Website Ranks Wyoming No. 7 in Best States for Higher Education

The University of Wyoming’s relatively small class sizes, low student debt and high earnings for graduates have placed Wyoming in the top 10 of a new list of “The Best States for Higher Education in 2017.”

The website SmartAsset ranks Wyoming No. 7 on the list, giving it an “A-” based upon measures including UW’s undergraduate graduation rate, cost of attendance, the 20-year return on students’ investment and the student-faculty ratio.

“Compared to other flagship universities, UW is fairly small. But whatever the school lacks in size, it makes up for with the quality of education that it offers its students,” the website says.

It notes that the student/faculty ratio at UW is 14:1 and that graduates get an average return on investment of $442,000 within a 20-year time span -- one of the highest in the nation.

Also in the top 10 are Virginia, California, Delaware, Iowa, New Jersey, North Carolina, Vermont, Michigan, Indiana and New York.

More than half of UW’s graduates have no debt, and the average salary for UW graduates is $46,100 -- significantly higher than the national average of $33,400, and higher than the $41,055 average of UW’s peer institutions.