Strongest operating margins – U.S. universities

These 50 U.S. universities rank highest by operating margin, drawn from 2,076 institutions with reported data in the U.S. Department of Education data for 2024-25. New Mexico Junior College (Hobbs, NM) leads at 66.8%.

Institutions ranked by Operating margin.
#	Institution	Operating margin
1	New Mexico Junior CollegeNM · Public	66.8%
2	Indian Capital Technology Center-MuskogeeOK · Public	59%
3	Lake Tahoe Community CollegeCA · Public	58.9%
4	Ross College-SylvaniaOH · Private for-profit	54%
5	George T Baker Aviation Technical CollegeFL · Public	52.4%
6	Merritt CollegeCA · Public	50.2%
7	North Central Missouri CollegeMO · Public	49.8%
8	Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health SciencesMA · Private	48%
9	Rockingham Community CollegeNC · Public	45.9%
10	Berea CollegeKY · Private	45.5%
11	Dunwoody College of TechnologyMN · Private	44.7%
12	UEI College-GardenaCA · Private for-profit	44.6%
13	Massachusetts Bay Community CollegeMA · Public	44.1%
14	Grays Harbor CollegeWA · Public	43.7%
15	Aiken Technical CollegeSC · Public	42.8%
16	California State Polytechnic University-HumboldtCA · Public	42.7%
17	Columbia State Community CollegeTN · Public	42.5%
18	Berkeley City CollegeCA · Public	42.3%
19	Sierra CollegeCA · Public	42%
20	Bryant & Stratton College-OnlineNY · Private	41.4%
21	Trine UniversityIN · Private	41.1%
22	College of AlamedaCA · Public	40.9%
23	Lawson State Community CollegeAL · Public	40.8%
24	Foothill CollegeCA · Public	40.2%
25	Western Piedmont Community CollegeNC · Public	39.3%
26	Whitman CollegeWA · Private	38.7%
27	University of Puerto RicoPR · Public	38.5%
28	Laney CollegeCA · Public	37.6%
29	Northwood UniversityMI · Private	37.6%
30	Lenoir Community CollegeNC · Public	37.4%
31	San Bernardino Valley CollegeCA · Public	37.4%
32	Charter Oak State CollegeCT · Public	37.3%
33	Austin CollegeTX · Private	37.1%
34	Hillsdale CollegeMI · Private	36.8%
35	Crafton Hills CollegeCA · Public	36.8%
36	Colorado Technical University-Colorado SpringsCO · Private for-profit	36.8%
37	Oklahoma City UniversityOK · Private	35.9%
38	Virginia State UniversityVA · Public	35.8%
39	De Anza CollegeCA · Public	35.6%
40	Gwinnett Technical CollegeGA · Public	35.3%
41	Enterprise State Community CollegeAL · Public	35.2%
42	University of the CumberlandsKY · Private	35.2%
43	Savannah College of Art and DesignGA · Private	35%
44	College of the AlbemarleNC · Public	35%
45	Chemeketa Community CollegeOR · Public	35%
46	Saint Louis UniversityMO · Private	34.2%
47	Robeson Community CollegeNC · Public	34.1%
48	Virginia Peninsula Community CollegeVA · Public	34%
49	Northern Marianas CollegeMP · Public	33.9%
50	Piedmont Virginia Community CollegeVA · Public	33.7%

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; 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 operating margin?

New Mexico Junior College (Hobbs, NM), at 66.8%. It leads 50 institutions shown here, drawn from 2,076 with reported data.

How is this ranking calculated?

On one disclosed metric only: by operating margin, from College Scorecard & IPEDS, 2024-25. 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. 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.