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In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.
Northwestern University was awarded 1160 badges in the 2026 rankings.
Northwestern is ranked #2 out of 5,192 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2026 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 1% of all schools in the nation!
Northwestern is also ranked #1 on the Best Colleges in Illinois list.
See all of the rankings for Northwestern University.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Northwestern make around $53,747 per year during the early years of their employment. That’s great news for Northwestern students since it is 32% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $40,669 per year.