Best Colleges in America 2022

Best Colleges in the South

The south is home to some of Money’s top-ranking public universities, as well as prestigious private colleges. Here are the 50 schools with the highest scores.
Published on May 16, 2022. Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Peterson’s, Money/Witlytic calculations.
College Name
Overall Score
Acceptance rate
Est. full price 2022-23
Est. price with average grant
% of students who get any grants
Graduation rate
Early career earnings
Rank College Name Overall Score
1

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC

86.22
86.22 23% $25,200 $10,600 53% 89% $61,920
2

University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA

86.11
86.11 24% $36,700 $20,100 48% 94% $77,050
3

Duke University

Durham, NC

86.03
86.03 8% $79,200 $28,400 58% 96% $93,120
4

Georgetown University

Washington, DC

85.69
85.69 14% $81,000 $32,400 41% 94% $96,380
5

Virginia Military Institute

Lexington, VA

85.14
85.14 60% $33,300 $20,000 85% 78% $71,910
6

Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA

84.87
84.87 21% $30,600 $18,400 71% 87% $88,200
7

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

83.65
83.65 37% $22,000 $10,600 85% 88% $64,460
8

Rice University

Houston, TX

83.01
83.01 9% $71,500 $20,300 64% 94% $77,680
9

Washington and Lee University

Lexington, VA

82.39
82.39 19% $79,800 $28,700 61% 95% $86,020
10

Berea College

Berea, KY

81.28
81.28 30% $57,200 $5,200 100% 63% $37,150
11

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Blacksburg, VA

80.97
80.97 70% $28,500 $21,400 57% 83% $73,160
12

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

79.84
79.84 9% $78,200 $27,200 65% 93% $79,870
13

Texas A & M University-College Station

College Station, TX

79.45
79.45 58% $32,300 $21,000 62% 82% $66,570
14

The University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX

77.77
77.77 32% $29,700 $17,800 49% 83% $67,840
15

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC

76.67
76.67 30% $79,400 $27,800 48% 88% $74,970
16

Centre College

Danville, KY

74.82
74.82 76% $60,400 $24,000 98% 81% $57,980
17

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

74.68
74.68 87% $30,800 $19,300 59% 70% $66,150
18

Davidson College

Davidson, NC

74.62
74.62 18% $75,200 $30,200 73% 89% $71,670
19

North Carolina State University at Raleigh

Raleigh, NC

74.28
74.28 45% $25,200 $15,400 56% 78% $61,350
20

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Edinburg, TX

74.15
74.15 80% $22,300 $4,700 84% 48% $45,900
21

Citadel Military College of South Carolina

Charleston, SC

73.86
73.86 75% $31,300 $18,900 65% 71% $67,770
22

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

73.37
73.37 77% $29,600 $19,600 35% 84% $61,270
23

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL

73.20
73.20 36% $23,800 $13,500 85% 82% $53,450
24

University of Georgia

Athens, GA

72.87
72.87 45% $28,400 $17,500 88% 84% $59,770
25

University of North Texas at Dallas

Dallas, TX

72.71
72.71 47% $23,300 $9,000 85% 30% N/A
26

William & Mary

Williamsburg, VA

72.47
72.47 38% $41,200 $19,600 48% 91% $64,720
27

University of Central Florida

Orlando, FL

71.95
71.95 44% $23,500 $11,700 72% 72% $51,910
28

Emory University

Atlanta, GA

71.61
71.61 16% $74,900 $27,100 60% 90% $72,360
29

John Brown University

Siloam Springs, AR

70.82
70.82 76% $42,700 $22,800 76% 65% $51,790
30

Florida International University

Miami, FL

70.56
70.56 58% $24,500 $9,500 74% 57% $54,500
31

University of Richmond

Richmond, VA

70.50
70.50 28% $74,500 $27,100 72% 87% $69,310
32

West Texas A & M University

Canyon, TX

69.57
69.57 69% $22,400 $13,800 77% 42% $45,740
33

Texas A & M International University

Laredo, TX

69.49
69.49 54% $21,500 $4,400 83% 44% $46,820
34

Clemson University

Clemson, SC

69.21
69.21 51% $33,800 $24,200 82% 83% $63,860
35

Appalachian State University

Boone, NC

68.50
68.50 77% $20,800 $11,300 48% 71% $45,600
36

The University of Texas at Dallas

Richardson, TX

68.27
68.27 79% $31,600 $11,800 68% 72% $60,600
37

Wofford College

Spartanburg, SC

68.01
68.01 60% $67,000 $32,100 96% 81% $67,530
38

University of Houston

Houston, TX

67.68
67.68 65% $25,300 $15,300 82% 59% $56,760
39

Oklahoma State University

Stillwater, OK

67.67
67.67 70% $24,900 $15,600 77% 61% $52,700
40

University of South Florida

Tampa, FL

67.41
67.41 48% $24,500 $10,600 67% 71% $50,260
41

Rhodes College

Memphis, TN

66.85
66.85 45% $68,300 $31,500 93% 85% $66,620
42

The University of Texas Permian Basin

Odessa, TX

66.77
66.77 88% $20,200 $7,800 56% 40% $50,010
43

University of North Carolina School of the Arts

Winston Salem, NC

66.74
66.74 29% $23,300 $12,600 63% 72% $41,160
44

Harding University

Searcy, AR

66.41
66.41 61% $34,400 $20,500 85% 67% $47,520
45

University of St Thomas

Houston, TX

66.31
66.31 87% $47,300 $21,100 79% 56% $53,220
46

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

66.21
66.21 79% $23,200 $16,300 59% 64% $47,400
47

University of North Florida

Jacksonville, FL

66.08
66.08 72% $22,100 $10,300 64% 57% $49,340
48

Trinity University

San Antonio, TX

66.00
66.00 29% $64,300 $32,900 97% 76% $65,320
49

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Greensboro, NC

64.57
64.57 82% $20,700 $10,400 63% 53% $44,200
50

Radford University

Radford, VA

64.41
64.41 75% $26,000 $16,600 82% 59% $50,380