Strongest operating margins — public universities

These 50 public universities rank highest by operating margin, drawn from 572 institutions with reported data in the most recent U.S. Department of Education release (2024-25). University of California College of the Law-San Francisco (San Francisco, CA) leads at 42.8%.

#	Institution	Operating margin
1	University of California College of the Law-San FranciscoCA	42.8%
2	California State Polytechnic University-HumboldtCA	42.7%
3	University of Puerto Rico-BayamonPR	38.5%
4	Charter Oak State CollegeCT	37.3%
5	Virginia State UniversityVA	35.8%
6	University of Puerto Rico-AreciboPR	33.1%
7	Radford UniversityVA	32.6%
8	University of Puerto Rico at CayeyPR	31.9%
9	Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts DevelopmentNM	31.1%
10	University of Puerto Rico-Medical SciencesPR	29.9%
11	University of South Carolina BeaufortSC	27.9%
12	University of Puerto Rico-HumacaoPR	27.9%
13	The University of AlabamaAL	27.6%
14	Athens State UniversityAL	27.1%
15	San Francisco State UniversityCA	27%
16	California State University-BakersfieldCA	26.6%
17	University of Puerto Rico-MayaguezPR	26.4%
18	Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center-El PasoTX	26.3%
19	University of Puerto Rico at PoncePR	26.3%
20	University of Puerto Rico-Rio PiedrasPR	26.2%
21	Eastern New Mexico University-Main CampusNM	25.1%
22	United States Military AcademyNY	25%
23	University of Puerto Rico-AguadillaPR	24.9%
24	California State University-San BernardinoCA	24.6%
25	Texas A&M University-San AntonioTX	24.5%
26	Western Michigan UniversityMI	24.4%
27	University of KentuckyKY	23.8%
28	James Madison UniversityVA	23.4%
29	Wright State University-Lake CampusOH	23.2%
30	Bowie State UniversityMD	23.2%
31	Texas Southern UniversityTX	23.1%
32	Ferris State UniversityMI	23.1%
33	Troy UniversityAL	22.5%
34	University of Alabama in HuntsvilleAL	22.5%
35	Tennessee Technological UniversityTN	22.5%
36	William & MaryVA	22.4%
37	Alcorn State UniversityMS	21.8%
38	The University of Texas at DallasTX	21.8%
39	Indiana University-South BendIN	21.6%
40	Massachusetts College of Liberal ArtsMA	21.5%
41	Citadel Military College of South CarolinaSC	21.5%
42	Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main CampusPA	21.1%
43	Northern Michigan UniversityMI	20.9%
44	University of North Carolina at GreensboroNC	20.7%
45	Frostburg State UniversityMD	20.7%
46	Oregon Institute of TechnologyOR	20.2%
47	United States Air Force AcademyCO	19.7%
48	United States Coast Guard AcademyCT	19.7%
49	South Carolina State UniversitySC	19.5%
50	California State University Maritime AcademyCA	19.1%

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.