Best Colleges in Tennessee 2026

Tennessee has 88 colleges and universities in our database; 69 report the graduation-rate data our ranking requires. The top 25 are ranked below by a fixed four-factor formula: 6-year graduation rate (30%), median earnings 10 years after entry (30%), admission selectivity (20%), and in-state tuition affordability (20%).

Schools Ranked

$48,567

Avg. Earnings

59.6%

Avg. Graduation Rate

Top 25 Schools

College rankings
#	School	Graduation Rate	Median Earnings	Acceptance Rate	In-State Tuition
1	Vanderbilt University Nashville, Tennessee	92.7%	$91,565	6.7%	$63,946
2	Baptist Health Sciences University Memphis, Tennessee	53.8%	$72,529	40.9%	$13,846
3	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, Tennessee	73.5%	$60,249	68.4%	$13,484
4	Chattanooga College Medical Dental and & Technical Careers Chattanooga, Tennessee	87.4%	$25,954		$10,690
5	Bryan College-Dayton Dayton, Tennessee	55.9%	$54,434		$18,900
6	The University of the South Sewanee, Tennessee	82.4%	$64,911	52.3%	$53,698
7	Rhodes College Memphis, Tennessee	81.6%	$66,651	53.9%	$54,892
8	North Central Institute Clarksville, Tennessee	84.6%	$55,027
9	Welch College Gallatin, Tennessee	61.4%	$42,198		$20,796
10	Union University Jackson, Tennessee	70.9%	$53,990	52.6%	$38,450
11	Visible Music College Memphis, Tennessee	48.3%	$35,933	20.4%	$22,000
12	Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, Tennessee	54.0%	$48,541	72.5%	$9,506
13	Tennessee Technological University Cookeville, Tennessee	54.2%	$48,501	78.1%	$10,084
14	Johnson University Knoxville, Tennessee	62.2%	$40,596	63.2%	$20,318
15	The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Chattanooga, Tennessee	53.1%	$51,151	82.7%	$10,144
16	Williamson Christian College Franklin, Tennessee	50.0%	$37,474		$15,010
17	William R Moore College of Technology Memphis, Tennessee	47.4%	$32,194		$9,678
18	Walters State Community College Morristown, Tennessee	36.0%	$37,085		$4,519
19	Fortis Institute-Nashville Nashville, Tennessee	51.8%	$32,886		$15,237
20	Lipscomb University Nashville, Tennessee	68.7%	$55,541	71.1%	$38,824
21	SAE Institute of Technology-Nashville Nashville, Tennessee	45.8%	$39,544		$17,027
22	Roane State Community College Harriman, Tennessee	32.1%	$39,407		$4,762
23	Tennessee State University Nashville, Tennessee	33.0%	$42,730		$8,568
24	Southern Adventist University Collegedale, Tennessee	51.4%	$53,723	65.8%	$25,590
25	Remington College-Nashville Campus Nashville, Tennessee	58.4%	$31,349		$21,230