by our College Data Analytics TeamThere are lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its Top Arizona Colleges ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
After analyzing 26 schools in Arizona, 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.
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:
Our 2025 rankings named University of Phoenix - Arizona the best school in Arizona in terms of overall quality for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
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%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from UOPX - Arizona make an average of $37,752 per year during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Arizona State University - Tempe. It ranked #2 on our 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from ASU - Tempe is $62,668 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #3 on our Best Colleges in Arizona list means University of Arizona is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. During the early years of their career, graduates from University of Arizona make an average of $59,979 a year.
Out of the 26 schools in Arizona that were part of this year’s ranking, GateWay Community College landed the #4 spot on the list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from GateWay Community College go into careers with an average salary of $46,147 during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Grand Canyon University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Arizona.
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%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Grand Canyon University make an average of $42,186 per year during the early years of their career.
Eastern Arizona College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Arizona ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $38,018 during the early years of their career..
Northern Arizona University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Arizona ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from NAU go into careers with an average salary of $54,384 during the early years of their career.
Arizona State University - Skysong did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona ranking, coming in at #8.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $62,668 during the early years of their career..
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Arizona ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Embry-Riddle Prescott make an average of $84,131 per year during the early years of their career.
Pima Community College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Arizona ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Pima County Community College District go into careers with an average salary of $39,810 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #11, American InterContinental University - Online did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona 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%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from AIU Online is $36,144 during the early years of their career.
Mesa Community College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Arizona ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $44,034 during the early years of their career..
Phoenix College landed the #13 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Phoenix College make an average of $40,870 a year.
Estrella Mountain Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona ranking, coming in at #14.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $44,356 during the early years of their career..
Glendale Community College came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Arizona ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Glendale Community College is $43,108 during the early years of their career.
Scottsdale Community College ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges in Arizona list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Scottsdale Community College make an average of $47,905 a year.
Chandler-Gilbert Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona ranking, coming in at #17.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Chandler-Gilbert Community College make an average of $51,111 a year.
With a ranking of #18, Mohave Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from MCC is $35,522 during the early years of their career.
Rio Salado College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona ranking, coming in at #19.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Rio Salado College is $41,015 during the early years of their career.
Central Arizona College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona ranking, coming in at #20.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Pinal County Community College go into careers with an average salary of $40,513 during the early years of their career.
Cochise County Community College District ranked #21 on this year’s Best Colleges in Arizona list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $38,033 during the early years of their career..
Read full report on Cochise County Community College District
Yavapai College ranked #22 on this year’s Best Colleges in Arizona list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Yavapai College go into careers with an average salary of $39,890 during the early years of their career.
Paradise Valley Community College landed the #23 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Paradise Valley Community College go into careers with an average salary of $47,196 during the early years of their career.
South Mountain Community College ranked #24 on this year’s Best Colleges in Arizona list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from South Mountain Community College go into careers with an average salary of $39,825 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #25, Coconino Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Arizona list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Coconino Community College make an average of $40,420 per year during the early years of their career.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.