The state-school honor roll: top-ten outcomes at land-grant arithmetic, led by the only public program in the U.S. News top ten.
1
Berkeley, California · Public
The smallest class in the top ten and the strongest West Coast tech network outside Stanford. Bay Area employers treat Haas as a home team.
2
Ann Arbor, Michigan · Public
The highest-ranked public program, and our reigning value pick among the elite. MAP consulting projects put every student on a live client engagement.
3
Charlottesville, Virginia · Public
Student surveys keep rating Darden's teaching above every M7 program. The case method here is a craft, not a filter.
Haas held its place as the highest-ranked public program in the 2026 U.S. News table at No. 10, with Ross and Darden close behind — three publics whose placement numbers sit inside the private elite’s range at 60 to 80 percent of the total cost for residents. The pattern repeats down the list: McCombs, Foster, and Scheller all beat their private-peer invoices by six figures against single-digit outcome gaps.
The honest asterisk is that resident pricing is the whole trick. Out-of-state stickers at the flagship publics now approach private levels, which turns this table into a residency-arbitrage guide: establish the domicile, then buy the discount.
Austin, Texas · Public · Class size 284
The best value play in the top fifteen: in-state tuition under $60K and an Austin network that compounds yearly as tech payrolls migrate south.
Chapel Hill, North Carolina · Public · Class size 260
MBA@UNC climbed to No. 2 in the U.S. News online ranking, and the residential program pairs Southern cost of living with a Research Triangle hiring base.
Seattle, Washington · Public · Class size 120
More than half of Foster graduates take tech offers, the class is tiny, and Washington residents pay a fraction of coastal-private prices.
Bloomington, Indiana · Public · Class size 175
Kelley Direct tops the U.S. News online ranking again at $94,944 — no asterisk on the diploma — while the Bloomington MBA quietly over-places its sticker price.
Atlanta, Georgia · Public · Class size 110
Sub-$85,000 sticker even for non-residents, Atlanta's Fortune 500 base, and analytics credentials that borrow Georgia Tech's engineering credibility.
Los Angeles, California · Public · Class size 360
Media and entertainment recruiting no other top-20 school can offer, plus fully-employed and executive formats that share the Anderson faculty.
Columbus, Ohio · Public · Class size 100
Columbus quietly became a headquarters town — and Fisher's tiny MBA class gets first call on it. U.S. News's eight-spot drop to No. 32 reads harsher than the outcomes.
Minneapolis, Minnesota · Public · Class size 90
Target, Best Buy, General Mills, 3M, UnitedHealth — the Twin Cities headquarters economy hires Carlson's 90-person class before national recruiters get a look.
Tempe, Arizona · Public · Class size 90
TSMC and Intel are building the future of American chipmaking in Carey's backyard, and the supply-chain program has fed the industry for years.
Madison, Wisconsin · Public · Class size 85
Wisconsin admits students into named career specializations with dedicated centers — the brand-management track has fed Midwest consumer giants for generations.
Gainesville, Florida · Public · Class size 60
Warrington launched internet MBA education back in 1999, and the residential program rides UF's rising national stock at a sub-$45,000 resident price.
Athens, Georgia · Public · Class size 65
A 65-person class, in-state tuition around $45,000, and a placement pipeline that runs straight down the highway into Atlanta's corporate economy.
College Station, Texas · Public · Class size 75
An 18-month MBA, one of the most loyal alumni networks in America, and placement percentages that quietly beat schools ranked far above.
| # | School | BP Score | Tuition | Avg. GMAT | Acceptance | Median salary | Placed 3 mo. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UC Berkeley Haas School of Business | 90.1 | $151,000 | 726 | 20.1% | $165,000 | 92.9% |
| 2 | Michigan Ross School of Business | 91.2 | $148,000 | 722 | 24.7% | $160,000 | 95.8% |
| 3 | UVA Darden School of Business | 88.2 | $146,000 | 716 | 26% | $160,000 | 87% |
| 4 | UT Austin McCombs School of Business | 88.7 | $119,000 | 710 | 28.9% | $152,000 | 91.8% |
| 5 | UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School | 85.1 | $128,000 | 700 | 36% | $150,000 | 84% |
| 6 | UW Foster School of Business | 86.4 | $120,000 | 710 | 35% | $155,000 | 88% |
| 7 | Indiana Kelley School of Business | 85.6 | $110,000 | 685 | 38% | $140,000 | 88% |
| 8 | Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business | 84.2 | $84,000 | 700 | 32% | $145,000 | 87% |
| 9 | UCLA Anderson School of Management | 87.1 | $152,000 | 714 | 33% | $155,000 | 84% |
| 10 | Ohio State Fisher College of Business | 81.8 | $110,000 | 680 | 40% | $130,000 | 86% |
Every figure comes from each school's employment report prepared under the MBA CSEA standard, which is independently audited. Where a school declines to report, we mark it unranked for that pillar rather than estimating.
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Fully rebuilt each June when audited employment reports land, with a mid-cycle data refresh in January.
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