by our College Data Analytics TeamThere are lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its Top Wisconsin Colleges ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
We analyzed 46 colleges and universities across Wisconsin to determine which were the best in terms of overall quality. Instead of depending on subjective information, we focus on over 20 objective factors to determine this ranking. These factors include such things as student-to-faculty ratio, average graduate earnings, and graduation rate.
See what other factors we include in our ranking methodology.
We've developed a number of other tools and rankings to help you make your college decision. Start by filtering this list by location or field of study and then explore our other rankings that feature schools great for different groups of students such as veterans or returnings adults.
We've created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you're torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another!
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2025 rankings named University of Wisconsin - Madison the best school in Wisconsin in terms of overall quality for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UW - Madison is $73,792 during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Herzing University - Madison helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Wisconsin.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Herzing University - Madison make an average of $36,909 a year.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Marquette University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Wisconsin.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. During the early years of their career, graduates from Marquette make an average of $78,257 a year.
A rank of #4 on our Best Colleges in Wisconsin list means Gateway Technical College is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The student-to-faculty rate of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $40,264 during the early years of their career..
Out of the 46 schools in Wisconsin that were part of this year’s ranking, Madison Area Technical College landed the #5 spot on the list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Madison College make an average of $45,413 a year.
With a ranking of #6, Western Technical College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
The student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. During the early years of their career, graduates from Western Technical College make an average of $45,303 a year.
With a ranking of #7, Chippewa Valley Technical College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from CVTC make an average of $46,297 a year.
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UW - La Crosse is $60,378 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #9, Fox Valley Technical College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from FVTC is $45,684 during the early years of their career.
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking, coming in at #10.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $55,356 during the early years of their career..
Mount Mary University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Mount Mary go into careers with an average salary of $48,745 during the early years of their career.
Northeast Wisconsin Technical College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from NWTC make an average of $44,553 per year during the early years of their career.
University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $58,561 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #14, Milwaukee Area Technical College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from MATC go into careers with an average salary of $41,113 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #15, Carroll University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Carroll U make an average of $58,009 a year.
With a ranking of #16, Blackhawk Technical College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from BTC is $41,620 during the early years of their career.
Northcentral Technical College ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $44,925 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #18, Concordia University, Wisconsin did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Concordia University, Wisconsin is $56,075 during the early years of their career.
Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking.
The impressive student-to-faculty rate of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $43,406 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #20, University of Wisconsin - Platteville did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% During the early years of their career, graduates from UW - Platteville make an average of $61,760 a year.
Alverno College landed the #21 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. During the early years of their career, graduates from Alverno make an average of $53,145 a year.
Viterbo University landed the #22 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $55,660 during the early years of their career..
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin ranking, coming in at #23.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UWM is $54,990 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #24, Moraine Park Technical College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Moraine Park Technical College go into careers with an average salary of $44,371 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #25, Edgewood College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Wisconsin list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Edgewood is $59,728 during the early years of their career.
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.