by our College Data Analytics Team
[Value](/majors/agriculture-ag-operations/food-science-technology/viticulture-and-enology/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong value education at a price that pays off.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools to find the best return on investment for value students.
What’s on this page:
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the value degrees they offer, see the list below.
Cornell University tops our 2026 list of the best value value schools in New York. Cornell University is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Ithaca. In-state tuition and fees average $69,314. Typical student debt for value graduates is $15,750. Value graduates of Cornell University earn a median of $64,062 early in their careers. Set against $15,750 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 9% of applicants are accepted.
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 2 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.