Strongest operating margins – public universities

These 50 public universities rank highest by operating margin, drawn from 1,340 institutions with reported data in the U.S. Department of Education data for 2024-25. New Mexico Junior College (Hobbs, NM) leads at 66.8%.

Institutions ranked by Operating margin.
#	Institution	Operating margin
1	New Mexico Junior CollegeNM	66.8%
2	Indian Capital Technology Center-MuskogeeOK	59%
3	Lake Tahoe Community CollegeCA	58.9%
4	George T Baker Aviation Technical CollegeFL	52.4%
5	Merritt CollegeCA	50.2%
6	North Central Missouri CollegeMO	49.8%
7	Rockingham Community CollegeNC	45.9%
8	Massachusetts Bay Community CollegeMA	44.1%
9	Grays Harbor CollegeWA	43.7%
10	Aiken Technical CollegeSC	42.8%
11	California State Polytechnic University-HumboldtCA	42.7%
12	Columbia State Community CollegeTN	42.5%
13	Berkeley City CollegeCA	42.3%
14	Sierra CollegeCA	42%
15	College of AlamedaCA	40.9%
16	Lawson State Community CollegeAL	40.8%
17	Foothill CollegeCA	40.2%
18	Western Piedmont Community CollegeNC	39.3%
19	University of Puerto RicoPR	38.5%
20	Laney CollegeCA	37.6%
21	Lenoir Community CollegeNC	37.4%
22	San Bernardino Valley CollegeCA	37.4%
23	Charter Oak State CollegeCT	37.3%
24	Crafton Hills CollegeCA	36.8%
25	Virginia State UniversityVA	35.8%
26	De Anza CollegeCA	35.6%
27	Gwinnett Technical CollegeGA	35.3%
28	Enterprise State Community CollegeAL	35.2%
29	College of the AlbemarleNC	35%
30	Chemeketa Community CollegeOR	35%
31	Robeson Community CollegeNC	34.1%
32	Virginia Peninsula Community CollegeVA	34%
33	Northern Marianas CollegeMP	33.9%
34	Piedmont Virginia Community CollegeVA	33.7%
35	Snead State Community CollegeAL	33.4%
36	University of Puerto Rico-AreciboPR	33.1%
37	Mineral Area CollegeMO	33.1%
38	Radford UniversityVA	32.6%
39	College of Eastern IdahoID	32.5%
40	Polk State CollegeFL	32.5%
41	Niagara County Community CollegeNY	32.3%
42	H Councill Trenholm State Community CollegeAL	32.2%
43	University of Puerto Rico at CayeyPR	31.9%
44	Dine CollegeAZ	31.7%
45	Wor-Wic Community CollegeMD	31.3%
46	Central Louisiana Technical Community CollegeLA	30.2%
47	Bakersfield CollegeCA	29.8%
48	Bunker Hill Community CollegeMA	29.8%
49	Wake Technical Community CollegeNC	29.6%
50	Elizabethtown Community and Technical CollegeKY	29.5%

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 public universities ranks highest by operating margin?

New Mexico Junior College (Hobbs, NM), at 66.8%. It leads 50 institutions shown here, drawn from 1,340 with reported data.

How is this ranking calculated?

On one disclosed metric only: by operating margin, 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.