List of colleges and universities in the United States by endowment explained

Many colleges and universities in the United States maintain a financial endowment consisting of assets that are invested in financial securities, real estate, and other instruments. The investment yields a return that funds a portion of an institution's operational expenses while the principal exists in perpetuity. U.S. colleges and universities maintain some of the largest endowments in the world and make up the vast majority of higher education institutions with endowments greater than $1 billion.

The National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) maintains information on endowments at U.S. higher education institutions by fiscal year (FY)., the total endowment market value of U.S. institutions stood at $839.090 billion, with an average across all institutions of $1.215 billion and a median of $215.682 million.

Enhancements and levies

The tabulated data below are from NACUBO. Some universities benefit from endowments that are not under their direct control but which are nonetheless dedicated to the welfare of one or several institutions. Examples of these foundations include The Duke Endowment, the Robert A. Welch Foundation, and the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust.

In 2017, a federal endowment tax was enacted in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 in the form of an excise tax of 1.4% on institutions that have at least 500 tuition-paying students and net assets of at least $500,000 per student. The $500,000 is not adjusted for inflation, so the threshold is effectively lowered over time.

The endowment tax provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has been criticized as funding tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy at the expense of education. Critics note that the tax could threaten financial aid for low-income students, stifle social mobility, and obstruct life-saving research. Lobbyists representing wealthy private universities continue to advocate for its repeal. The Don't Tax Higher Education Act, which would repeal the endowment tax, was introduced in the 115th United States Congress, 116th United States Congress, and 117th United States Congress but failed in the Ways and Means Committee each time.

Endowments greater than $1 billion

Private schools

RankInstitutionStateEndowment
Change
scope=colPrivatescope=colOverallscope=col1yearscope=col5yearscope=col10year
1 1 Massachusetts $49.495
2 3 Connecticut $40.747
3 4 California $36.495
4 5 New Jersey $34.059
5 6 Massachusetts $23.453
6 7 Pennsylvania $20.963
7 11 Indiana $16.617
8 12 Illinois $13.700
9 13 New York $13.643
10 14 North Carolina $13.238
11 15 Missouri $11.467
12 16 Maryland $10.539
13 17 Georgia $10.240
14 18 New York $10.036
15 19 Illinois $9.870
16 21 Tennessee $9.684
17 22 New Hampshire $7.930
18 23 California $7.463
19 25 Texas $7.240
20 26 Rhode Island $6.201
21 27 New York $5.877
22 34 Pennsylvania $3.888
23 38 California $3.665
24 40 Massachusetts $3.487
25 41 Massachusetts $3.461
26 43 Massachusetts $3.342
27 44 District of Columbia $3.299
28 46 Virginia $3.150
29 47 Massachusetts $3.129
30 50 Massachusetts $2.889
31 51 New York $2.823
32 52 California $2.778
33 53 Pennsylvania $2.720
34 56 Texas $2.579
35 57 District of Columbia $2.522
36 58 Iowa $2.506
37 59 Massachusetts $2.470
38 60 Maine $2.424
39 61 Massachusetts $2.405
40 62 New York $2.365
41 66 Ohio $2.261
42 68 Louisiana $2.108
43 72 Texas $2.041
44 75 Virginia $1.974
45 76 Texas $1.966
46 77 North Carolina $1.900
47 78 New York $1.897
48 79 Delaware $1.820
49 83 Pennsylvania $1.756
50 84 Missouri $1.731
51 87 Massachusetts $1.663
52 88 Texas $1.654
53 91 Wisconsin $1.639
54 94 Kentucky $1.508
55 96 Connecticut $1.482
56 97 California $1.478
57 98 Texas $1.474
58 99 Vermont $1.469
59 101 New Jersey $1.415
60 102 Florida $1.366
61 106 North Carolina $1.322
62 108 California $1.306
63 110 New York $1.282
64 111 New York $1.274
65 113 Georgia $1.261
66 114 Oklahoma $1.260
67 116 New York $1.224
68 117 Pennsylvania $1.220
69 118 Massachusetts $1.216
70 119 New York $1.202
71 120 Ohio $1.199
72 121 Minnesota $1.172
73 122 Pennsylvania
74 123 California
75 124 California $1.123
76 125 Maine $1.116
77 127 Pennsylvania $1.088
78 130 Pennsylvania $1.048
79 132 Massachusetts $1.044
80 133 Massachusetts $1.036
81 134 Colorado $1.023
82 135 Ohio $1.002

Public schools

For public universities, larger endowments are often associated with flagship state universities, especially those associated with a medical school. Eighteen states do not have institutions included in this list: Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Many of these states have small populations. The New England states, however, are known for well-endowed private institutions. New York is one of the few populous states without a public university with a large endowment.

RankInstitutionStateEndowment
Change
scope=colPublicscope=colOverallscope=col1yearscope=col5yearscope=col10year
1 2 Texas $44.967
2 8 Texas $19.285
3 9 Michigan $17.876
4 10 California $17.689
5 20 Virginia $9.800
6 24 Ohio $7.384
7 28 Minnesota $5.501
8 29 Pennsylvania $5.489
9 30 North Carolina $5.201
10 31 Washington $4.941
11 32 Pennsylvania $4.444
12 33 Michigan $4.054
13 35 California $3.873
14 36 Wisconsin $3.838
15 37 Indiana $3.794
16 39 Indiana $3.558
17 42 Illinois $3.383
18 45 Iowa $3.258
19 48 Georgia $2.947
20 49 California $2.915
21 54 California $2.719
22 55 Virginia $2.583
23 63 Kansas $2.357
24 64 Florida $2.337
25 65 Nebraska $2.266
26 67 Missouri $2.235
27 69 Colorado $2.096
28 70 Maryland $2.095
29 71 Alabama $2.089
30 73 North Carolina $2.028
31 74 New Jersey $1.988
32 80 Georgia $1.811
33 81 Kentucky $1.808
34 82 Virginia $1.792
35 85 Texas $1.716
36 86 Oklahoma $1.707
37 89 Iowa
38 90 Utah
39 92 Tennessee $1.600
40 93 Arkansas $1.527
41 95 Oregon $1.490
42 100 Arizona $1.467
43 103 California
44 104 Virginia
45 105 Ohio $1.346
46 107 Massachusetts $1.314
47 109 Arizona $1.288
48 112 Washington $1.267
49 115 Oregon $1.257
50 128 Alabama $1.079
51 129 Louisiana $1.061
52 131 Texas $1.046
53 134 South Carolina $1.027
Endowments per student greater than $1 million

Counterbalancing the effect of the large endowments per student for private institutions, average tuition and fees at private four-year institutions were approximately two to four times the average tuition and fees of four-year public institutions in academic year 2021–22.[1]

RankInstitutionEnrollment
Endowment per student
Change
(1year)
1 273 $8,664,540
2 308 $4,593,980
3 8,887 $3,832,426
4 14,647 $2,781,928
5 130 $2,236,142
6 17,349 $2,103,579
7 24,348 $2,032,820
8 11,703 $2,004,054
9 2,129 $1,637,651
10 1,709 $1,625,259
11 1,699 $1,601,135
12 2,401 $1,526,531
13 178 $1,508,328
14 110 $1,346,256
15 12,908 $1,287,304
16 1,911 $1,268,411
17 6,744 $1,175,879
18 2,641 $1,093,855
19 1,418 $1,063,762
20 841 $1,034,472

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tuition costs of colleges and universities . August 4, 2023 . . . April 24, 2024 .