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 New Hampshire Colleges ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
After analyzing 17 schools in New Hampshire, we came up with our list of those that offered the highest quality education. 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 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:
Dartmouth College tops this year’s ranking as the best school in New Hampshire for overall quality.
With a freshman retention rate of 98%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $97,434 during the early years of their career..
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of New Hampshire - Main Campus helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in New Hampshire.
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 UNH make an average of $66,479 per year during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Southern New Hampshire University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in New Hampshire.
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 SNHU is $50,318 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #4 on our Best Colleges in New Hampshire list means Saint Anselm College is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, 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 St. Anselm College is $73,371 during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend River Valley Community College. The school came in at #5 in New Hampshire on this year’s overall quality ranking.
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 $44,700 during the early years of their career..
University of New Hampshire at Manchester landed the #6 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in New Hampshire ranking.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 7 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 UNH Manchester is $66,479 during the early years of their career.
Read full report on University of New Hampshire at Manchester
With a ranking of #7, Rivier University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in New Hampshire list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Rivier make an average of $52,248 per year during the early years of their career.
Keene State College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in New Hampshire ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Keene State make an average of $54,368 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #9, Plymouth State University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in New Hampshire list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Plymouth State make an average of $57,304 a year.
With a ranking of #10, NHTI-Concord’s Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in New Hampshire list.
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% Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $48,943 during the early years of their career..
Colby - Sawyer College landed the #11 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in New Hampshire ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Colby - Sawyer is $46,474 during the early years of their career.
Nashua Community College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Colleges in New Hampshire 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 $46,164 during the early years of their career..
New England College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in New Hampshire ranking.
The impressive student-to-faculty rate of 7 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. During the early years of their career, graduates from NEC make an average of $42,092 a year.
Franklin Pierce University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in New Hampshire ranking, coming in at #14.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Franklin Pierce make an average of $53,353 a year.
Granite State College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in New Hampshire ranking, coming in at #15.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from GSC make an average of $51,254 per year during the early years of their career.
White Mountains Community College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in New Hampshire ranking.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty rate of 7 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 White Mountains Community College go into careers with an average salary of $35,037 during the early years of their career.
Great Bay Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in New Hampshire ranking, coming in at #17.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Great Bay Community College make an average of $42,397 a year.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 17 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.