List of colleges and universities in the United States by endowment

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.

Harvard University, with a $51.977 billion endowment as of FY2024^[update], is the wealthiest university in the world.

The National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) maintains information on endowments at U.S. higher education institutions by fiscal year (FY).^[1] As of FY2024^[update], the total endowment market value of U.S. institutions stood at $837.720 billion, with an average across all institutions of $1.322 billion and a median of $244.426 million.^[2][3]

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.

Taxes

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. $244M in taxes was raised from 58 institutions in 2022.^[4][5]

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.^[6][7][8] Lobbyists representing wealthy private universities continue to advocate for its repeal.^[9][10] The Don't Tax Higher Education Act, which would repeal the endowment tax, was introduced in the 115th United States Congress,^[11] 116th United States Congress,^[12] and 117th United States Congress^[13] but failed in the Ways and Means Committee each time.

Endowments greater than $1 billion

Private schools

Rank		Institution	State	Endowment[3] (billions USD – FY2024)	Change
Private	Overall				1‑year[3]	5‑year[14]	10‑year[15]
1	1	Harvard University	Massachusetts	$51.977	+5.0%	+31.8%	+44.8%
2	3	Yale University	Connecticut	$41.442	+1.7%	+36.7%	+73.4%
3	4	Stanford University	California	$37.631	+3.1%	+35.9%	+75.5%
4	5	Princeton University	New Jersey	$34.052	0.0%	+30.4%	+62.2%
5	6	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts	$24.573	+4.8%	+39.9%	+97.8%
6	7	University of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	$22.348	+6.6%	+52.5%	+133.2%
7	11	University of Notre Dame	Indiana	$17.897	+7.7%	+58.8%	+122.6%
8	12	Columbia University	New York	$14.782	+8.4%	+35.0%	+60.3%
9	13	Northwestern University	Illinois	$14.210	+3.7%	+28.1%	+45.3%
10	14	Johns Hopkins University	Maryland	$13.063	+24.0%	+108.1%	+278.4%
11	15	Washington University in St. Louis	Missouri	$11.981	+4.5%	+50.6%	+80.4%
12	16	Duke University	North Carolina	$11.890	+16.1%	+38.1%	+69.0%
13	17	Emory University	Georgia	$11.044	+7.8%	+40.3%	+65.3%
14	18	Cornell University	New York	$10.658	+6.2%	+45.4%	+81.0%
15	19	Vanderbilt University	Tennessee	$10.248	+5.8%	+63.4%	+150.8%
16	21	University of Chicago	Illinois	$10.105	+2.4%	+22.3%	+33.9%
17	22	Dartmouth College	New Hampshire	$8.273	+4.3%	+44.4%	+85.2%
18	23	University of Southern California	California	$8.145	+9.1%	+42.1%	+77.3%
19	24	Rice University	Texas	$8.066	+11.4%	+24.5%	+45.9%
20	26	Brown University	Rhode Island	$6.719	+8.3%	+69.0%	+124.0%
21	27	New York University	New York	$6.546	+11.4%	+50.6%	+91.2%
22	34	California Institute of Technology	California	$4.145	+13.1%	+39.3%	+98.0%
23	36	Carnegie Mellon University	Pennsylvania	$3.997	+2.8%	+57.2%	+149.8%
24	38	Boston College	Massachusetts	$3.778	+9.2%	+49.7%	+77.2%
25	40	Williams College	Massachusetts	$3.656	+4.8%	+26.5%	+62.2%
26	41	Georgetown University	District of Columbia	$3.638	+10.3%	+99.6%	+149.0%
27	42	Amherst College	Massachusetts	$3.550	+6.2%	+43.5%	+65.2%
28	43	Boston University	Massachusetts	$3.537	+13.0%	+53.5%	+118.9%
29	45	University of Richmond	Virginia	$3.245	+3.0%	+28.9%	+40.3%
30	48	Wellesley College	Massachusetts	$3.005	+4.0%	+38.3%	+66.2%
31	49	Pomona College	California	$2.992	+7.7%	+28.7%	+42.4%
32	50	University of Rochester	New York	$2.989	+5.9%	+33.5%	+48.3%
33	54	Swarthmore College	Pennsylvania	$2.728	+0.3%	+28.0%	+45.4%
34	55	Texas Christian University	Texas	$2.676	+3.8%	+56.6%	+85.5%
35	56	Grinnell College	Iowa	$2.671	+6.6%	+29.0%	+46.0%
36	57	George Washington University	District of Columbia	$2.640	+4.6%	+48.4%	+67.4%
37	58	Bowdoin College	Maine	$2.582	+6.5%	+48.1%	+112.3%
38	59	Smith College	Massachusetts	$2.564	+3.8%	+34.0%	+46.0%
39	60	Tufts University	Massachusetts	$2.534	+5.3%	+35.6%	+59.4%
40	64	Rockefeller University	New York	$2.420	+2.3%	+5.5%	+21.9%
41	66	Case Western Reserve University	Ohio	$2.397	+6.0%	+28.4%	+36.3%
42	69	Tulane University	Louisiana	$2.274	+7.9%	+59.1%	+92.1%
43	73	Southern Methodist University	Texas	$2.122	+4.0%	+27.5%	+44.7%
44	74	Syracuse University	New York	$2.097	+10.5%	+50.6%	+77.3%
45	75	Baylor University	Texas	$2.094	+6.5%	+56.3%	+81.5%
46	77	Washington and Lee University	Virginia	$2.043	+3.5%	+21.9%	+38.2%
47	78	Wake Forest University	North Carolina	$1.997	+5.1%	+45.2%	+74.0%
48	81	University of Delaware[a]	Delaware	$1.930	+6.0%	+31.6%	+47.3%
49	82	Saint Louis University	Missouri	$1.879	+8.6%	+50.0%	+74.5%
50	83	Lehigh University	Pennsylvania	$1.873	+6.6%	+32.7%	+54.0%
51	85	Trinity University	Texas	$1.834	+10.9%	+43.2%	+55.4%
52	86	Medical College of Wisconsin	Wisconsin	$1.798	+9.7%	+91.7%	+140.1%
53	91	Berea College	Kentucky	$1.649	+9.3%	+35.3%	+45.0%
54	92	Middlebury College	Vermont	$1.598	+8.8%	+38.0%	+47.7%
55	94	University of Miami	Florida	$1.590	+16.4%	+59.4%	+83.7%
56	96	Wesleyan University	Connecticut	$1.583	+6.8%	+57.6%	+106.1%
57	97	Santa Clara University	California	$1.555	+5.2%	+52.5%	+77.7%
58	100	Baylor College of Medicine	Texas	$1.481	+0.5%	+13.9%	+45.0%
59	102	Princeton Theological Seminary	New Jersey	$1.454	+2.7%	+28.9%	+39.5%
60	106	Davidson College	North Carolina	$1.375	+4.0%	+56.0%	+111.7%
61	107	Rochester Institute of Technology	New York	$1.373	+7.7%	+45.3%	+82.4%
62	108	Berry College	Georgia	$1.371	+8.7%	+29.5%	+49.5%
63	110	Hamilton College	New York	$1.362	+6.2%	+40.5%	+58.5%
64	111	Loma Linda University	California	$1.346	+3.1%	+25.0%	+170.1%
65	112	Villanova University	Pennsylvania	$1.335	+9.5%	+74.1%	+161.4%
66	113	Vassar College	New York	$1.301	+6.3%	+16.4%	+33.5%
67	114	Pepperdine University	California	$1.296	+10.8%	+46.0%	+64.3%
68	115	University of Tulsa	Oklahoma	$1.285	+2.0%	+15.3%	+26.5%
69	116	Oberlin College	Ohio	$1.270	+6.0%	+34.7%	+55.7%
70	117	Brandeis University	Massachusetts	$1.265	+4.0%	+17.8%	+46.9%
71	118	Carleton College	Minnesota	$1.255	+7.1%	+40.7%	+58.4%
72	120	Bryn Mawr College	Pennsylvania	$1.247	+6.7%	+37.4%	+46.1%
73	121	Claremont McKenna College	California	$1.240	+10.4%	+43.3%	+77.3%
74	124	Bucknell University	Pennsylvania	$1.167	+7.3%	+34.7%	+55.4%
75	125	Colby College	Maine	$1.160	+3.9%	+33.4%	+56.6%
76	127	Lafayette College	Pennsylvania	$1.125	+6.9%	+35.2%	+40.5%
77	129	College of the Holy Cross	Massachusetts	$1.109	+6.3%	+41.2%	+52.8%
78	130	Mount Holyoke College	Massachusetts	$1.102	+6.3%	+38.7%	+55.1%
79	131	University of Denver	Colorado	$1.089	+6.5%	+38.5%	+133.1%
80	132	Drexel University	Pennsylvania	$1.069	+10.7%	+31.4%	+62.0%
81	133	Loyola University Chicago	Illinois	$1.060	+9.1%	+53.1%	+96.4%
82	135	American University	District of Columbia	$1.051	+7.6%	+45.3%	+85.6%
83	137	Denison University	Ohio	$1.039	+3.7%	+18.4%	+34.7%
84	138	Howard University	District of Columbia	$1.032	+11.4%	+49.0%	+76.2%
85	140	Fordham University	New York	$1.025	+4.8%	+39.7%	+51.8%
86	141	DePaul University	Illinois	$1.019	+12.3%	+46.4%	+127.9%
87	143	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	New York	$1.000	+8.2%	+35.2%	+51.8%

Public schools

The University of Texas System has the largest system-wide endowment of any American public higher education institution.

For public universities, larger endowments are often associated with flagship state universities, especially those associated with a medical school. Sixteen states do not have institutions included in this list: Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, 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.

Rank		Institution	State	Endowment[3] (billions USD – FY2024)	Change
Public	Overall				1‑year[3]	5‑year[14]	10‑year[15]
1	2	University of Texas System	Texas	$47.465	+5.6%	+53.3%	+86.7%
2	8	Texas A&M University System[b]	Texas	$20.381	+5.7%	+50.8%	+83.5%
3	9	University of Michigan	Michigan	$19.166	+7.2%	+54.0%	+97.0%
4	10	University of California System[c]	California	$19.103	+8.0%	+61.9%	+158.7%
5	20	University of Virginia	Virginia	$10.217	+4.3%	+44.8%	+71.8%
6	25	The Ohio State University	Ohio	$7.932	+7.4%	+50.9%	+123.6%
7	28	University of Minnesota[d]	Minnesota	$5.935	+7.9%	+50.2%	+87.5%
8	29	University of Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	$5.804	+5.7%	+34.6%	+66.2%
9	30	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill[d]	North Carolina	$5.728	+10.1%	+56.0%	+112.5%
10	31	Pennsylvania State University	Pennsylvania	$4.769	+7.3%	+4.9%	+38.4%
11	32	Michigan State University	Michigan	$4.419	+9.0%	+45.7%	+106.0%
12	33	University of Wisconsin-Madison	Wisconsin	$4.305	+12.2%	+36.5%	+84.6%
13	35	Purdue University System	Indiana	$4.106	+8.2%	+56.4%	+88.2%
14	37	Indiana University System	Indiana	$3.821	+7.4%	+53.7%	+92.2%
15	39	University of Illinois System[d]	Illinois	$3.689	+9.0%	+56.7%	+61.9%
16	44	University of Iowa[d]	Iowa	$3.502	+7.5%	+121.8%	+179.8%
17	46	Georgia Institute of Technology[b]	Georgia	$3.167	+6.5%	+46.0%	+67.7%
18	47	University of California, Berkeley	California	$3.112	+6.8%	+50.3%	+108.0%
19	51	University of California, San Francisco	California	$2.948	+8.4%	+60.2%	+212.4%
20	52	Texas Tech University System	Texas	$2.904	+69.2%	+120.5%	+142.9%
21	53	Virginia Commonwealth University[e]	Virginia	$2.886	+11.7%	+41.3%	+91.2%
22	61	University of Nebraska System	Nebraska	$2.527	+11.5%	+76.0%	+63.3%
23	62	University of Kansas	Kansas	$2.525	+7.1%	+39.0%	+71.7%
24	63	University of Florida	Florida	$2.454	+5.0%	+34.4%	+61.5%
25	65	University of Missouri System	Missouri	$2.411	+7.9%	+38.3%	+67.4%
26	67	University of Alabama System	Alabama	$2.379	+13.9%	+56.5%	+92.6%
27	68	University System of Maryland	Maryland	$2.291	+9.3%	+59.5%	+139.7%
28	70	University of Colorado System	Colorado	$2.245	+7.1%	+54.6%	+111.2%
29	71	North Carolina State University[b]	North Carolina	$2.220	+9.4%	+58.5%	+150.8%
30	72	Rutgers University System	New Jersey	$2.180	+9.7%	+47.7%	+137.3%
31	76	University of Georgia[b]	Georgia	$2.056	+13.5%	+53.0%	+118.9%
32	79	University of Kentucky	Kentucky	$1.979	+9.4%	+40.6%	+74.1%
33	80	Virginia Tech	Virginia	$1.954	+10.1%	+43.9%	+145.3%
34	84	University of Utah	Utah	$1.860	+13.2%	+51.8%	+120.2%
35	87	University of Tennessee System	Tennessee	$1.766	+10.4%	+30.4%	+64.7%
36	88	Iowa State University	Iowa	$1.717	+4.5%	+55.9%	+121.0%
37	89	University of Arkansas at Fayetteville[d]	Arkansas	$1.666	+9.1%	+36.3%	+79.2%
38	90	University of Oregon	Oregon	$1.651	+10.8%	+78.9%	+163.2%
39	93	Arizona State University[d]	Arizona	$1.592	+8.5%	+72.7%	+154.4%
40	95	University of California, San Diego	California	$1.589	+16.8%	+100.5%	+209.7%
41	98	University of Massachusetts System	Massachusetts	$1.547	+17.7%	+75.5%	+104.2%
42	99	Oklahoma State University System	Oklahoma	$1.482	+5.9%	—	+63.7%
43	101	College of William & Mary[d]	Virginia	$1.454	+6.9%	+46.0%	+82.4%
44	103	Texas State University System	Texas	$1.407	+95.4%	+575.1%	+772.7%
45	104	University of Arizona[d]	Arizona	$1.387	+7.7%	+33.6%	+82.4%
46	105	Washington State University	Washington	$1.383	+9.1%	+29.5%	+59.3%
47	109	University System of New Hampshire	New Hampshire	$1.367	+7.0%	+70.1%	+106.6%
48	119	Oregon Health & Science University	Oregon	$1.253	−0.3%	+42.8%	+139.9%
49	123	Auburn University[d]	Alabama	$1.187	+10.0%	+49.7%	+91.2%
50	126	Louisiana State University System	Louisiana	$1.138	+7.3%	+22.9%	+44.4%
51	128	Clemson University	South Carolina	$1.124	+9.4%	+45.1%	+80.4%
52	134	University at Buffalo	New York	$1.059	+9.1%	+33.3%	+69.6%
53	136	University of South Carolina	South Carolina	$1.044	+9.7%	+32.5%	+75.1%
54	139	Florida State University	Florida	$1.030	+8.8%	+46.3%	+64.9%
55	142	University of Louisville	Kentucky	$1.008	+9.8%	+40.0%	+15.0%

Endowments per student greater than $1 million

Princeton Theological Seminary has the largest endowment per student in the United States.

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.^[16] It is these high dollar per student endowments that are particularly affected by the endowment tax.

Rank	Institution	Enrollment[3] (FTE – fall 2023)	Endowment per student[3] (USD – FY2024)	Change[3][17] (1‑year)
1	Princeton Theological Seminary	282	$5,154,575	+12.2%
2	Princeton University	9,079	$3,750,669	−2.1%
3	Yale University	15,269	$2,714,107	−2.4%
4	Stanford University	17,623	$2,135,335	+1.5%
5	Harvard University	24,357	$2,133,974	+5.0%
6	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	11,777	$2,086,500	+4.1%
7	RAND School of Public Policy	158	$1,981,314	−11.4%
8	Amherst College	1,910	$1,858,417	+5.6%
9	Pomona College	1,652	$1,810,914	+11.4%
10	Williams College	2,140	$1,708,205	+4.3%
11	California Institute of Technology	2,463	$1,682,826	+10.2%
12	Columbia Theological Seminary	167	$1,676,212	+11.1%
13	Swarthmore College	1,712	$1,593,734	−0.5%
14	Grinnell College	1,750	$1,526,198	+5.0%
15	Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary	110	$1,445,756	+7.4%
16	University of Notre Dame	12,785	$1,399,873	+8.7%
17	Bowdoin College	1,847	$1,397,968	+10.2%
18	Wellesley College	2,362	$1,272,249	+16.3%
19	Dartmouth College	6,700	$1,234,823	+5.0%
20	Principia College	838	$1,141,078	+10.3%
21	Berea College	1,487	$1,108,849	+4.2%
22	Medical College of Wisconsin	1,656	$1,085,649	+9.7%
23	Smith College	2,495	$1,027,705	+18.5%

See also

• Lists of institutions of higher education by endowment size

Notes

1. NACUBO classifies the University of Delaware as a private institution. It is chartered as a state-assisted, privately governed university.^[18]
2. Endowment value includes related foundation(s).
3. System-wide endowment pool managed by the Regents of the University of California.
4. Endowment value includes foundation(s).
5. Endowment value includes affiliated entities.