS (most recent release, 2024-25), with NSF NCSES (HERD), the Clery Act & EADA collections, Census ACS, BLS Employment Projections, WICHE & the FSA Direct Loan Dashboard. Compiled by Ibex Insights. For informational benchmarking only, not financial, investment, or accreditation advice. See the methodology.