Strongest operating margins – private nonprofit universities

These 50 private nonprofit universities rank highest by operating margin, drawn from 633 institutions with reported data in the U.S. Department of Education data for FY2022-23 (IPEDS). Wayland Baptist University (Plainview, TX) leads at 51.4%.

Institutions ranked by Operating margin.
#	Institution	Operating margin
1	Wayland Baptist UniversityTX	51.4%
2	Augustana UniversitySD	48.1%
3	Hillsdale CollegeMI	40.9%
4	Catawba CollegeNC	39.9%
5	University of the CumberlandsKY	39.5%
6	Hardin-Simmons UniversityTX	39.2%
7	Trine UniversityIN	38.7%
8	Saint Louis UniversityMO	35.1%
9	Savannah College of Art and DesignGA	34.6%
10	Taylor UniversityIN	33.3%
11	Berea CollegeKY	33.2%
12	Long Island UniversityNY	33%
13	Saint Ambrose UniversityIA	32.5%
14	College of the Holy CrossMA	31.4%
15	High Point UniversityNC	30.2%
16	Ultimate Medical AcademyFL	30.1%
17	Quinnipiac UniversityCT	29.5%
18	Touro UniversityNY	28.8%
19	Azusa Pacific UniversityCA	26.7%
20	Liberty UniversityVA	26.2%
21	Sacred Heart UniversityCT	26.1%
22	Fairfield UniversityCT	25.9%
23	Geneva CollegePA	23.6%
24	Everglades UniversityFL	23.2%
25	New England Institute of TechnologyRI	22.7%
26	The College of WoosterOH	21.9%
27	Universidad Politecnica de Puerto RicoPR	21.8%
28	Fresno Pacific UniversityCA	21.6%
29	Lincoln Memorial UniversityTN	20.3%
30	Yeshivath ViznitzNY	20.1%
31	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-PoncePR	19.8%
32	Endicott CollegeMA	19.4%
33	Beth Medrash GovohaNJ	19.3%
34	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona BeachFL	19.1%
35	Wilmington CollegeOH	19.1%
36	Augustana CollegeIL	18.8%
37	Marian UniversityIN	18.5%
38	John Brown UniversityAR	18.4%
39	Cornell CollegeIA	18.3%
40	Mercy UniversityNY	18.3%
41	Dartmouth CollegeNH	17.9%
42	Hendrix CollegeAR	17.7%
43	Colby CollegeME	17.3%
44	Saint Vincent CollegePA	17%
45	Waldorf UniversityIA	16.6%
46	Fisher CollegeMA	16.6%
47	Unity Environmental UniversityME	16.2%
48	Marist UniversityNY	16.1%
49	Wilmington UniversityDE	15.5%
50	East Texas Baptist UniversityTX	15.3%

Limited to institutions with at least 1,000 undergraduates, so a handful of students cannot top the list. 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 private nonprofit universities ranks highest by operating margin?

Wayland Baptist University (Plainview, TX), at 51.4%. It leads 50 institutions shown here, drawn from 633 with reported data.

How is this ranking calculated?

On one disclosed metric only: by operating margin, 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.