by our College Data Analytics TeamIt's not easy to decide which college to attend when you have so many options available. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our Top Mississippi Colleges ranking - to help you make that decision.
Our analysis looked at 24 schools in Mississippi to determine which ones 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 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:
University of Mississippi tops this year’s ranking as the best school in Mississippi for overall quality.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Ole Miss go into careers with an average salary of $50,994 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #2 on our Best Colleges in Mississippi list means Mississippi State University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $51,513 during the early years of their career..
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Mississippi Delta Community College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Mississippi.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $28,421 during the early years of their career..
Out of the 24 schools in Mississippi that were part of this year’s ranking, Hinds Community College landed the #4 spot on the list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Hinds Community College make an average of $30,774 a year.
Out of the 24 schools in Mississippi that were part of this year’s ranking, Mississippi College landed the #5 spot on the 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% During the early years of their career, graduates from MC make an average of $47,485 a year.
Mississippi University for Women ranked #6 on this year’s Best Colleges in Mississippi list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from MUW make an average of $46,128 per year during the early years of their career.
William Carey University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Colleges in Mississippi list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $43,087 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #8, University of Southern Mississippi did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Mississippi list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Southern Miss is $44,140 during the early years of their career.
Holmes Community College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges in Mississippi list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Holmes Community College go into careers with an average salary of $32,922 during the early years of their career.
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College landed the #10 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Mississippi ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College make an average of $33,017 per year during the early years of their career.
Read full report on Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
Belhaven University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Mississippi ranking.
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. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Belhaven make an average of $46,440 per year during the early years of their career.
Itawamba Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Mississippi ranking, coming in at #12.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from ICC go into careers with an average salary of $32,912 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #13, Northwest Mississippi Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Mississippi list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $36,396 during the early years of their career..
Meridian Community College came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Mississippi ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $31,002 during the early years of their career..
Pearl River Community College ranked #15 on this year’s Best Colleges in Mississippi list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $33,019 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #16, Jackson State University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Mississippi list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Jackson State go into careers with an average salary of $39,060 during the early years of their career.
Coahoma Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Mississippi ranking, coming in at #17.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Coahoma Community College go into careers with an average salary of $24,289 during the early years of their career.
East Central Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Mississippi ranking, coming in at #18.
During the early years of their career, graduates from East Central Community College make an average of $32,421 a year.
East Mississippi Community College ranked #19 on this year’s Best Colleges in Mississippi list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $33,772 during the early years of their career..
Delta State University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Mississippi ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Delta State University go into careers with an average salary of $41,991 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #21, Alcorn State University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Mississippi list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Alcorn State make an average of $36,421 per year during the early years of their career.
Blue Mountain College landed the #22 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Mississippi ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $40,421 during the early years of their career..
Northeast Mississippi Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Mississippi ranking, coming in at #23.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Northeast Mississippi Community College make an average of $34,081 a year.
Jones County Junior College ranked #24 on this year’s Best Colleges in Mississippi list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Jones County Junior College is $33,377 during the early years of their career.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 24 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.