Strongest financial health – master's universities

These 50 master's universities rank highest by NACUBO Composite Financial Index (CFI), drawn from 239 institutions with reported data in the U.S. Department of Education data for FY2022-23 (IPEDS). Wayland Baptist University (Plainview, TX) leads at 9.7.

Institutions ranked by Financial Health Index (CFI).
#	Institution	Financial Health Index (CFI)
1	Wayland Baptist UniversityTX · Private	9.7
2	Everglades UniversityFL · Private	9.5
3	Lindsey Wilson UniversityKY · Private	9.4
4	California State University-BakersfieldCA · Public	8.9
5	John Brown UniversityAR · Private	8.7
6	Freed-Hardeman UniversityTN · Private	8.6
7	Weber State UniversityUT · Public	8.4
8	California State University-NorthridgeCA · Public	8.0
9	Citadel Military College of South CarolinaSC · Public	8.0
10	La Sierra UniversityCA · Private	7.7
11	University of Mary Hardin-BaylorTX · Private	7.7
12	Hamline UniversityMN · Private	7.6
13	Southern New Hampshire UniversityNH · Private	7.6
14	Bellevue UniversityNE · Private	7.5
15	Northwestern CollegeIA · Private	7.5
16	Friends UniversityKS · Private	7.3
17	Johnson & Wales University-ProvidenceRI · Private	7.3
18	Chaminade University of HonoluluHI · Private	7.2
19	Emporia State UniversityKS · Public	7.2
20	Point Loma Nazarene UniversityCA · Private	7.2
21	Elmhurst UniversityIL · Private	7.1
22	Ithaca CollegeNY · Private	7.1
23	Marist UniversityNY · Private	7.1
24	Saint Xavier UniversityIL · Private	6.9
25	Excelsior UniversityNY · Private	6.8
26	Spring Arbor UniversityMI · Private	6.8
27	Mount Vernon Nazarene UniversityOH · Private	6.7
28	Indiana Institute of TechnologyIN · Private	6.6
29	Northwest Missouri State UniversityMO · Public	6.6
30	Iona UniversityNY · Private	6.5
31	Shorter UniversityGA · Private	6.5
32	Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Carolina CampusPR · Private	6.5
33	Utah Valley UniversityUT · Public	6.4
34	Trinity Washington UniversityDC · Private	6.3
35	Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Cupey CampusPR · Private	6.3
36	Dominican UniversityIL · Private	6.2
37	Florida Gulf Coast UniversityFL · Public	6.2
38	Salve Regina UniversityRI · Private	6.2
39	University of DallasTX · Private	6.2
40	Valparaiso UniversityIN · Private	6.2
41	Berklee College of MusicMA · Private	6.1
42	Tiffin UniversityOH · Private	5.9
43	Hood CollegeMD · Private	5.8
44	St. Joseph's University-New YorkNY · Private	5.7
45	Midway UniversityKY · Private	5.6
46	University of Southern IndianaIN · Public	5.6
47	Virginia Union UniversityVA · Private	5.5
48	California State University-ChicoCA · Public	5.4
49	Norwich UniversityVT · Private	5.4
50	Eastern UniversityPA · Private	5.3

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 master's universities ranks highest by NACUBO Composite Financial Index (CFI)?

Wayland Baptist University (Plainview, TX), at 9.7. It leads 50 institutions shown here, drawn from 239 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.