Discover 138 Area Studies colleges that excel at moving low-income students to success. Schools must be in the 60th percentile+ for mobility, ranked by graduate earnings. Average earnings: $69,672.
We started with Area Studies programs scoring 60th percentile or above for mobility—schools that actually serve low-income students. Then we ranked by earnings. The result: 134 programs that prove accessibility and strong outcomes aren't mutually exclusive.
Stanford University leads the rankings, producing Area Studies graduates earning $124,080 while maintaining a 91st percentile mobility score. Cornell University follows at $104,043 with an even stronger 94th percentile mobility rating. These outcomes demonstrate that schools serving low-income students can compete at the highest levels.
Cornell University exemplifies the double win: 94th percentile for mobility with just a 3.6% payment burden, earning 'Excellent' affordability status. Meanwhile, Stanford serves 19% Pell Grant recipients while Georgetown enrolls 16% first-generation students—proving these top-earning programs actually serve the students who need them most.
Earnings: $124,080 | Mobility: 91st percentile
22.5% Pell students with $102,491 earnings
3.6% payment burden | Excellent
15.1% family burden | Manageable
| Rank | School | Graduate Earnings | Student Debt | Student GPS | Parent Debt | Parent GPS | Mobility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Stanford UniversityPrivate | $124,080 | $12,000 | Excellent | $38,333 | High | 90th percentile mobility |
| #2 | Cornell UniversityPrivate | $104,043 | $14,000 | Excellent | $38,000 | Good | 93th percentile mobility |
| #3 | Georgetown UniversityPrivate | $103,494 | — | — | — | — | 83th percentile mobility |
| #4 | $102,491 | $21,500 | Excellent | $35,000 | Good | 91th percentile mobility | |
| #5 | Harvard UniversityPrivate | $101,817 | — | — | — | — | 90th percentile mobility |
| #6 | Yale UniversityPrivate | $100,533 | $12,975 | Excellent | $29,769 | Manageable | 81th percentile mobility |
| #7 | University Of Notre DamePrivate | $99,980 | $19,000 | Excellent | $40,731 | Manageable | 87th percentile mobility |
| #8 | Duke UniversityPrivate | $97,800 | — | — | — | — | 84th percentile mobility |
| #9 | Dartmouth CollegePrivate | $97,434 | $17,500 | Excellent | $44,481 | Challenging | 77th percentile mobility |
| #10 | Brown UniversityPrivate | $93,487 | $11,428 | Excellent | $48,245 | Challenging | 83th percentile mobility |
| #11 | $92,498 | $18,000 | Excellent | $31,803 | Challenging | 95th percentile mobility | |
| #12 | $92,446 | $13,000 | Excellent | $28,508 | Manageable | 98th percentile mobility | |
| #13 | Vanderbilt UniversityPrivate | $91,565 | — | — | — | — | 86th percentile mobility |
| #14 | George Washington UniversityPrivate | $90,873 | — | — | — | — | 80th percentile mobility |
| #15 | University Of San FranciscoPrivate | $89,812 | — | — | — | — | 73th percentile mobility |
| #16 | Northwestern UniversityPrivate | $89,363 | $15,000 | Excellent | $26,966 | Manageable | 89th percentile mobility |
| #17 | $86,863 | $17,500 | Excellent | $28,903 | Challenging | 93th percentile mobility | |
| #18 | $86,182 | — | — | — | — | 85th percentile mobility | |
| #19 | Fordham UniversityPrivate | $85,569 | $24,300 | Excellent | $37,095 | Manageable | 74th percentile mobility |
| #20 | $84,943 | $15,500 | Excellent | $24,257 | Challenging | 100th percentile mobility | |
| #21 | Wellesley CollegePrivate | $84,803 | — | — | — | — | 72th percentile mobility |
| #22 | $83,648 | $19,500 | Excellent | $30,250 | Challenging | 97th percentile mobility | |
| #23 | Boston UniversityPrivate | $83,238 | — | — | — | — | 91th percentile mobility |
| #24 | Tufts UniversityPrivate | $83,214 | $16,250 | Excellent | $38,325 | Manageable | 83th percentile mobility |
| #25 | Pepperdine UniversityPrivate | $82,939 | — | — | — | — | 73th percentile mobility |
Our social mobility rankings answer: "Which schools deliver the best outcomes for students from low-income backgrounds?"
This is not simply "which schools admit the most low-income students" — it's which schools both serve low-income students and deliver strong earnings outcomes.
Data based on May 2026 refresh for 2026 rankings, based on Department of Education reporting standards. Learn about our methodology →
