Ranked, compared, and filtered by real data: costs, outcomes, and admissions
This page collects the federal data on colleges in Rhode Island: what they cost, who gets in, and what graduates go on to earn. By UCD Score, the strongest is the cost and admissions data at Brown University, though the ranking below covers the full list.
Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the country, but it holds an outsized place in American higher education. Brown University is one of the most distinctive Ivy League institutions for its open curriculum and student-driven academic culture, and RISD is consistently ranked among the best art and design schools in the world.
The University of Rhode Island's oceanography and pharmacy programs have built reputations well beyond the state's borders, and the density of colleges in the Providence area gives students access to cross-registration and collaboration that a larger geographic footprint would make impossible.
By Ownership
By Type
See how Rhode Island's colleges compare to the national average on the four measures most students and families weigh when deciding where to go: cost, acceptance rates, graduate earnings, and graduation rates.
The colleges in Rhode Island that rank highest by UCD Score, and those that deliver above-national graduate earnings at a below-average net price, two of the strongest signals when choosing a school.
On cost-adjusted return, the top pick is the net price and earnings behind that value ranking for Johnson & Wales University-Online.
Not every student is looking for the same thing. These six panels rank Rhode Island's colleges by the data that matters most for each path.
Ranked by annual graduates
Ranked by annual graduates
Ranked by annual graduates
Ranked by net price
Ranked by enrollment
Ranked by grad earnings
Which colleges give you the most for what you spend? These eight schools rank highest in Rhode Island by the ratio of 10-year graduate earnings to annual net price.
| # | College | Net Price / yr | Earnings (10yr) | Ratio | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Community College of Rhode Island Warwick | $6,513 | $42,659 | 6.6× | Excellent |
| 2 | Rhode Island College Providence | $9,478 | $56,318 | 5.9× | Excellent |
| 3 | Brown University Providence | $25,184 | $93,487 | 3.7× | Strong |
| 4 | University of Rhode Island Kingston | $21,440 | $69,743 | 3.3× | Strong |
| 5 | Bryant University Smithfield | $41,219 | $90,008 | 2.2× | Good |
| 6 | Johnson & Wales University-Online Providence | $20,252 | $43,418 | 2.1× | Good |
| 7 | Salve Regina University Newport | $36,967 | $72,975 | 2.0× | Average |
| 8 | Roger Williams University Bristol | $37,999 | $70,266 | 1.9× | Average |
ROI Ratio = median earnings 10 years after enrollment ÷ annual net price. Higher is better.
The six fields of study with the most annual graduates across all colleges in Rhode Island, based on IPEDS completion data.
The largest by completions is what Business graduates earn nationally, a useful benchmark against the state figures above.
The specific degree programs producing the most graduates across Rhode Island's colleges. A more granular view than the Popular Majors above, useful when you already know roughly what you want to study and want to see where the volume is.
The cities in Rhode Island with the most colleges, ranked by number of institutions.
Utah crowds 14,137 students into each of its colleges, four times the national norm. These are the states where college options are scarcest per student.
There are 170 colleges that operate a medical school, and they cluster hard. Texas leads with 14, three states hold a fifth of them, and four states have none.
Northeast college graduates earn about $12,700 more a decade out than Southern ones, but they also pay thousands more to get there. The regional split, by the numbers.
Browse our full directory: every college, major, program, and career we track, all built from verified government data.
Scout uses AI and can make mistakes. Verify important numbers on the page.
