Strongest financial health — doctoral research universities

These 50 doctoral research universities rank highest by NACUBO Composite Financial Index (CFI), drawn from 407 institutions with reported data in the most recent U.S. Department of Education release (2024-25). Long Island University (Brookville, NY) leads at 9.9.

#	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	Saint Ambrose UniversityIA · Private	8.8
7	Hardin-Simmons UniversityTX · Private	8.7
8	Mississippi State UniversityMS · Public	8.6
9	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-PoncePR · Private	8.6
10	Wilmington UniversityDE · Private	8.6
11	Liberty UniversityVA · Private	8.4
12	Belmont UniversityTN · Private	8.3
13	Georgia State UniversityGA · Public	8.3
14	Dartmouth CollegeNH · Private	8.2
15	University of New EnglandME · Private	8.1
16	Carnegie Mellon UniversityPA · Private	8.0
17	Hofstra UniversityNY · Private	8.0
18	Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Gurabo CampusPR · Private	7.9
19	University of MaryND · Private	7.9
20	Western Michigan UniversityMI · Public	7.9
21	Clemson UniversitySC · Public	7.8
22	Creighton UniversityNE · Private	7.8
23	Rice UniversityTX · Private	7.8
24	Union UniversityTN · Private	7.8
25	Yale UniversityCT · Private	7.8
26	Gwynedd Mercy UniversityPA · Private	7.7
27	University of Alabama in HuntsvilleAL · Public	7.7
28	University of Mary Hardin-BaylorTX · Private	7.7
29	University of KentuckyKY · Public	7.6
30	University of Notre DameIN · Private	7.6
31	DePaul UniversityIL · Private	7.4
32	East Tennessee State UniversityTN · Public	7.4
33	Princeton UniversityNJ · Private	7.4
34	University of Alabama at BirminghamAL · Public	7.4
35	University of North Carolina at Chapel HillNC · Public	7.4
36	University of TulsaOK · Private	7.4
37	Villanova UniversityPA · Private	7.4
38	Wright State University-Main CampusOH · Public	7.4
39	Columbia University in the City of New YorkNY · Private	7.3
40	Cornell UniversityNY · Private	7.3
41	Lehigh UniversityPA · Private	7.3
42	University of FloridaFL · Public	7.3
43	Edgewood CollegeWI · Private	7.2
44	Florida International UniversityFL · Public	7.2
45	Harvard UniversityMA · Private	7.2
46	Mississippi CollegeMS · Private	7.2
47	University of San DiegoCA · Private	7.2
48	University of Virginia-Main CampusVA · Public	7.1
49	Idaho State UniversityID · Public	7.0
50	Stanford UniversityCA · 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 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 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.