1
University of Kentucky tops this year’s ranking as the best school in Kentucky for overall quality.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UK go into careers with an average salary of $59,025 during the early years of their career.
by our College Data Analytics TeamThere are lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our Top Kentucky Colleges ranking - to help you make that decision.
Our analysis looked at 39 schools in Kentucky 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'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:
University of Kentucky tops this year’s ranking as the best school in Kentucky for overall quality.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UK go into careers with an average salary of $59,025 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #2 on our Best Colleges in Kentucky list means University of Louisville is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UofL is $53,899 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 39 schools in Kentucky that were part of this year’s ranking, Centre College landed the #3 spot on the list.
The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 82%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Centre College of Kentucky go into careers with an average salary of $66,240 during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Sullivan University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Kentucky.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Sullivan University go into careers with an average salary of $38,008 during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Northern Kentucky University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Kentucky.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from NKU make an average of $50,220 per year during the early years of their career.
Western Kentucky University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky 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% Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from WKU make an average of $43,889 per year during the early years of their career.
Bellarmine University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky ranking, coming in at #7.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Bellarmine U is $62,069 during the early years of their career.
Thomas More University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Thomas More make an average of $59,384 a year.
University of the Cumberlands ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Cumberlands is $45,036 during the early years of their career.
Lindsey Wilson College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $41,129 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #11, Asbury University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $42,368 during the early years of their career..
Eastern Kentucky University landed the #12 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $45,795 during the early years of their career..
Jefferson Community and Technical College ranked #13 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Jefferson Community and Technical College make an average of $38,171 per year during the early years of their career.
Bluegrass Community and Technical College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Bluegrass Community and Technical College make an average of $36,343 per year during the early years of their career.
Read full report on Bluegrass Community and Technical College
Transylvania University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Transylvania go into careers with an average salary of $54,705 during the early years of their career.
Murray State University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Murray State make an average of $44,737 a year.
Spalding University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
The impressive student-to-faculty rate of 9 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 $49,438 during the early years of their career..
Brescia University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Kentucky 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 Brescia University go into careers with an average salary of $45,500 during the early years of their career.
Gateway Community and Technical College came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Kentucky ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Gateway go into careers with an average salary of $36,147 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #20, Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from SKYCTC is $34,242 during the early years of their career.
Read full report on Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College ranked #21 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Elizabethtown Community and Technical College make an average of $36,143 per year during the early years of their career.
Read full report on Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
Owensboro Community and Technical College ranked #22 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Owensboro Community and Technical College make an average of $35,798 per year during the early years of their career.
Campbellsville University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky ranking, coming in at #23.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Campbellsville University make an average of $41,583 per year during the early years of their career.
Hopkinsville Community College landed the #24 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Kentucky ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Hopkinsville Community College is $36,323 during the early years of their career.
West Kentucky Community and Technical College ranked #25 on this year’s Best Colleges in Kentucky list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from West Kentucky Community and Technical College is $34,891 during the early years of their career.
View Best Colleges Nationwide >
All Majors and Fields of Study >
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.