by our College Data Analytics TeamThere are lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Top Maine Colleges ranking is part of that endeavor.
Our analysis looked at 19 schools in Maine to determine which ones 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 know that one set of rankings doesn't always help you determine the best school for you, so we've created the ability to narrow your list by location and field of study as well as alternative rankings that prioritize different factors such as those of importance to veterans and returning adults or those who value diversity and value for your money.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head!
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2025 rankings named Bowdoin College the best school in Maine in terms of overall quality for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 91%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $82,735 during the early years of their career..
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Colby College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Maine.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 89%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Colby go into careers with an average salary of $80,490 during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Bates College. The school came in at #3 in Maine on this year’s overall quality ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $69,498 during the early years of their career..
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saint Joseph’s College of Maine. It ranked #4 on our 2025 Best Colleges in Maine list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Saint Joseph’s Maine is $59,045 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Maine Maritime Academy. It ranked #5 on our 2025 Best Colleges in Maine list.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Maine Maritime make an average of $89,964 per year during the early years of their career.
University of New England did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Maine ranking, coming in at #6.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $55,921 during the early years of their career..
Unity College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Maine ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $37,852 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #8, Husson University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Maine list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Husson is $45,025 during the early years of their career.
University of Maine at Farmington did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Maine ranking, coming in at #9.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UMaine Farmington is $44,433 during the early years of their career.
University of Maine at Presque Isle did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Maine ranking, coming in at #10.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UMPI go into careers with an average salary of $40,956 during the early years of their career.
University of Southern Maine came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Maine ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from University of Southern Maine make an average of $49,958 a year.
Southern Maine Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Maine ranking, coming in at #12.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from SMCC make an average of $41,661 per year during the early years of their career.
University of Maine at Fort Kent did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Maine ranking, coming in at #13.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $51,077 during the early years of their career..
Kennebec Valley Community College landed the #14 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Maine ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Kennebec Valley Community College go into careers with an average salary of $36,035 during the early years of their career.
Central Maine Community College landed the #15 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Maine ranking.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% During the early years of their career, graduates from Central Maine Technical College make an average of $42,448 a year.
Thomas College landed the #16 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Maine ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $44,991 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #17, University of Maine at Augusta did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Maine list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UMA go into careers with an average salary of $40,342 during the early years of their career.
Eastern Maine Community College ranked #18 on this year’s Best Colleges in Maine list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Eastern Maine Community College make an average of $41,704 a year.
University of Maine ranked #19 on this year’s Best Colleges in Maine list.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from UMaine make an average of $48,653 per year during the early years of their career.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 19 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.