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 Virginia Colleges ranking - to help you make that decision.
After analyzing 57 schools in Virginia, we came up with our list of those that offered the highest quality education. 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.
Since one ranking on its own is not enough to give you a complete understanding of your educational options, you can refine this list by location and field of study. We've also developed a number of other tools and rankings based on other factors. These other rankings highlight colleges that excel in other factors such as value or diversity as well as schools that excel in serving different groups of students such as veterans or returnings adults.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering!
Learn more about these excellent schools below: Our analysis found University of Virginia - Main Campus to be the best school for overall quality in Virginia in this year’s ranking. The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 89%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. During the early years of their career, graduates from University of Virginia make an average of $86,863 a year. You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Virginia Tech. The school came in at #2 in Virginia on this year’s overall quality ranking. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech make an average of $81,698 per year during the early years of their career. A rank of #3 on our Best Colleges in Virginia list means Washington and Lee University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. Bachelor’s degree students at the school tend to finish their degree on-time. The 4-year graduation rate is 91%, which is impressive compared to the national rate of 33%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Washington and Lee is $94,810 during the early years of their career. You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend George Mason University. The school came in at #4 in Virginia on this year’s overall quality ranking. During the early years of their career, graduates from GMU make an average of $76,343 a year. You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend William & Mary. It ranked #5 on our 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia list. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, 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 $73,490 during the early years of their career..1
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University of Richmond came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Virginia ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from URichmond make an average of $76,178 per year during the early years of their career.
James Madison University landed the #7 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia ranking. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. During the early years of their career, graduates from JMU make an average of $69,954 a year. Virginia Commonwealth University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Colleges in Virginia list. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from VCU is $58,128 during the early years of their career. Northern Virginia Community College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges in Virginia list. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Northern Virginia Community College make an average of $53,557 per year during the early years of their career. ECPI University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia ranking, coming in at #10. 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 $42,837 during the early years of their career..7
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Liberty University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia ranking, coming in at #11.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.0%, 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 $44,813 during the early years of their career..
Southside Virginia Community College landed the #12 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia ranking. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Southside Virginia Community College go into careers with an average salary of $32,371 during the early years of their career. With a ranking of #13, Shenandoah University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia list. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Shenandoah make an average of $58,433 per year during the early years of their career. Marymount University landed the #14 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia ranking. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $67,516 during the early years of their career.. Christopher Newport University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Virginia ranking. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $60,509 during the early years of their career..121314
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Old Dominion University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia ranking, coming in at #16.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion make an average of $54,914 per year during the early years of their career.
Bryant & Stratton College - Virginia Beach ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges in Virginia list. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $32,568 during the early years of their career.. Patrick Henry Community College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Virginia ranking. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $33,323 during the early years of their career.. University of Mary Washington did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia ranking, coming in at #19. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UMW go into careers with an average salary of $60,613 during the early years of their career. With a ranking of #20, Radford University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia list. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Radford is $53,739 during the early years of their career.171819
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Regent University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia ranking, coming in at #21.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $44,498 during the early years of their career..
Virginia Highlands Community College landed the #22 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia ranking. During the early years of their career, graduates from VHCC make an average of $32,681 a year. With a ranking of #23, Virginia Military Institute did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia list. The 4-year grad rate at the school is 76%. 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 $77,369 during the early years of their career.. Hampden - Sydney College landed the #24 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Virginia ranking. The student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Hampden - Sydney is $67,640 during the early years of their career. Roanoke College came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Virginia ranking. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Roanoke make an average of $58,047 per year during the early years of their career.2223
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.