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2026 Best Value General Education Schools in New Hampshire

[General Education](/majors/education/general-education/education-general/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.

For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 10 schools to find the best return on investment for general education students.

What’s on this page:

• Best Value General Education Schools in New Hampshire

2026 Best Value General Education Schools in New Hampshire

Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in general education, balancing cost against outcomes.

Best Value General Education Schools

1

Great Bay Community College
Portsmouth, NH

$7,200 In-State Tuition & Fees

$17,639 Avg Student Debt

$42,397 Median Earnings (10yr)

Great Bay Community College earned the #1 spot for value among general education schools in New Hampshire. Located in the suburb of Portsmouth, Great Bay Community College is a mid-sized public university. Students from in state pay about $7,200 in tuition and fees, with out-of-state students paying around $15,450. Typical student debt for general education graduates is $17,639. Soon after graduation, general education degree recipients from Great Bay Community College generally make around $48,692. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value.

2

Southern New Hampshire University
Manchester, NH

$17,200 In-State Tuition & Fees

$25,449 Avg Student Debt

$50,318 Median Earnings (10yr)

The strong cost-to-outcome balance at Southern New Hampshire University earned it the #2 place for general education. Southern New Hampshire University is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Manchester. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $17,200. Students borrow a median of $25,449 to complete the general education program here. Early-career general education graduates make about $59,780. Set against $25,449 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. The acceptance rate is 100%.

View All General Education Rankings >

Notes and References

This list is compiled 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 · 10 schools evaluated.

*Averages shown above reflect the top 2 ranked schools only.

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).

More about our data sources and methodologies.