College is expensive for many American families. But it doesn’t have to be.
The average cost of a year’s worth of tuition and fees is over $30,000 at all U.S. 4-year colleges, according to the latest National Center for Education Statistics data, but many families wind up paying far less after federal and school-based financial aid, grants and scholarships.
Students and families looking for institutions that offer strong outcomes for graduates at an affordable cost can find several schools that meet that criteria in the Big Apple. Seven of the 10 best value colleges in the U.S. are part of the City University of New York network, according to The Wall Street Journal’s 2026 rankings released on Sept. 29.
WSJ considered schools’ average net price — the cost students pay after financial aid and scholarships — as well as the value each school adds to graduates’ salaries. The latter figure is calculated as the difference between median graduate earnings and the median earnings of workers who only attended high school in the state.
Baruch College in Manhattan takes the top spot for the third year in a row. The school has earned a reputation for its affordability and high-quality education that helps students from middle- and low-income families fare better in adulthood.
Nearly half (47%) of Baruch students came from families the bottom fifth percentile of earners nationwide and moved into the top fifth of earners as adults, according to a 2017 New York Times analysis. The Journal also ranked Baruch No. 7 in its social mobility rankings, which considered factors like the school’s salary impact and graduation rates.
Here are the 10 best value colleges for 2026, according to The Wall Street Journal.
1. Baruch College (CUNY)
- Average net price: $2,978
- Value added to graduate salary: $49,499
- Time to pay off net price: 2 months
2. Hunter College (CUNY)
- Average net price: $2,446
- Value added to graduate salary: $35,943
- Time to pay off net price: 3 months
3. Brooklyn College (CUNY)
- Average net price: $2,943
- Value added to graduate salary: $34,037
- Time to pay off net price: 4 months
4. City College of New York (CUNY)
- Average net price: $3,486
- Value added to graduate salary: $37,007
- Time to pay off net price: 4 months
5. John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY)
- Average net price: $3,046
- Value added to graduate salary: $29,721
- Time to pay off net price: 4 months
6. Queens College (CUNY)
- Average net price: $3,830
- Value added to graduate salary: $35,468
- Time to pay off net price: 5 months
7. Lehman College (CUNY)
- Average net price: $3,482
- Value added to graduate salary: $29,923
- Time to pay off net price: 5 months
8. Princeton University
- Average net price: $10,555
- Value added to graduate salary: $89,368
- Time to pay off net price: 5 months
9. Stanford University
- Average net price: $12,136
- Value added to graduate salary: $94,725
- Time to pay off net price: 6 months
10. California State University, Los Angeles
- Average net price: $4,113
- Value added to graduate salary: $31,298
- Time to pay off net price: 6 months
Trading prestige for value
With an average net price just below $3,000 and a value-add of nearly $50,000 to graduates’ salaries, the average Baruch graduate can pay off their cost of attendance in about two months, the Journal reports.
That’s increasingly important for families helping their students pay for college, Jeff Selingo, a higher education expert, recently told CNBC Make It. While schools like Stanford and Princeton also offer a great value to students, they come at a steeper cost with average net prices above $10,000, per WSJ.
Historically, families have felt it’s worth it to send their student to a top-ranked school, despite the cost. But these days, they’ll “trade in prestige for a college that’s going to cost half as much,” Selingo says.
“They have the money, but they’re unwilling to pay for a certain level of prestige,” he adds. “They want to save that money for other things, including their children after they get out of college.”
While Baruch and the other best value CUNY schools don’t rank nearly as high in The Wall Street Journal’s overall rankings, “location matters,” Selingo says. And the fact that these colleges are in New York City — which is a hotspot for high-paying jobs in a variety of industries — can also give students a long-term career advantage.
However, living in New York for college may be expensive. CUNY schools have limited student housing, and it typically is not guaranteed for students.
That could mean living in an off-campus apartment in Manhattan, where the average rent is around $5,600 a month, according to RentCafe, although that figure can vary depending on the neighborhood, apartment size and number of roommates.
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