Strongest financial health – doctoral research universities

These 50 doctoral research universities rank highest by NACUBO Composite Financial Index (CFI), drawn from 409 institutions with reported data in the U.S. Department of Education data for 2024-25. 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	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 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 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 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 doctoral research 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 409 with reported data.

How is this ranking calculated?

On one disclosed metric only: by NACUBO Composite Financial Index (CFI), 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.