Strongest financial health – doctoral universities

These 50 doctoral universities rank highest by NACUBO Composite Financial Index (CFI), drawn from 463 institutions with reported data in the U.S. Department of Education data for FY2022-23 (IPEDS). Long Island University (Brookville, NY) leads at 9.9.

Institutions ranked by Financial Health Index (CFI).
#	Institution	Financial Health Index (CFI)
1	Long Island UniversityNY · Private	9.9
2	Ferris State UniversityMI · Public	9.7
3	University of the CumberlandsKY · Private	9.1
4	Saint Louis UniversityMO · Private	9.0
5	Indiana University-IndianapolisIN · Public	8.8
6	Mercy UniversityNY · Private	8.8
7	Saint Ambrose UniversityIA · Private	8.8
8	Hardin-Simmons UniversityTX · Private	8.7
9	Wilmington UniversityDE · Private	8.6
10	Liberty UniversityVA · Private	8.4
11	Mississippi State UniversityMS · Public	8.4
12	Belmont UniversityTN · Private	8.3
13	Dartmouth CollegeNH · Private	8.2
14	University of New EnglandME · Private	8.1
15	Bay Path UniversityMA · Private	8.0
16	Carnegie Mellon UniversityPA · Private	8.0
17	Hofstra UniversityNY · Private	8.0
18	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-PoncePR · Private	7.9
19	Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Gurabo CampusPR · Private	7.9
20	University of MaryND · Private	7.9
21	Western Michigan UniversityMI · Public	7.9
22	Clemson UniversitySC · Public	7.8
23	Creighton UniversityNE · Private	7.8
24	Georgia State UniversityGA · Public	7.8
25	Rice UniversityTX · Private	7.8
26	Union UniversityTN · Private	7.8
27	Yale UniversityCT · Private	7.8
28	Troy UniversityAL · Public	7.7
29	South Carolina State UniversitySC · Public	7.6
30	University of KentuckyKY · Public	7.6
31	University of Notre DameIN · Private	7.6
32	University of Alabama in HuntsvilleAL · Public	7.5
33	DePaul UniversityIL · Private	7.4
34	East Tennessee State UniversityTN · Public	7.4
35	Princeton UniversityNJ · Private	7.4
36	University of TulsaOK · Private	7.4
37	Villanova UniversityPA · Private	7.4
38	Columbia University in the City of New YorkNY · Private	7.3
39	Cornell UniversityNY · Private	7.3
40	Lehigh UniversityPA · Private	7.3
41	University of FloridaFL · Public	7.3
42	University of North Carolina at Chapel HillNC · Public	7.3
43	Edgewood UniversityWI · Private	7.2
44	Florida International UniversityFL · Public	7.2
45	Harvard UniversityMA · Private	7.2
46	Mississippi Christian UniversityMS · Private	7.2
47	University of San DiegoCA · Private	7.2
48	University of Oklahoma-Health Sciences CenterOK · Public	7.1
49	University of Virginia-Main CampusVA · Public	7.1
50	Evangel UniversityMO · Private	7.0

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 U.S. Department of Education data for FY2022-23 (IPEDS). 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 doctoral universities ranks highest by NACUBO Composite Financial Index (CFI)?

Long Island University (Brookville, NY), at 9.9. It leads 50 institutions shown here, drawn from 463 with reported data.

How is this ranking calculated?

On one disclosed metric only: by NACUBO Composite Financial Index (CFI), from IPEDS, FY2022-23. 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 collections the tool uses, taking the most recent figure published for the metric it ranks: IPEDS, FY2022-23. 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.