Widest Pell access – HBCUs

These 50 HBCUs rank highest by share of students receiving Pell Grants, drawn from 65 institutions with reported data in the U.S. Department of Education data for 2024-25 (Scorecard). Bethune-Cookman University (Daytona Beach, FL) leads at 78.3%.

Institutions ranked by Pell recipient share.
#	Institution	Pell recipient share
1	Bethune-Cookman UniversityFL · Private	78.3%
2	Edward Waters UniversityFL · Private	75.4%
3	Grambling State UniversityLA · Public	75%
4	Claflin UniversitySC · Private	73.5%
5	Fort Valley State UniversityGA · Public	73.3%
6	Jackson State UniversityMS · Public	72.3%
7	Texas Southern UniversityTX · Public	72.3%
8	Virginia State UniversityVA · Public	72.1%
9	Miles CollegeAL · Private	71.9%
10	Alabama State UniversityAL · Public	71.3%
11	South Carolina State UniversitySC · Public	70.5%
12	Clark Atlanta UniversityGA · Private	70.5%
13	Alcorn State UniversityMS · Public	69.8%
14	Dillard UniversityLA · Private	69.7%
15	University of Arkansas at Pine BluffAR · Public	69.5%
16	Johnson C Smith UniversityNC · Private	69.5%
17	Albany State UniversityGA · Public	69.3%
18	Florida Memorial UniversityFL · Private	69.1%
19	Lincoln UniversityPA · Public	68.7%
20	Virginia Union UniversityVA · Private	68.7%
21	Southern University and A & M CollegeLA · Public	68.1%
22	Langston UniversityOK · Public	67.8%
23	Savannah State UniversityGA · Public	67.5%
24	Prairie View A & M UniversityTX · Public	65.6%
25	Norfolk State UniversityVA · Public	65%
26	Winston-Salem State UniversityNC · Public	64.9%
27	H Councill Trenholm State Community CollegeAL · Public	63.7%
28	Alabama A & M UniversityAL · Public	63%
29	Benedict CollegeSC · Private	62.3%
30	Huston-Tillotson UniversityTX · Private	61.2%
31	Lawson State Community CollegeAL · Public	59.9%
32	North Carolina Central UniversityNC · Public	58.7%
33	Kentucky State UniversityKY · Public	58.3%
34	Tuskegee UniversityAL · Private	57.7%
35	Coahoma Community CollegeMS · Public	57%
36	Fayetteville State UniversityNC · Public	56.6%
37	Morgan State UniversityMD · Public	56.5%
38	Mississippi Valley State UniversityMS · Public	56.4%
39	University of Maryland Eastern ShoreMD · Public	55.7%
40	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical UniversityFL · Public	54.3%
41	Xavier University of LouisianaLA · Private	54.2%
42	Coppin State UniversityMD · Public	53.9%
43	Elizabeth City State UniversityNC · Public	53.5%
44	Central State UniversityOH · Public	52.7%
45	North Carolina A & T State UniversityNC · Public	52.3%
46	Fisk UniversityTN · Private	51.8%
47	Southern University at ShreveportLA · Public	51.5%
48	Tennessee State UniversityTN · Public	51.1%
49	University of the Virgin IslandsVI · Public	48.7%
50	Lincoln UniversityMO · Public	48.7%

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 (Scorecard); 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 HBCUs ranks highest by share of students receiving Pell Grants?

Bethune-Cookman University (Daytona Beach, FL), at 78.3%. It leads 50 institutions shown here, drawn from 65 with reported data.

How is this ranking calculated?

On one disclosed metric only: by share of students receiving Pell Grants, from College Scorecard & IPEDS, 2024-25 (Scorecard). 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 (Scorecard). 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.