A flagship university is the most known and famous college in a state. Generally, it is the first founded university in its state. Most flagship universities have names starting with "University of" or ends with "State University" along with its state name.

All 50 Flagship Universities are public colleges and universities in the United States.

Compare and explore detailed statistics for 50 Flagship Universities to find the perfect college match for your academic goals, budget, and career aspirations. Our comprehensive comparison tool provides key data including tuition costs, acceptance rates, financial aid, graduation rates, and enrollment statistics to help you make informed decisions about your higher education:

  • Average Tuition & Fees: Flagship Universities charge $12,917 for in-state students and $35,458 for out-of-state students on average for undergraduate programs.
  • Graduate Program Costs: Average graduate tuition & fees for Flagship Universities is $14,352 for in-state graduate students and $31,169 for out-of-state graduate students.
  • Admission Statistics: Flagship Universities have moderately selective admissions, with an average acceptance rate of 67.43% and an average SAT score of 1,286 among accepted applicants.
  • Student Population: Flagship Universities enroll an average of 32,624 students across all programs.
  • Graduation Success Rate: Students at Flagship Universities demonstrate strong academic success, with an impressive average graduation rate of 73.66%, reflecting excellent academic support and student retention programs.

Use our detailed college comparison tables below to evaluate Flagship Universities side-by-side. Compare tuition and fees, financial aid packages, admission requirements, student-to-faculty ratios, and graduation outcomes to identify the best college that matches your educational needs and budget. Start comparing colleges now to make the right choice for your future.

Key Statistics & Highlights

Here are the highest and lowest statistics among Flagship Universities:

Statistic Average Highest Lowest
Tuition & Fees$35,458University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
$63,081		University of the District of Columbia
$12,514
Graduate Tuition & Fees$31,169University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
$57,776		University of South Dakota
$12,768
Enrollment32,624 studentsOhio State University-Main Campus
61,443 students		University of the District of Columbia
4,202 students
Acceptance Rate67.43%University of South Dakota
98.78%		University of California-Berkeley
10.98%
SAT Score1,286University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1,480		University of New Mexico-Main Campus
1,020

Comparison between all Flagship Universities

The following table compares 50 Flagship Universities with tuition and important admission statistics. You can sort the table to find top-ranked schools in the indicator (column) by clicking/touching a column that you want to sort. Note again, "*" symbol next to certain institutions in below table indicates that the school is newly classified in 2025.

Tuition Comparison Table between Flagship Universities
School NameStateDegree OfferedTuition & FeesAverage Financial AidAcceptance RatePopulationGraduation RateStudent to Faculty Ratio
University of Alaska Fairbanks four-year, public AKDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's
Associate		$25,892 ($10,083) $9,009 - 6,893 38% 11 to 1
The University of Alabama four-year, public ALDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$34,172 ($12,180) $15,925 277% 40,846 73% 19 to 1
University of Arkansas four-year, public ARDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$29,966 ($10,104) $9,029 274% 33,610 71% 20 to 1
University of Arizona four-year, public AZDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$39,903 ($13,573) $14,516 286% 56,365 68% 20 to 1
University of California-Berkeley four-year, public CADoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$47,265 ($15,377) $25,091 211% 45,882 93% 18 to 1
University of Colorado Boulder four-year, public CODoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$42,970 ($15,214) $12,072 278% 38,799 74% 19 to 1
University of Connecticut four-year, public CTDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's
Associate		$43,712 ($21,044) $16,048 252% 28,306 83% 17 to 1
University of the District of Columbia four-year, public DCDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's
Associate		$12,514 ($5,662) $4,974 - 4,202 33% 8 to 1
University of Delaware four-year, public DEDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's
Associate		$41,400 ($16,810) $14,145 271% 24,412 81% 16 to 1
University of Florida four-year, public FLDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's
Associate		$28,659 ($6,381) $10,123 224% 56,311 91% 16 to 1
University of Georgia four-year, public GADoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$31,688 ($11,450) $11,131 238% 43,146 90% 17 to 1
University of Hawaii at Manoa four-year, public HIDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$34,218 ($12,186) $8,172 287% 20,028 64% 15 to 1
University of Iowa four-year, public IADoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$33,371 ($11,283) $10,070 284% 30,779 75% 16 to 1
University of Idaho four-year, public IDDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's
Associate		$28,320 ($9,084) $12,286 276% 12,286 57% 18 to 1
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign four-year, public ILDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$40,096 ($18,267) $17,924 242% 59,238 85% 20 to 1
Indiana University-Bloomington four-year, public INDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's
Associate		$41,891 ($12,144) $11,540 278% 48,424 80% 18 to 1
University of Kansas four-year, public KSDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$30,432 ($12,102) $11,245 293% 29,792 69% 18 to 1
University of Kentucky four-year, public KYDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$34,140 ($13,502) $12,449 293% 34,709 71% 18 to 1
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College four-year, public LADoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$28,631 ($11,954) $13,378 273% 41,705 69% 21 to 1
University of Massachusetts-Amherst four-year, public MADoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's
Associate		$40,449 ($17,772) $13,764 260% 31,726 83% 17 to 1
University of Maryland-College Park four-year, public MDDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$41,186 ($11,809) $13,172 245% 41,725 89% 17 to 1
University of Maine four-year, public MEDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's
Associate		$36,756 ($13,326) $11,894 297% 12,029 55% 15 to 1
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor four-year, public MIDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$63,081 ($18,848) $25,050 216% 52,855 93% 11 to 1
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities four-year, public MNDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$38,362 ($17,214) $12,094 280% 56,666 85% 17 to 1
University of Missouri-Columbia four-year, public MODoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$36,056 ($14,837) $12,965 278% 31,543 75% 17 to 1
University of Mississippi four-year, public MSDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$28,600 ($9,772) $12,887 297% 26,449 72% 18 to 1
The University of Montana four-year, public MTDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's
Associate		$33,671 ($8,552) $7,975 296% 10,811 48% 17 to 1
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill four-year, public NCDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$41,203 ($8,994) $16,499 215% 32,438 91% 15 to 1
University of North Dakota four-year, public NDDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$15,570 ($10,951) $6,927 277% 15,019 60% 17 to 1
University of Nebraska-Lincoln four-year, public NEDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$28,584 ($10,434) $10,570 287% 24,393 67% 17 to 1
University of New Hampshire-Main Campus four-year, public NHDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's
Associate		$39,852 ($19,202) $13,856 288% 13,554 76% 17 to 1
Rutgers University-New Brunswick four-year, public NJDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's
Associate		$37,441 ($17,929) $14,869 258% 52,269 84% 16 to 1
University of New Mexico-Main Campus four-year, public NMDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$33,060 ($10,140) $12,854 295% 23,124 55% 15 to 1
University of Nevada-Reno four-year, public NVDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$27,720 ($9,578) $8,181 274% 23,024 61% 17 to 1
University at Buffalo four-year, public NYDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$31,536 ($10,936) $10,093 274% 31,903 75% 11 to 1
Ohio State University-Main Campus four-year, public OHDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's
Associate		$40,022 ($13,244) $12,876 261% 61,443 88% 16 to 1
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus four-year, public OKDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$27,377 ($9,797) $10,389 277% 30,851 75% 18 to 1
University of Oregon four-year, public ORDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$42,516 ($15,320) $10,305 288% 24,404 72% 19 to 1
University of Rhode Island four-year, public RIDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$37,146 ($16,942) $12,845 272% 17,210 73% 17 to 1
University of South Carolina-Columbia four-year, public SCDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's
Associate		$36,298 ($12,688) $7,193 260% 38,532 79% 19 to 1
University of South Dakota four-year, public SDDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's
Associate		$12,942 ($9,432) $6,716 299% 10,619 60% 16 to 1
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville four-year, public TNDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$33,256 ($13,812) $11,451 242% 38,728 74% 18 to 1
The University of Texas at Austin four-year, public TXDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$44,908 ($11,688) $12,548 227% 53,864 89% 18 to 1
University of Utah four-year, public UTDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$30,860 ($9,620) $10,995 286% 36,894 65% 19 to 1
University of Virginia-Main Campus four-year, public VADoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$61,591 ($23,118) $24,949 217% 26,409 96% 15 to 1
University of Vermont four-year, public VTDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$45,502 ($19,058) $18,487 265% 14,476 79% 17 to 1
University of Washington-Seattle Campus four-year, public WADoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$43,209 ($12,973) $16,147 239% 56,997 85% 20 to 1
University of Wisconsin-Madison four-year, public WIDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$42,103 ($11,603) $15,223 245% 51,044 90% 18 to 1
West Virginia University four-year, public WVDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$28,608 ($10,104) $12,265 289% 23,643 65% 19 to 1
University of Wyoming four-year, public WYDoctorate
Master's
Bachelor's		$24,178 ($7,768) $9,533 297% 10,813 59% 13 to 1