by our College Data Analytics TeamIt's not easy to decide which college to attend when you have so many options available. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our Top Maryland Colleges ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
We analyzed 35 colleges and universities across Maryland to determine which were the best in terms of overall quality. Our ranking is based on over 20 objective factors, including post graduate earnings, freshman retention, and graduation rate. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another.
Get more details on 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 analysis found Johns Hopkins University to be the best school for overall quality in Maryland in this year’s ranking.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins make an average of $87,555 per year during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Maryland - College Park helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Maryland.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UMCP is $82,860 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #3 on our Best Colleges in Maryland list means Loyola University Maryland is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 77%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Loyola Maryland is $82,652 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 35 schools in Maryland that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Maryland Global Campus landed the #4 spot on the list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from UMGC make an average of $65,287 per year during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Towson University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Maryland.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Towson go into careers with an average salary of $64,390 during the early years of their career.
University of Maryland - Baltimore County came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Maryland ranking.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UMBC is $69,960 during the early years of their career.
Read full report on University of Maryland - Baltimore County
Montgomery College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Maryland ranking, coming in at #7.
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% The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Montgomery College is $50,159 during the early years of their career.
St John’s College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Colleges in Maryland 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. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from St. John’s Annapolis go into careers with an average salary of $51,584 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #9, Chesapeake College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Maryland list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Chesapeake College go into careers with an average salary of $36,301 during the early years of their career.
Baltimore City Community College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Colleges in Maryland list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Baltimore City Community College go into careers with an average salary of $36,025 during the early years of their career.
Community College of Baltimore County came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Maryland ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $43,729 during the early years of their career..
Salisbury University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Maryland ranking, coming in at #12.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Salisbury go into careers with an average salary of $61,515 during the early years of their career.
Prince George’s Community College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Maryland ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from PGCC make an average of $47,548 per year during the early years of their career.
Anne Arundel Community College came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Maryland ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from AACC make an average of $46,219 a year.
Howard Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Maryland ranking, coming in at #15.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from HCC is $49,020 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #16, Hagerstown Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Maryland list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from HCC make an average of $41,615 per year during the early years of their career.
Notre Dame of Maryland University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Maryland 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. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from NDMU is $65,344 during the early years of their career.
Stevenson University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Maryland ranking, coming in at #18.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Stevenson make an average of $62,079 per year during the early years of their career.
University of Baltimore ranked #19 on this year’s Best Colleges in Maryland list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UB is $61,335 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #20, Mount St Mary’s University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Maryland list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $64,072 during the early years of their career..
College of Southern Maryland did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Maryland ranking, coming in at #21.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from CSM make an average of $44,435 per year during the early years of their career.
Frederick Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Maryland ranking, coming in at #22.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $46,449 during the early years of their career..
McDaniel College ranked #23 on this year’s Best Colleges in Maryland list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from McDaniel is $60,663 during the early years of their career.
St Mary’s College of Maryland came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Maryland ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from SMCM go into careers with an average salary of $60,110 during the early years of their career.
Allegany College of Maryland ranked #25 on this year’s Best Colleges in Maryland list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Allegany College of Maryland go into careers with an average salary of $38,476 during the early years of their career.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.