Highest graduation rates — HBCUs

These 50 HBCUs rank highest by 6-year graduation rate, drawn from 83 institutions with reported data in the most recent U.S. Department of Education release (2024-25). Howard University (Washington, DC) leads at 70%.

#	Institution	Graduation rate (6-yr · first-time, full-time)
1	Howard UniversityDC · Private	70%
2	Morehouse CollegeGA · Private	59.4%
3	Alcorn State UniversityMS · Public	57.4%
4	North Carolina A & T State UniversityNC · Public	57.2%
5	Hampton UniversityVA · Private	57.2%
6	Tuskegee UniversityAL · Private	55%
7	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical UniversityFL · Public	53.3%
8	Claflin UniversitySC · Private	51.6%
9	Jackson State UniversityMS · Public	50.9%
10	Clark Atlanta UniversityGA · Private	49%
11	Xavier University of LouisianaLA · Private	48.5%
12	Winston-Salem State UniversityNC · Public	46.7%
13	Oakwood UniversityAL · Private	44.6%
14	Lincoln UniversityPA · Public	43.5%
15	Elizabeth City State UniversityNC · Public	43.5%
16	Dillard UniversityLA · Private	43.3%
17	Prairie View A & M UniversityTX · Public	43.2%
18	Voorhees UniversitySC · Private	43%
19	North Carolina Central UniversityNC · Public	41.6%
20	Fort Valley State UniversityGA · Public	41.1%
21	Morgan State UniversityMD · Public	40.9%
22	Cheyney University of PennsylvaniaPA · Public	40.6%
23	University of Arkansas at Pine BluffAR · Public	40.4%
24	Virginia State UniversityVA · Public	39.4%
25	West Virginia State UniversityWV · Public	39.2%
26	Delaware State UniversityDE · Public	39.1%
27	American Baptist CollegeTN · Private	38.9%
28	Norfolk State UniversityVA · Public	38.5%
29	Fayetteville State UniversityNC · Public	38.5%
30	Bowie State UniversityMD · Public	38.2%
31	Bluefield State UniversityWV · Public	37%
32	South Carolina State UniversitySC · Public	36.6%
33	Grambling State UniversityLA · Public	36.2%
34	University of Maryland Eastern ShoreMD · Public	35.3%
35	Johnson C Smith UniversityNC · Private	34.3%
36	Virginia Union UniversityVA · Private	34.2%
37	Tennessee State UniversityTN · Public	34%
38	Huston-Tillotson UniversityTX · Private	33.9%
39	Tougaloo CollegeMS · Private	33.1%
40	Kentucky State UniversityKY · Public	31.9%
41	Florida Memorial UniversityFL · Private	31.1%
42	Albany State UniversityGA · Public	31.1%
43	Talladega CollegeAL · Private	30.9%
44	Bethune-Cookman UniversityFL · Private	30.5%
45	Philander Smith UniversityAR · Private	30.4%
46	Alabama State UniversityAL · Public	30.3%
47	Fisk UniversityTN · Private	29.9%
48	University of the Virgin IslandsVI · Public	28.2%
49	Edward Waters UniversityFL · Private	28.2%
50	Livingstone CollegeNC · Private	28.2%

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.