by our College Data Analytics Team
[Journalism](/majors/communication-journalism-media/journalism/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 2 schools on the balance of cost and outcomes for journalism students.
What’s on this page:
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in journalism, balancing cost against outcomes.
For return on investment in journalism, no school beat College Of Southern Nevada this year. Set in the city of Las Vegas, College Of Southern Nevada is a very large public institution. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $4,358, with out-of-state students paying around $13,024. Journalism graduates carry a median of $9,980 in student loans. Early-career journalism graduates make about $35,850. That is a strong return on a $9,980 median debt.
A rank of #2 makes University Of Nevada Reno one of the best values for journalism. University Of Nevada Reno is a very large public school located in the city of Reno. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $9,578, while out-of-state students pay about $27,720. Typical student debt for journalism graduates is $19,500. Early-career journalism graduates make about $36,109. That is a strong return on a $19,500 median debt. University Of Nevada Reno admits about 74% of applicants.
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, 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.