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Best Schools for Chemistry in 2026

205 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Chemistry, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Chemistry graduate earns $41,257/yr across 205 schools.

Programs Ranked

205

Avg Earnings

$41,257/yr

Avg DW Score

55/100

AI Risk

High

49% task exposure

All Chemistry Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA · Public	73 69–73	$50,553/yr	27.7x
2	Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, MA · Public	72 68–73	$55,376/yr	17.2x
3	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA · Public	71 69–72	$44,140/yr	30.9x
4	Towson University Towson, MD · Public	70 66–71	$52,765/yr	16.5x
5	Rhode Island College Providence, RI · Public	70 67–71	$44,648/yr	20.4x
6	University of Houston Houston, TX · Public	70 66–70	$50,717/yr	18.2x
7	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA · Public	70 66–71	$48,527/yr	19.9x
8	East Carolina University Greenville, NC · Public	69 65–69	$47,875/yr	21.8x
9	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Whitewater, WI · Public	69 66–70	$48,903/yr	20.3x
10	University of North Alabama Florence, AL · Public	68 64–68	$49,497/yr	14.9x
11	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI · Public	68 64–68	$48,886/yr	15.5x
12	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD · Public	67 64–68	$46,140/yr	16.0x
13	Ohio University-Eastern Campus Saint Clairsville, OH · Public	67 65–68	$43,349/yr	28.0x
14	Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus Chillicothe, OH · Public	67 65–68	$43,349/yr	28.0x
15	Ohio University-Southern Campus Ironton, OH · Public	67 65–68	$43,349/yr	28.0x
16	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus Lancaster, OH · Public	67 65–68	$43,349/yr	28.0x
17	Ohio University-Zanesville Campus Zanesville, OH · Public	67 65–68	$43,349/yr	28.0x
18	University of Wisconsin-Platteville Platteville, WI · Public	67 63–68	$49,386/yr	18.1x
19	California State University-Stanislaus Turlock, CA · Public	66 66–67	$39,771/yr	27.1x
20	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA · Public	66 64–67	$42,581/yr	22.8x
21	University of Delaware Newark, DE · Public	66 62–67	$54,055/yr	11.0x
22	Rowan University Glassboro, NJ · Public	66 62–67	$53,607/yr	11.1x
23	University at Albany Albany, NY · Public	66 62–67	$48,276/yr	15.3x
24	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX · Public	66 62–66	$49,462/yr	12.8x
25	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA · Public	65 63–66	$43,294/yr	21.1x
26	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA · Public	65 62–66	$45,310/yr	12.6x
27	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA · Public	65 62–66	$47,197/yr	12.3x
28	San Diego State University San Diego, CA · Public	65 63–66	$43,603/yr	19.2x
29	Millersville University of Pennsylvania Millersville, PA · Public	65 61–65	$50,524/yr	12.5x
30	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI · Public	65 61–66	$50,659/yr	15.2x
31	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA · Public	64 60–65	$59,576/yr	10.0x
32	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO · Public	64 62–65	$42,660/yr	14.5x
33	University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC · Public	64 62–65	$44,473/yr	19.9x
34	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL · Public	63 62–64	$40,629/yr	27.2x
35	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL · Public	63 60–64	$47,034/yr	10.8x
36	Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL · Public	63 60–63	$46,659/yr	12.2x
37	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH · Public	63 59–63	$47,387/yr	11.5x
38	Cleveland State University Cleveland, OH · Public	63 59–63	$48,147/yr	11.9x
39	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA · Public	63 60–64	$46,369/yr	12.6x
40	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN · Public	63 59–63	$47,213/yr	14.0x
41	University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA · Public	63 60–64	$46,369/yr	12.7x
42	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT · Public	63 59–63	$52,216/yr	9.3x
43	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT · Public	63 59–63	$52,216/yr	9.3x
44	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT · Public	63 59–63	$52,216/yr	9.3x
45	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT · Public	63 59–64	$52,216/yr	9.3x
46	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA · Public	63 63–63	$38,790/yr	28.5x
47	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ · Public	62 60–62	$43,013/yr	12.6x
48	California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA · Public	62 62–63	$40,402/yr	20.6x
49	University of California-Davis Davis, CA · Public	62 60–63	$42,204/yr	12.4x
50	Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN · Public	62 60–62	$42,889/yr	13.5x
51	Wichita State University Wichita, KS · Public	62 60–63	$43,740/yr	15.6x
52	University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN · Public	62 60–63	$44,674/yr	11.9x
53	Rutgers University-Newark Newark, NJ · Public	62 59–62	$44,949/yr	10.5x
54	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH · Public	62 60–63	$42,698/yr	13.3x
55	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT · Public	62 61–63	$41,275/yr	16.9x
56	University of California-Merced Merced, CA · Public	62 58–62	$50,944/yr	10.3x
57	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA · Public	61 59–62	$43,766/yr	11.6x
58	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT · Public	61 57–62	$52,216/yr	7.9x
59	Ball State University Muncie, IN · Public	61 59–62	$42,677/yr	14.2x
60	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA · Public	61 58–62	$44,847/yr	13.1x
61	Northeastern University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit	61 57–62	$62,511/yr	2.8x
62	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN · Public	61 58–62	$47,451/yr	9.7x
63	Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO · Public	61 60–62	$41,166/yr	16.5x
64	Rutgers University-Camden Camden, NJ · Public	61 58–62	$44,949/yr	10.1x
65	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ · Public	61 58–62	$44,949/yr	10.0x
66	Appalachian State University Boone, NC · Public	61 60–62	$40,488/yr	19.4x
67	Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH · Public	61 59–62	$43,349/yr	12.0x
68	University of Pittsburgh-Bradford Bradford, PA · Public	61 58–61	$43,571/yr	11.2x
69	University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg Greensburg, PA · Public	61 58–61	$43,571/yr	11.2x
70	University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Johnstown, PA · Public	61 58–61	$43,571/yr	11.2x
71	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX · Public	61 59–62	$43,383/yr	13.3x
72	Weber State University Ogden, UT · Public	61 57–62	$50,350/yr	18.7x
73	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA · Public	61 58–61	$45,513/yr	10.4x
74	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR · Public	61 59–61	$41,779/yr	13.0x
75	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · Public	60 58–60	$42,358/yr	11.6x
76	University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO · Public	60 57–61	$45,406/yr	11.9x
77	CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY · Public	60 62–60	$34,239/yr	26.8x
78	State University of New York at Oswego Oswego, NY · Public	60 56–60	$52,645/yr	14.0x
79	Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH · Public	60 60–61	$39,790/yr	13.9x
80	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR · Public	60 58–60	$41,779/yr	12.1x
81	Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX · Public	60 57–60	$43,940/yr	14.3x
82	George Mason University Fairfax, VA · Public	60 56–61	$50,304/yr	10.0x
83	West Virginia University Institute of Technology Beckley, WV · Public	60 61–61	$36,891/yr	21.1x
84	Fort Hays State University Hays, KS · Public	59 56–59	$44,261/yr	19.6x
85	University of Missouri-Kansas City Kansas City, MO · Public	59 58–59	$39,725/yr	13.4x
86	Binghamton University Vestal, NY · Public	59 61–60	$35,115/yr	19.2x
87	Portland State University Portland, OR · Public	59 61–60	$35,395/yr	17.9x
88	University of Memphis Memphis, TN · Public	59 60–60	$36,881/yr	17.1x
89	The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Chattanooga, TN · Public	59 58–60	$41,588/yr	14.2x
90	The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX · Public	59 58–59	$40,700/yr	15.6x
91	California State University-San Marcos San Marcos, CA · Public	59 55–60	$49,382/yr	15.0x
92	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ · Public	58 57–59	$40,845/yr	12.1x
93	Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA · Public	58 60–58	$34,977/yr	26.9x
94	Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL · Public	58 56–59	$43,061/yr	11.3x
95	Indiana University-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN · Public	58 56–58	$42,482/yr	12.9x
96	Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY · Public	58 61–59	$34,512/yr	19.4x
97	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC · Public	58 58–58	$39,018/yr	12.8x
98	Austin Peay State University Clarksville, TN · Public	58 56–59	$42,475/yr	14.7x
99	West Virginia University Morgantown, WV · Public	58 60–59	$36,891/yr	17.4x
100	California State University-Channel Islands Camarillo, CA · Public	58 55–59	$46,131/yr	15.9x
101	Augusta University Augusta, GA · Public	58 54–58	$48,382/yr	13.9x
102	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA · Public	57 54–57	$45,076/yr	14.9x
103	California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · Public	57 54–58	$44,944/yr	15.5x
104	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA · Public	57 54–57	$44,874/yr	14.8x
105	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC · Public	57 59–58	$35,482/yr	21.6x
106	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH · Public	57 54–57	$43,840/yr	9.8x
107	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL · Public	56 54–57	$43,634/yr	16.1x
108	Murray State University Murray, KY · Public	56 52–56	$48,334/yr	11.4x
109	Salisbury University Salisbury, MD · Public	56 52–57	$50,169/yr	10.8x
110	Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI · Public	56 53–56	$45,060/yr	8.7x
111	Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI · Public	56 53–57	$46,496/yr	8.9x
112	Montclair State University Montclair, NJ · Public	56 51–56	$55,389/yr	8.4x
113	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC · Public	56 53–57	$47,071/yr	12.2x
114	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit	56 52–57	$49,215/yr	2.6x
115	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA · Public	56 54–57	$43,571/yr	7.3x
116	University of Houston-Downtown Houston, TX · Public	56 56–57	$38,954/yr	16.8x
117	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA · Public	55 55–56	$39,700/yr	10.4x
118	University of North Florida Jacksonville, FL · Public	55 58–55	$31,663/yr	26.1x
119	Georgia State University Atlanta, GA · Public	55 57–55	$33,836/yr	18.7x
120	Temple University Philadelphia, PA · Public	55 53–56	$42,022/yr	7.2x
121	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI · Public	55 57–56	$36,771/yr	14.9x
122	College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA · Private nonprofit	54 51–55	$47,313/yr	2.5x
123	Salem State University Salem, MA · Public	54 51–55	$49,439/yr	9.3x
124	University of North Carolina Asheville Asheville, NC · Public	54 55–55	$36,891/yr	17.5x
125	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN · Public	54 53–55	$41,589/yr	9.9x
126	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR · Public	53 55–54	$34,872/yr	15.1x
127	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC · Public	53 56–54	$32,516/yr	17.7x
128	University of North Carolina at Pembroke Pembroke, NC · Public	53 55–54	$35,579/yr	33.1x
129	University of North Texas Denton, TX · Public	53 54–54	$38,006/yr	12.2x
130	Marshall University Huntington, WV · Public	53 57–54	$32,143/yr	18.3x
131	University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL · Public	52 54–52	$33,931/yr	15.8x
132	Florida International University Miami, FL · Public	52 56–53	$28,660/yr	25.9x
133	CUNY Hunter College New York, NY · Public	52 55–52	$29,340/yr	22.1x
134	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK · Public	52 55–53	$31,419/yr	17.0x
135	College of Charleston Charleston, SC · Public	52 52–53	$39,208/yr	10.2x
136	The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX · Public	52 49–53	$48,783/yr	7.4x
137	University of Wyoming Laramie, WY · Public	52 51–53	$40,280/yr	13.5x
138	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ · Public	51 51–52	$38,766/yr	10.5x
139	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO · Public	51 54–52	$34,417/yr	13.5x
140	Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL · Public	51 53–52	$35,015/yr	23.2x
141	Iowa State University Ames, IA · Public	51 49–52	$43,870/yr	9.4x
142	University of Akron Main Campus Akron, OH · Public	51 48–51	$44,970/yr	7.8x
143	Christopher Newport University Newport News, VA · Public	51 51–52	$39,245/yr	8.4x
144	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA · Public	51 48–51	$45,799/yr	7.4x
145	Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA · Public	51 51–52	$38,571/yr	8.6x
146	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA · Public	50 50–51	$39,676/yr	8.9x
147	Louisiana Tech University Ruston, LA · Public	50 49–51	$42,572/yr	9.5x
148	University of Louisiana at Lafayette Lafayette, LA · Public	50 48–51	$42,715/yr	9.3x
149	University of Maryland-Baltimore County Baltimore, MD · Public	50 47–50	$44,215/yr	7.5x
150	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO · Public	50 47–51	$45,279/yr	7.0x
151	Texas State University San Marcos, TX · Public	50 48–50	$42,897/yr	8.4x
152	University of Florida Gainesville, FL · Public	49 51–50	$25,418/yr	23.6x
153	University of South Florida Tampa, FL · Public	49 53–50	$29,399/yr	21.9x
154	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI · Public	49 49–50	$39,531/yr	8.0x
155	Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC · Public	49 52–50	$26,513/yr	31.4x
156	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX · Public	49 53–50	$31,573/yr	13.4x
157	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA · Public	49 51–50	$35,130/yr	7.0x
158	Western Illinois University Macomb, IL · Public	48 52–49	$31,980/yr	11.0x
159	University of Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN · Private nonprofit	48 47–49	$40,612/yr	3.7x
160	University of Louisville Louisville, KY · Public	48 46–48	$41,842/yr	7.2x
161	Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo, MI · Private nonprofit	48 47–48	$39,940/yr	2.5x
162	Wayne State University Detroit, MI · Public	48 50–49	$35,813/yr	9.5x
163	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV · Public	48 48–49	$39,614/yr	10.0x
164	Monmouth University West Long Branch, NJ · Private nonprofit	48 46–48	$43,512/yr	2.7x
165	University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY · Public	48 50–49	$35,284/yr	11.8x
166	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY · Public	48 52–49	$31,685/yr	13.5x
167	Southern Connecticut State University New Haven, CT · Public	47 46–47	$40,767/yr	6.9x
168	University of Idaho Moscow, ID · Public	47 47–48	$38,664/yr	10.0x
169	Hamline University Saint Paul, MN · Private nonprofit	47 43–48	$50,007/yr	1.6x
170	Northwest Missouri State University Maryville, MO · Public	47 46–47	$39,478/yr	8.7x
171	Brandeis University Waltham, MA · Private nonprofit	46 43–46	$46,641/yr	1.7x
172	Carthage College Kenosha, WI · Private nonprofit	46 43–46	$45,188/yr	2.1x
173	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX · Public	45 46–46	$22,913/yr	15.0x
174	Radford University Radford, VA · Public	45 45–46	$39,090/yr	7.0x
175	Valparaiso University Valparaiso, IN · Private nonprofit	44 45–44	$37,526/yr	2.8x
176	St Olaf College Northfield, MN · Private nonprofit	44 42–45	$44,020/yr	1.9x
177	New York University New York, NY · Private nonprofit	44 45–45	$37,249/yr	2.3x
178	Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, WA · Private nonprofit	44 41–44	$44,555/yr	1.2x
179	University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR · Public	43 45–44	$36,946/yr	8.1x
180	University of Georgia Athens, GA · Public	43 47–44	$31,893/yr	11.1x
181	Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, PA · Public	43 44–43	$36,597/yr	7.7x
182	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ · Public	43 43–44	$38,766/yr	—
183	California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA · Public	42 41–42	$18,896/yr	17.1x
184	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA · Public	42 44–42	$33,972/yr	9.7x
185	University of Mississippi University, MS · Public	42 44–42	$35,132/yr	8.3x
186	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA · Public	42 46–43	$30,599/yr	7.2x
187	Williams College Williamstown, MA · Private nonprofit	41 40–42	$40,840/yr	1.7x
188	Fort Lewis College Durango, CO · Public	40 43–41	$34,159/yr	7.8x
189	Saint Joseph's University Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit	40 39–40	$39,914/yr	0.9x
190	CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY · Public	39 43–40	$31,815/yr	9.7x
191	University of Puerto Rico-Humacao Humacao, PR · Public	39 40–40	$22,743/yr	18.9x
192	Boston University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit	38 38–39	$39,157/yr	0.5x
193	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX · Private nonprofit	38 38–39	$38,919/yr	0.5x
194	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM · Public	36 40–37	$30,122/yr	8.3x
195	La Roche University Pittsburgh, PA · Private nonprofit	35 37–36	$34,906/yr	1.6x
196	Hope College Holland, MI · Private nonprofit	33 33–33	$21,199/yr	3.2x
197	University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Fort Smith, AR · Public	32 33–33	$22,255/yr	7.1x
198	John Carroll University University Heights, OH · Private nonprofit	32 36–33	$30,087/yr	2.4x
199	Whitworth University Spokane, WA · Private nonprofit	32 35–33	$33,203/yr	0.6x
200	University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Mayaguez, PR · Public	32 30–32	$16,465/yr	6.8x
201	University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA · Private nonprofit	31 32–31	$22,881/yr	-0.1x
202	Emory University Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit	30 34–31	$32,130/yr	1.7x
203	Duke University Durham, NC · Private nonprofit	28 32–29	$29,748/yr	0.1x
204	Mercer University Macon, GA · Private nonprofit	26 28–27	$25,151/yr	0.5x
205	Cornell University Ithaca, NY · Private nonprofit	25 28–25	$28,372/yr	1.3x

Methodology

Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Chemistry?

Based on our DegreeWorth Score, California State University-Long Beach ranks #1 for Chemistry with a score of 73/100 and graduate earnings of $50,553/yr.

How much do Chemistry graduates earn?

Across 205 schools, Chemistry graduates earn an average of $41,257/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $62,511/yr.

Is Chemistry a good major for AI resistance?

Chemistry has an average AI task exposure of 49%, rated "High". This field has moderate AI exposure — some career paths are more resilient than others.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.