The Top U.S. Colleges With the Greatest Economic Diversity

By David Leonhardt and Ashley Wu Sep. 7, 2023

As part of this week’s Education Issue of the magazine, The New York Times is publishing the College-Access Index, a list of the country’s most-selective universities ranked in order of economic diversity. The Times first published the College-Access Index in 2014 and most recently in 2017.

For this updated version, we have measured economic diversity by analyzing the share of students receiving Pell Grants, which typically go to students from the bottom half of the income distribution. The list covers the 286 most-selective colleges in the country, defined by Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges and other metrics. The colleges, both public and private, together educate about 2.7 million undergraduates. Here, you see each college’s Pell share for the entering class in 2020-21, compared with the 2010-11 share. Leading the list is Berea College, a Kentucky school that focuses on lower-income students.

The data show that over the past decade, some of these selective colleges, especially those with large endowments, have enrolled more students who are economically disadvantaged; at the same time, however, most schools have seen their number of these students decrease. Studying these numbers is particularly important in the wake of two important developments this year in higher education: the Supreme Court’s decision to do away with race-based affirmative action and the decision by some schools to abandon or reduce legacy admissions. Each put a new renewed focus on institutional efforts to consider wealth in making admissions decisions. This list shows us how schools are doing.

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Pell rank	College	Freshmen Pell share	Endowment per student
	Overall average	21%	$436,000
1	Berea College	94%	$1,066,000
2	Salem College	69%	$155,000
3	CUNY Baruch College	56%	$19,000
4	College of Mount St. Vincent	52%	$17,000
5	College of the Ozarks	50%	$403,000
6	Agnes Scott College	47%	$237,000
6	Florida International University	47%	$7,000
8	Pacific Union College	43%	$42,000
9	Houghton College	42%	$92,000
9	University of New Mexico	42%	$43,000
11	Brescia University	41%	$24,000
11	Stockton University	41%	$5,000
13	Earlham College	40%	$619,000
13	Lake Forest College	40%	$62,000
13	Millsaps College	40%	$148,000
16	Christian Brothers University	39%	$35,000
16	Hampshire College	39%	$110,000
16	Lyon College	39%	$173,000
16	Stony Brook University	39%	$19,000
16	University of California, Irvine	39%	$24,000
21	King University	38%	$24,000
21	Loyola University New Orleans	38%	$80,000
23	Beloit College	37%	$88,000
23	University of the Pacific	37%	$168,000
25	Knox College	35%	$188,000
25	New College of Florida	35%	$78,000
25	Willamette University	35%	$270,000
28	Mount St. Mary’s University	34%	$30,000
28	New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology	34%	$71,000
28	Southwestern University	34%	$235,000
28	University at Buffalo	34%	$45,000
32	Allegheny College	33%	$182,000
32	College of the Atlantic	33%	$237,000
32	Hanover College	33%	$176,000
35	Austin College	32%	$150,000
35	Illinois Institute of Technology	32%	$100,000
35	Rowan University	32%	$23,000
35	University of Idaho	32%	$53,000
35	University of Montana	32%	$45,000
35	William Jewell College	32%	$91,000
41	University of Dallas	31%	$69,000
41	University of Evansville	31%	$91,000
43	Bennington College	30%	$58,000
43	Kalamazoo College	30%	$211,000
43	Ramapo College of New Jersey	30%	$3,000
43	Rochester Institute of Technology	30%	$112,000
43	University of California, Davis	30%	$20,000
48	Cooper Union	29%	$1,129,000
48	Cornell College	29%	$90,000
48	Louisiana State University	29%	$28,000
48	Mount Holyoke College	29%	$508,000
48	Transylvania University	29%	$211,000
48	University of Nevada, Reno	29%	$30,000
48	University of South Florida	29%	$19,000
48	University of Texas, Austin	29%	$160,000
56	George Mason University	28%	$7,000
56	Hendrix College	28%	$210,000
56	Hobart and William Smith Colleges	28%	$159,000
56	University of California, Santa Barbara	28%	$16,000
56	University of Central Florida	28%	$4,000
61	Augustana College	27%	$88,000
61	University of Alaska, Fairbanks	27%	$40,000
63	Bard College	26%	$75,000
63	Binghamton University	26%	$9,000
63	Illinois Wesleyan University	26%	$168,000
63	Rutgers University	26%	$40,000
63	SUNY College at Geneseo	26%	$8,000
63	University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign	26%	$68,000
63	University of Maine	26%	$50,000
63	University of Nebraska, Lincoln	26%	$71,000
71	Florida State University	25%	$28,000
71	Franklin & Marshall College	25%	$213,000
71	Gustavus Adolphus College	25%	$124,000
71	Macalester College	25%	$380,000
71	Rollins College	25%	$157,000
71	St. John’s College	25%	$337,000
71	St. John’s College	25%	$380,000
71	Susquehanna University	25%	$84,000
71	University of Arizona	25%	$37,000
71	University of California, Berkeley	25%	$91,000
81	Bard College at Simon’s Rock	24%	$300
81	Berry College	24%	$614,000
81	Hofstra University	24%	$143,000
81	Lawrence University	24%	$335,000
81	University of Alabama, Huntsville	24%	$14,000
81	University of California, San Diego	24%	$37,000
81	University of Oregon	24%	$67,000
81	University of South Dakota	24%	$57,000
81	University of Texas, Dallas	24%	$40,000
81	University of Utah	24%	$61,000
91	Claremont McKenna College	23%	$991,000
91	College of Wooster	23%	$213,000
91	St. Mary’s College of Maryland	23%	$28,000
91	University of Hawaii, Manoa	23%	$5,000
91	University of Oklahoma	23%	$5,000
91	University of Rhode Island	23%	$23,000
91	University of Tennessee	23%	$43,000
91	West Virginia University	23%	$37,000
91	Wheaton College	23%	$144,000
100	Centre College	22%	$320,000
100	Grinnell College	22%	$1,994,000
100	Harvard University	22%	$6,768,000
100	Loyola University Chicago	22%	$77,000
100	Milwaukee School of Engineering	22%	$36,000
100	St. Lawrence University	22%	$179,000
100	St. Olaf College	22%	$240,000
100	Swarthmore College	22%	$1,920,000
100	Thomas Aquinas College	22%	$58,000
100	University of California, Los Angeles	22%	$93,000
100	University of Connecticut	22%	$31,000
100	University of Florida	22%	$68,000
100	University of Kentucky	22%	$88,000
100	University of Mississippi	22%	$53,000
100	University of Tulsa	22%	$475,000
100	Wellesley College	22%	$1,244,000
100	Wheaton College	22%	$279,000
117	Amherst College	21%	$2,133,000
117	Columbia University	21%	$1,702,000
117	Fordham University	21%	$99,000
117	Marquette University	21%	$114,000
117	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	21%	$6,406,000
117	Michigan Technological University	21%	$28,000
117	Pepperdine University	21%	$277,000
117	Pomona College	21%	$1,981,000
117	Seattle University	21%	$74,000
117	Trinity University	21%	$695,000
117	Truman State University	21%	$19,000
117	University of Missouri	21%	$63,000
117	University of New Hampshire	21%	$40,000
117	University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill	21%	$276,000
117	University of Southern California	21%	$382,000
117	Yale University	21%	$6,772,000
133	Boston University	20%	$158,000
133	Chapman University	20%	$76,000
133	Clark University	20%	$214,000
133	Dickinson College	20%	$291,000
133	Drake University	20%	$100,000
133	Gettysburg College	20%	$159,000
133	Johns Hopkins University	20%	$1,347,000
133	Muhlenberg College	20%	$145,000
133	Northwestern University	20%	$1,288,000
133	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	20%	$156,000
133	Stanford University	20%	$5,969,000
133	Stevens Institute of Technology	20%	$66,000
133	Texas A&M University	20%	$329,000
133	University of Kansas	20%	$132,000
133	University of Massachusetts, Amherst	20%	$20,000
133	Williams College	20%	$1,872,000
149	Babson College	19%	$244,000
149	Cedarville University	19%	$12,000
149	Colorado College	19%	$421,000
149	Emory University	19%	$1,557,000
149	Indiana University, Bloomington	19%	$50,000
149	Lehigh University	19%	$316,000
149	Lewis & Clark College	19%	$157,000
149	Loyola University Maryland	19%	$78,000
149	Middlebury College	19%	$561,000
149	Smith College	19%	$1,103,000
149	St. Louis University	19%	$195,000
149	University of Alabama	19%	$41,000
149	University of Pennsylvania	19%	$1,839,000
149	University of Rochester	19%	$404,000
149	University of South Carolina	19%	$27,000
149	University of the South	19%	$305,000
149	Vassar College	19%	$568,000
166	American University	18%	$110,000
166	Barnard College	18%	$166,000
166	College of New Jersey	18%	$8,000
166	Cornell University	18%	$626,000
166	Hamilton College	18%	$685,000
166	New York University	18%	$191,000
166	North Carolina State University	18%	$79,000
166	Occidental College	18%	$302,000
166	Princeton University	18%	$7,748,000
166	Syracuse University	18%	$106,000
166	University of Arkansas	18%	$77,000
166	University of Iowa	18%	$148,000
166	University of Minnesota	18%	$153,000
166	University of Puget Sound	18%	$241,000
166	University of San Diego	18%	$127,000
166	University of Washington	18%	$146,000
166	Ursinus College	18%	$106,000
166	Vanderbilt University	18%	$1,536,000
166	Wesleyan University	18%	$508,000
166	Wofford College	18%	$244,000
186	Brandeis University	17%	$318,000
186	Bryn Mawr College	17%	$886,000
186	Carleton College	17%	$618,000
186	Case Western Reserve University	17%	$412,000
186	Connecticut College	17%	$226,000
186	Dartmouth College	17%	$1,969,000
186	DePauw University	17%	$444,000
186	George Washington University	17%	$220,000
186	Georgia College & State University	17%	$12,000
186	Hope College	17%	$101,000
186	Kettering University	17%	$59,000
186	Missouri University of Science and Technology	17%	$50,000
186	Ohio State University	17%	$152,000
186	Providence College	17%	$74,000
186	Rice University	17%	$1,941,000
186	University of Delaware	17%	$102,000
186	University of North Dakota	17%	$40,000
186	University of Pittsburgh	17%	$278,000
186	University of Richmond	17%	$1,014,000
186	University of Wisconsin, Madison	17%	$180,000
186	University of Wyoming	17%	$94,000
207	Baylor University	16%	$122,000
207	Belmont University	16%	$58,000
207	Bowdoin College	16%	$1,548,000
207	Gonzaga University	16%	$82,000
207	Haverford College	16%	$458,000
207	Rhodes College	16%	$215,000
207	Taylor University	16%	$61,000
207	University of Denver	16%	$184,000
207	University of Georgia	16%	$63,000
207	University of Michigan	16%	$535,000
207	Virginia Polytechnic Institute	16%	$54,000
207	Washington University in St. Louis	16%	$1,773,000
207	Whitman College	16%	$608,000
220	Bentley University	15%	$89,000
220	Butler University	15%	$63,000
220	Davidson College	15%	$661,000
220	Endicott College	15%	$40,000
220	Quinnipiac University	15%	$116,000
220	Sarah Lawrence College	15%	$107,000
220	Stonehill College	15%	$128,000
220	Trinity College	15%	$376,000
220	University of Maryland, College Park	15%	$32,000
220	University of Vermont	15%	$67,000
230	Brown University	14%	$1,002,000
230	California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo	14%	$14,000
230	Calvin University	14%	$76,000
230	Carnegie Mellon University	14%	$477,000
230	Colby College	14%	$508,000
230	Denison University	14%	$526,000
230	Emerson College	14%	$65,000
230	Georgetown University	14%	$355,000
230	Miami University	14%	$40,000
230	Olin College of Engineering	14%	$1,560,000
230	Pitzer College	14%	$211,000
230	Purdue University	14%	$101,000
230	Texas Christian University	14%	$207,000
230	Union College	14%	$294,000
230	University of Chicago	14%	$1,361,000
230	University of Colorado, Boulder	14%	—
230	University of Miami	14%	$120,000
230	Westmont College	14%	$72,000
248	Clemson University	13%	$47,000
248	Colgate University	13%	$407,000
248	College of the Holy Cross	13%	$331,000
248	Colorado School of Mines	13%	$68,000
248	Creighton University	13%	$150,000
248	Harvey Mudd College	13%	$505,000
248	Northeastern University	13%	$82,000
248	Pennsylvania State University	13%	$72,000
248	University of Virginia	13%	$598,000
257	Boston College	12%	$379,000
257	Brigham Young University	12%	$78,000
257	Duke University	12%	$1,607,000
257	Georgia Institute of Technology	12%	$183,000
257	Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology	12%	$145,000
257	Skidmore College	12%	$192,000
257	University of Notre Dame	12%	$1,868,000
257	Villanova University	12%	$144,000
265	Auburn University	11%	$41,000
265	Furman University	11%	$336,000
265	Reed College	11%	$553,000
265	Tufts University	11%	$411,000
265	William & Mary	11%	$209,000
265	Yeshiva University	11%	$197,000
271	Bucknell University	10%	$295,000
271	California Institute of Technology	10%	$4,597,000
271	Kenyon College	10%	$294,000
271	Lafayette College	10%	$408,000
271	Loyola Marymount University	10%	$98,000
271	Wake Forest University	10%	$339,000
271	Washington and Lee University	10%	$1,216,000
271	Worcester Polytechnic Institute	10%	$126,000
279	Elon University	9%	$53,000
279	Santa Clara University	9%	$275,000
279	Scripps College	9%	$570,000
279	Southern Methodist University	9%	$291,000
283	Bates College	8%	$248,000
283	Fairfield University	8%	$94,000
283	Oberlin College	8%	$438,000
283	Tulane University	8%	$225,000

Methodology

To measure top colleges’ efforts on economic diversity, The New York Times worked with experts at Ithaka S+R, a higher-education research group, to analyze data reported by schools to the Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics. The data shown includes any Title IV-granting, nonmilitary institution — with at least 250 total undergraduate students in the 2020-21 school year — that was rated in the top four Barron’s selectivity categories in 2009 or 2016. The data also includes all state flagships.

Freshmen Pell share: Percent of first-year first-time students enrolled in each college who received Pell grants — subsidies from the federal government for low-income students to pay for college — in the 2020-21 school year.

Pell change since 2011: Percentage point change of freshmen Pell share in each college between the 2010-11 and the 2020-21 school year.

Total undergrads: A school’s total undergraduate student population in the 2020-21 school year. Data is rounded to the nearest 100.

Endowment per student: A school’s total endowment as of June 2021 divided by the number of undergraduate students (a common measure of how wealthy the school is). A school is considered highly endowed if its endowment per student is at least $1 million. Data is rounded to the nearest 1,000.

Net price, mid-income: The net price of a school is the total cost of attendance — sum of published tuition, room and board, books and supplies and other fees — minus the average amount per entering student of federal, state or local government or institutional grant and scholarship aid. Mid-income describes a family income of between $48,001 and $75,000 per year. Data for the 2020-21 school year is shown, and is rounded to the nearest 100.

Other notes:

The most recent comparable data for Pennsylvania State University is as of the 2017-18 school year.

The University of Colorado reports endowment data only for the system as a whole. Data for Boulder alone is not available.

Ramapo reports endowment data through 2015, but no recent endowment data is available through IPEDS.

Houghton College became Houghton University in 2022.