Highest graduation rates – U.S. universities

These 50 U.S. universities rank highest by 6-year graduation rate, drawn from 1,428 institutions with reported data in the U.S. Department of Education data for 2024-25 (Scorecard). Princeton University (Princeton, NJ) leads at 97.6%.

Institutions ranked by Graduation rate (6-yr · first-time, full-time).
#	Institution	Graduation rate (6-yr · first-time, full-time)
1	Princeton UniversityNJ · Private	97.6%
2	Harvard UniversityMA · Private	97.6%
3	Duke UniversityNC · Private	96.8%
4	University of PennsylvaniaPA · Private	96.5%
5	Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMA · Private	96.4%
6	Columbia University in the City of New YorkNY · Private	96.1%
7	University of ChicagoIL · Private	95.9%
8	Yale UniversityCT · Private	95.7%
9	Brown UniversityRI · Private	95.7%
10	University of Virginia-Main CampusVA · Public	95.6%
11	Dartmouth CollegeNH · Private	95.5%
12	Cornell UniversityNY · Private	95.4%
13	Bowdoin CollegeME · Private	95.3%
14	University of Notre DameIN · Private	95.2%
15	Northwestern UniversityIL · Private	95.1%
16	Georgetown UniversityDC · Private	94.8%
17	Rice UniversityTX · Private	94.6%
18	Washington University in St LouisMO · Private	94.3%
19	Carnegie Mellon UniversityPA · Private	94.1%
20	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main CampusGA · Public	94%
21	Amherst CollegeMA · Private	93.9%
22	Washington and Lee UniversityVA · Private	93.9%
23	Johns Hopkins UniversityMD · Private	93.8%
24	Williams CollegeMA · Private	93.6%
25	Vanderbilt UniversityTN · Private	93.5%
26	Tufts UniversityMA · Private	93.5%
27	Pomona CollegeCA · Private	93.2%
28	University of Michigan-Ann ArborMI · Public	93.2%
29	Babson CollegeMA · Private	93.1%
30	Barnard CollegeNY · Private	93%
31	United States Naval AcademyMD · Public	92.9%
32	University of California-BerkeleyCA · Public	92.8%
33	United States Coast Guard AcademyCT · Public	92.7%
34	Wesleyan UniversityCT · Private	92.6%
35	University of California-Los AngelesCA · Public	92.6%
36	Swarthmore CollegePA · Private	92.3%
37	Stanford UniversityCA · Private	91.9%
38	Villanova UniversityPA · Private	91.9%
39	University of Southern CaliforniaCA · Private	91.8%
40	Wellesley CollegeMA · Private	91.5%
41	Middlebury CollegeVT · Private	91.4%
42	Claremont McKenna CollegeCA · Private	91.4%
43	Colgate UniversityNY · Private	91.2%
44	University of North Carolina at Chapel HillNC · Public	91.2%
45	University of FloridaFL · Public	91.1%
46	Emory UniversityGA · Private	91.1%
47	Vassar CollegeNY · Private	91.1%
48	Davidson CollegeNC · Private	91.1%
49	Boston CollegeMA · Private	90.8%
50	Hamilton CollegeNY · Private	90.6%

A data ranking, not an Ibex endorsement or quality rating. Ranked solely on the metric named above using U.S. Department of Education data for 2024-25 (Scorecard); federal collections lag the current academic year, and some measures are no longer published at all, so the most recent figure is not always a recent one. Institutions that do not report this metric are excluded. Figures and peer context appear on each institution’s profile.

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Frequently asked

Which of these U.S. universities ranks highest by 6-year graduation rate?

Princeton University (Princeton, NJ), at 97.6%. It leads 50 institutions shown here, drawn from 1,428 with reported data.

How is this ranking calculated?

On one disclosed metric only: by 6-year graduation rate, from College Scorecard & IPEDS, 2024-25 (Scorecard). Institutions that do not report the metric are excluded. It is a data ranking, not an Ibex endorsement, quality rating or reputation survey, and no part of it is estimated or AI-generated.

How current is the data?

This list is built from the College Scorecard release of June 10, 2026 and the newest IPEDS collection on disk, using the most recent figure each of them publishes for the metric it ranks: College Scorecard & IPEDS, 2024-25 (Scorecard). Federal collections lag the current academic year by two to three years, so the newest published figure is not always a recent one; the release the leaderboard is dated on is printed under it.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard & IPEDS (each measure carries its own collection year; see the methodology), 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.