A college education is becoming a major political dividing line in the U.S. In many recent presidential elections, voters with and without at least a bachelor’s degree tended to be relatively aligned, with both preferring Barack Obama by almost the same margin in 2012.
Yet this is no longer the case. In 2016, voters with a degree preferred Hilary Clinton over Donald Trump by a 23-point margin. In 2020, about 60% of college-educated voters picked Joe Biden. Though college-educated voters tend to prefer democratic candidates overall, there are some college campuses where the typical political leanings of students are even more to the left.
To determine the 25 most liberal colleges in America, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from education data platform Niche’s “2022 Most Liberal Colleges in America” list. Niche’s ranking is based on student surveys about both personal political leanings as well as opinions about the political leanings of other students.
College campuses often share the views of the communities around them, and these particularly liberal schools are no exception. California and New York are home to five of the schools on this list apiece. Massachusetts has three, and Illinois, Oregon, and Washington, D.C. have two each. Each of those states and Washington D.C. preferred Biden over Trump by a margin of 15 points, if not much more.
Beyond their political ideologies, these liberal colleges tend to produce students who are equipped to find a high-paying job. Of the 25 most liberal colleges, 22 reported that the median annual earnings of graduates working 10 years after entering school is over $44,000, while the median is under $43,500 for schools nationwide. These are the most affordable colleges with the best outcomes in every state.
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25. Occidental College
> Avg. annual net price: $41,102
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $50,600
> Most popular undergrad major: Social Sciences
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,839
> Location: Los Angeles, CA
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24. University of California-Berkeley
> Avg. annual net price: $19,329
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $64,700
> Most popular undergrad major: Social Sciences
> Undergraduate enrollment: 30,799
> Location: Berkeley, CA
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23. Vassar College
> Avg. annual net price: $26,028
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $54,600
> Most popular undergrad major: Social Sciences
> Undergraduate enrollment: 2,435
> Location: Poughkeepsie, NY
Source: Denisonfan / Wikimedia Commons
22. Denison University
> Avg. annual net price: $39,808
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $48,800
> Most popular undergrad major: Social Sciences
> Undergraduate enrollment: 2,258
> Location: Granville, OH
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21. Stony Brook University
> Avg. annual net price: $16,478
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $57,600
> Most popular undergrad major: Health Professions And Related Programs
> Undergraduate enrollment: 18,010
> Location: Stony Brook, NY
Source: Jennifer Williams / Wikimedia Commons
20. California State University-East Bay
> Avg. annual net price: $13,260
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $51,700
> Most popular undergrad major: Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
> Undergraduate enrollment: 13,141
> Location: Hayward, CA
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19. University of California-Riverside
> Avg. annual net price: $11,948
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $49,700
> Most popular undergrad major: Social Sciences
> Undergraduate enrollment: 22,693
> Location: Riverside, CA
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18. Miami Dade College
> Avg. annual net price: $4,998
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $31,100
> Most popular undergrad major: Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
> Undergraduate enrollment: 46,523
> Location: Miami, FL
17. Fayetteville State University
> Avg. annual net price: $7,016
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $31,200
> Most popular undergrad major: Health Professions And Related Programs
> Undergraduate enrollment: 5,661
> Location: Fayetteville, NC
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16. Howard University
> Avg. annual net price: $23,233
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $49,200
> Most popular undergrad major: Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
> Undergraduate enrollment: 7,857
> Location: Washington, D.C.
Source: littleny / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
15. New York University
> Avg. annual net price: $45,417
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $61,900
> Most popular undergrad major: Visual And Performing Arts
> Undergraduate enrollment: 27,444
> Location: New York, NY
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14. Northeastern Illinois University
> Avg. annual net price: $14,831
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $37,900
> Most popular undergrad major: Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
> Undergraduate enrollment: 5,220
> Location: Chicago, IL
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13. Portland State University
> Avg. annual net price: $12,195
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $44,700
> Most popular undergrad major: Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
> Undergraduate enrollment: 18,656
> Location: Portland, OR
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12. West Chester University of Pennsylvania
> Avg. annual net price: $19,336
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $48,400
> Most popular undergrad major: Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
> Undergraduate enrollment: 14,712
> Location: West Chester, PA
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11. Boston University
> Avg. annual net price: $29,154
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $65,300
> Most popular undergrad major: Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
> Undergraduate enrollment: 16,872
> Location: Boston, MA
10. Adelphi University
> Avg. annual net price: $29,821
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $58,500
> Most popular undergrad major: Health Professions And Related Programs
> Undergraduate enrollment: 5,124
> Location: Garden City, NY
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9. University of Oregon
> Avg. annual net price: $17,646
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $44,800
> Most popular undergrad major: Social Sciences
> Undergraduate enrollment: 18,045
> Location: Eugene, OR
8. CUNY Hunter College
> Avg. annual net price: $4,014
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $47,200
> Most popular undergrad major: Psychology
> Undergraduate enrollment: 17,943
> Location: New York, NY
7. Ramapo College of New Jersey
> Avg. annual net price: $17,286
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $53,200
> Most popular undergrad major: Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
> Undergraduate enrollment: 5,412
> Location: Mahwah, NJ
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6. Mount Holyoke College
> Avg. annual net price: $31,165
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $48,600
> Most popular undergrad major: Social Sciences
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,915
> Location: South Hadley, MA
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
5. Northeastern University
> Avg. annual net price: $37,738
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $67,400
> Most popular undergrad major: Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
> Undergraduate enrollment: 15,156
> Location: Boston, MA
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4. Northwestern University
> Avg. annual net price: $28,344
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $69,000
> Most popular undergrad major: Social Sciences
> Undergraduate enrollment: 8,559
> Location: Evanston, IL
Source: Courtesy of UC Santa Cruz via Facebook
3. University of California-Santa Cruz
> Avg. annual net price: $17,842
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $46,900
> Most popular undergrad major: Biological And Biomedical Sciences
> Undergraduate enrollment: 17,207
> Location: Santa Cruz, CA
2. University of Vermont
> Avg. annual net price: $20,235
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $47,300
> Most popular undergrad major: Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
> Undergraduate enrollment: 11,136
> Location: Burlington, VT
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1. American University
> Avg. annual net price: $37,319
> Typical earnings 10 yrs. after enrollment: $61,000
> Most popular undergrad major: Social Sciences
> Undergraduate enrollment: 7,953
> Location: Washington, D.C.
Methodology
To determine the most liberal colleges in America, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from education data platform Niche’s “2022 Most Liberal Colleges in America” list. Niche’s ranking is based on student surveys about both personal political leanings as well as opinions about the political leanings of other students.
Data on undergraduate enrollment came from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics and is for Fall 2020. Data on the median earnings of individuals who entered university in the 2004-05 academic year and were employed 10 years later also came from NCES as is data on the average net price of attendance for students receiving financial aid in the 2019-2020 school year. Data on the popularity of undergraduate majors is based on NCES data on the number of federal loan borrowers who graduated with a degree in that major in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years.
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