Best-Value Colleges in Indiana
20 Indiana 4-year colleges ranked by return on investment - 10-year graduate earnings per dollar of net price - among schools that beat the state median on earnings and graduation rate.
Quick answer
The best-value college in Indiana is Purdue University-Main Campus, West Lafayette - a net price of $14,851 against $72,424 in median 10-year earnings, an ROI of 4.9×, with a 83% graduation rate. Every school here turns a modest cost into outsized, above-median earnings.
| # | School | Net price /yr | 10-yr earnings | ROI (earn ÷ price) | Grad rate | In-state tuition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN | $14,851 | $72,424 | 4.9× | 83% | $9,992 |
| 2 |  Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN | $16,003 | $63,742 | 4.0× | 81% | $12,144 |
| 3 |  University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN | $25,339 | $99,980 | 3.9× | 97% | $67,607 |
| 4 |  Ball State University Muncie, IN | $13,877 | $51,833 | 3.7× | 63% | $11,082 |
| 5 |  DePauw University Greencastle, IN | $19,916 | $70,527 | 3.5× | 80% | $61,430 |
| 6 | $18,728 | $57,165 | 3.1× | 100% | $7,176 | |
| 7 |  University of Saint Francis-Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, IN | $18,211 | $55,362 | 3.0× | 61% | $37,550 |
| 8 |  Wabash College Crawfordsville, IN | $23,532 | $69,952 | 3.0× | 77% | $52,400 |
| 9 |  Valparaiso University Valparaiso, IN | $21,657 | $63,191 | 2.9× | 67% | $50,390 |
| 10 |  Trine University Angola, IN | $19,748 | $57,165 | 2.9× | 68% | $37,480 |
| 11 |  University of Evansville Evansville, IN | $18,984 | $53,770 | 2.8× | 71% | $46,014 |
| 12 |  Hanover College Hanover, IN | $20,095 | $53,957 | 2.7× | 64% | $45,727 |
| 13 |  Indiana Wesleyan University-Marion Marion, IN | $22,440 | $59,986 | 2.7× | 66% | $33,314 |
| 14 |  Marian University Indianapolis, IN | $23,459 | $58,759 | 2.5× | 61% | $42,100 |
| 15 |  Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Terre Haute, IN | $43,360 | $101,253 | 2.3× | 82% | $60,850 |
| 16 |  Saint Mary's College Notre Dame, IN | $25,741 | $59,354 | 2.3× | 77% | $55,093 |
| 17 |  Franklin College Franklin, IN | $24,343 | $55,376 | 2.3× | 63% | $40,010 |
| 18 | CUI Chamberlain University-Indiana Indianapolis, IN | $42,158 | $92,405 | 2.2× | 100% | $20,845 |
| 19 |  Butler University Indianapolis, IN | $37,499 | $77,235 | 2.1× | 80% | $49,890 |
| 20 |  Taylor University Upland, IN | $26,508 | $52,198 | 2.0× | 77% | $41,350 |
How we ranked this
From every Indiana four-year college that publishes net price, 10-year median earnings, and graduation rate, we keep only those that beat the state median on earnings and that graduate at least 45% of students (or the state median grad rate, whichever is higher). We then rank by ROI = 10-year median earnings ÷ average annual net price - the dollars of graduate earnings each dollar of net price buys - highest first. This rewards genuine return on investment rather than the cheapest sticker price, and the 4-year + outcome guards keep out the low-completion and 2-year outliers a pure price sort surfaces. Colleges missing any of the three figures are excluded, never estimated. Minimum 5 qualifying schools required to publish a page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best-value college in Indiana?+
Purdue University-Main Campus in West Lafayette has the highest return on investment among Indiana 4-year colleges that beat the state median on outcomes: a net price of $14,851 against $72,424 in 10-year median earnings - an ROI of 4.9× (dollars earned per dollar of annual net price) - with a 83% graduation rate.
What does "net price" mean?+
Net price is the average annual cost students actually pay after grants and scholarships are subtracted from the full cost of attendance - a far better affordability measure than sticker tuition. We use the College Scorecard average net price.
How is "best value" defined here?+
Value means return on investment, not cheapness. Among Indiana four-year colleges that beat the state median on BOTH 10-year graduate earnings and graduation rate (and graduate at least 45% of students), we rank by the ROI ratio = 10-year median earnings ÷ average annual net price. The school that turns each tuition dollar into the most graduate earnings ranks first.
Is the cheapest college always the best value?+
No. A rock-bottom price that leads to low earnings is worse value than a moderate price that leads to high earnings. That is exactly why we rank by the earnings-to-net-price ratio rather than by lowest price, and require above-median earnings and graduation rates first. Colleges missing net price, earnings, or graduation data are excluded rather than estimated.
Keep exploring
Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · IPEDS. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “-” and never estimated. GetInto.College does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.