by our College Data Analytics TeamThere are lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Top Minnesota Colleges ranking.
We analyzed 52 colleges and universities across Minnesota to determine which 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 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 Minnesota - Twin Cities tops this year’s ranking as the best school in Minnesota for overall quality.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $69,020 during the early years of their career..
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of St Thomas Minnesota. The school came in at #2 in Minnesota on this year’s overall quality ranking.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, 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 $73,739 during the early years of their career..
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Rasmussen University - Minnesota helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Minnesota.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Rasmussen University - Minnesota make an average of $39,080 a year.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Carleton College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Minnesota.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. During the early years of their career, graduates from Carleton make an average of $75,525 a year.
Out of the 52 schools in Minnesota that were part of this year’s ranking, Hennepin Technical College landed the #5 spot on the list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Hennepin Technical College go into careers with an average salary of $49,460 during the early years of their career.
St Olaf College landed the #6 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Minnesota ranking.
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 St. Olaf go into careers with an average salary of $65,543 during the early years of their career.
Winona State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Minnesota ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Winona State go into careers with an average salary of $58,532 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #8, Macalester College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Minnesota list.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. During the early years of their career, graduates from Macalester make an average of $63,878 a year.
St Catherine University landed the #9 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Minnesota ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from St. Kate’s is $59,282 during the early years of their career.
Central Lakes College - Brainerd ranked #10 on this year’s Best Colleges in Minnesota list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Central Lakes College is $42,162 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #11, Minnesota State University - Mankato did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Minnesota list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Minnesota State Mankato go into careers with an average salary of $56,922 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #12, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Minnesota list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $58,170 during the early years of their career..
University of Northwestern - St Paul came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Minnesota ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Northwestern make an average of $50,755 a year.
Bethel University Minnesota landed the #14 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Minnesota ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $63,764 during the early years of their career..
Century College ranked #15 on this year’s Best Colleges in Minnesota list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Century College make an average of $46,424 per year during the early years of their career.
The College of Saint Scholastica came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Minnesota ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from St. Scholastica make an average of $65,934 a year.
University of Minnesota - Duluth did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Minnesota ranking, coming in at #17.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UMN Duluth is $62,616 during the early years of their career.
Normandale Community College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Minnesota ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Normandale Community College make an average of $50,207 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #19, Saint Johns University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Minnesota list.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. During the early years of their career, graduates from SJU make an average of $76,786 a year.
Hamline University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Minnesota ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Hamline make an average of $61,106 a year.
College of Saint Benedict did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Minnesota ranking, coming in at #21.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, 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 $63,260 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #22, Rochester Community and Technical College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Minnesota list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Rochester Community and Technical College make an average of $45,287 a year.
With a ranking of #23, Dakota County Technical College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Minnesota list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from DCTC make an average of $51,938 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #24, St Cloud Technical and Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Minnesota list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from St Cloud Technical and Community College make an average of $46,874 a year.
Minneapolis Community and Technical College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Minnesota ranking, coming in at #25.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Minneapolis Community and Technical College is $40,086 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.