2021 Best Business Schools
Today's business students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Also there are many trade schools and bpptcamp that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Business Degree Central has developed this Best Business Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 1,266 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for business students.
View our full ranking methodology.
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Top Business Schools in the United States
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Duke University to be the best school for business students in the United States. Duke is a private not-for-profit institution located in Durham, North Carolina. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 6,528 degrees in 2018-2019.
Degree recipients from Duke accumulate an average of $45,779 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. If you borrow this amount, expect your monthly student loan payment to be around $508, assuming you are on a 10-year repayment plan.After graduating from Duke, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $70,318 during the early years of their career.
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The excellent programs at Stanford University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best business schools in the United States. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Stanford, California. It awarded 5,325 degrees in 2018-2019.
Degree recipients from Stanford accumulate an average of $35,712 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. For those students on a 10-year repayment plan, the average payment due each month is around $338. During the early years of their career, Stanford graduates make an average of $85,348 annually.
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The excellent programs at University of Chicago helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best business schools in the United States. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out degrees to 6,185 students in 2018-2019.
On average, students take out $38,366 in loans while pursuing their degree. Those who take out this much in loans have to make a monthly payment of about $470 if they are on a 10-year repayment plan. Once they receive their degree, UChicago graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $61,293 during the early year of their career.
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Out of the 1,018 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Cornell University landed the # 4 spot on the list. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Ithaca, New York, and it awarded 7,745 degrees in 2018-2019.
Degree recipients from Cornell accumulate an average of $30,826 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Those who take out this much in loans have to make a monthly payment of about $335 if they are on a 10-year repayment plan.After graduating from Cornell, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $65,047 during the early years of their career.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Business Schools list. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 9,724 degrees in 2018-2019.
On average, students take out $53,297 in loans while pursuing their degree. Those who take out this much in loans have to make a monthly payment of about $632 if they are on a 10-year repayment plan. Once they receive their degree, UPenn graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $86,830 during the early year of their career.
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With a ranking of #6, University of Notre Dame did quite well on this year’s best schools for business students working. Notre Dame is located in Notre Dame, Indiana and has a fairly large student population. In 2018-2019, this school awarded 4,205 degrees to qualified students.
Degree recipients from Notre Dame accumulate an average of $25,137 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. If you borrow this amount, expect your monthly student loan payment to be around $279, assuming you are on a 10-year repayment plan. During the early years of their career, Notre Dame graduates make an average of $57,824 annually.
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Northwestern University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Business Schools list. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 8,794 degrees in 2018-2019.
On average, students take out $43,359 in loans while pursuing their degree. For those students on a 10-year repayment plan, the average payment due each month is around $581. Once they receive their degree, Northwestern U graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $68,272 during the early year of their career.
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Rice University landed the #8 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best business programs. Houston, Texas is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out degrees to 2,359 students in 2018-2019.
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $14,509 in student loans. Those who take out this much in loans have to make a monthly payment of about $149 if they are on a 10-year repayment plan. During the early years of their career, Rice graduates make an average of $61,227 annually.
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University of Virginia - Main Campus came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Business Schools ranking. University of Virginia is a public institution located in Charlottesville, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 8,352 degrees in 2018-2019.
Degree recipients from University of Virginia accumulate an average of $30,491 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. For those students on a 10-year repayment plan, the average payment due each month is around $334. Once they receive their degree, University of Virginia graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $58,464 during the early year of their career.
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Lehigh University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for business students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 2,030 degrees in 2018-2019.
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $22,231 in student loans. For those students on a 10-year repayment plan, the average payment due each month is around $253. Once they receive their degree, Lehigh graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $63,771 during the early year of their career.
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With a ranking of #11, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on this year’s best schools for business students working. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a large public school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan that handed out 14,350 degrees in 2018-2019.
On average, students take out $33,998 in loans while pursuing their degree. For those students on a 10-year repayment plan, the average payment due each month is around $367. Once they receive their degree, U of Michigan graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $56,526 during the early year of their career.
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Emory University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for business students. It came in at #12 on the list. Emory University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Atlanta, Georgia that handed out 5,032 degrees in 2018-2019.
Degree recipients from Emory accumulate an average of $38,387 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. If you borrow this amount, expect your monthly student loan payment to be around $492, assuming you are on a 10-year repayment plan. During the early years of their career, Emory graduates make an average of $58,145 annually.
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With a ranking of #13, Stevens Institute of Technology did quite well on this year’s best schools for business students working. Stevens is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Hoboken, New Jersey. It awarded 2,963 degrees in 2018-2019.
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $23,382 in student loans. If you borrow this amount, expect your monthly student loan payment to be around $270, assuming you are on a 10-year repayment plan.After graduating from Stevens, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $74,975 during the early years of their career.
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Vanderbilt University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Business Schools list. Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 4,514 degrees in 2018-2019.
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $39,702 in student loans. If you borrow this amount, expect your monthly student loan payment to be around $497, assuming you are on a 10-year repayment plan. During the early years of their career, Vanderbilt graduates make an average of $67,244 annually.
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With a ranking of #15, Harvard University did quite well on this year’s best schools for business students working. Cambridge, Massachusetts is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out degrees to 9,504 students in 2018-2019.
Degree recipients from Harvard accumulate an average of $57,269 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. For those students on a 10-year repayment plan, the average payment due each month is around $664. During the early years of their career, Harvard graduates make an average of $71,997 annually.
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Worcester Polytechnic Institute ranked #16 on this year’s Best Business Schools list. Located in Worcester, Massachusetts, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 2,056 degrees in 2018-2019.
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $24,936 in student loans. If you borrow this amount, expect your monthly student loan payment to be around $287, assuming you are on a 10-year repayment plan. Once they receive their degree, WPI graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $72,444 during the early year of their career.
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Bismarck State College landed the #17 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best business programs. Bismarck, North Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 1,118 students in 2018-2019.
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $13,684 in student loans. If you borrow this amount, expect your monthly student loan payment to be around $136, assuming you are on a 10-year repayment plan.After graduating from BSC, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $58,111 during the early years of their career.
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Carnegie Mellon University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Business Schools list. Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 5,348 diplomas to qualifed students in 2018-2019.
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $34,663 in student loans. For those students on a 10-year repayment plan, the average payment due each month is around $364. During the early years of their career, Carnegie Mellon graduates make an average of $74,077 annually.
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With a ranking of #19, Boston College did quite well on this year’s best schools for business students working. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and it awarded 4,838 degrees in 2018-2019.
On average, students take out $25,194 in loans while pursuing their degree. If you borrow this amount, expect your monthly student loan payment to be around $265, assuming you are on a 10-year repayment plan.After graduating from Boston College, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $55,981 during the early years of their career.
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With a ranking of #20, Bentley University did quite well on this year’s best schools for business students working. Bentley is a private not-for-profit institution located in Waltham, Massachusetts. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 1,753 degrees in 2018-2019.
Degree recipients from Bentley accumulate an average of $26,823 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. For those students on a 10-year repayment plan, the average payment due each month is around $276. Once they receive their degree, Bentley graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $65,971 during the early year of their career.
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Villanova University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Business Schools ranking. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Villanova, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 3,987 degrees in 2018-2019.
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $28,396 in student loans. If you borrow this amount, expect your monthly student loan payment to be around $347, assuming you are on a 10-year repayment plan.After graduating from Villanova, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $65,450 during the early years of their career.
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With a ranking of #22, Georgetown University did quite well on this year’s best schools for business students working. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 7,354 degrees in 2018-2019.
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $47,088 in student loans. For those students on a 10-year repayment plan, the average payment due each month is around $597. During the early years of their career, Georgetown graduates make an average of $67,005 annually.
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Washington University in St Louis did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for business students. It came in at #23 on the list. WUSTL is a private not-for-profit institution located in Saint Louis, Missouri. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 5,616 degrees in 2018-2019.
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $35,447 in student loans. If you borrow this amount, expect your monthly student loan payment to be around $426, assuming you are on a 10-year repayment plan. Once they receive their degree, WUSTL graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $64,108 during the early year of their career.
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranked #24 on this year’s Best Business Schools list. Located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the large public school handed out 9,660 degrees in 2018-2019.
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $37,153 in student loans. If you borrow this amount, expect your monthly student loan payment to be around $407, assuming you are on a 10-year repayment plan. Once they receive their degree, UNC Chapel Hill graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $49,136 during the early year of their career.
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University of California - Berkeley came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Business Schools ranking. UC Berkeley is a public institution located in Berkeley, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 14,344 degrees in 2018-2019.
Degree recipients from UC Berkeley accumulate an average of $29,054 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Those who take out this much in loans have to make a monthly payment of about $284 if they are on a 10-year repayment plan.After graduating from UC Berkeley, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $56,060 during the early years of their career.
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Request InformationRest of the Top 50 Best Business Schools in the United States
Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
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Rest of the Top 15% Best Business Schools in the United States
To learn more about the schools below, just click on their names:
Honorable Mentions
These schools also performed well in our best business schools ranking:
Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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